News and views on Greystones harbour and marina [SEE MODERATOR WARNING POST 1187]

A different take on the meeting referred to in may earlier post. Taken from:

http://www.greystonesguide.ie/hayden-criticises-gpdaguboh-for-yet-another-long-list-of-insatiable-demands/

Those of you who joined the GUBOH facebook group will be happy to know that you apparently no longer exist as there are only 10 of us. (see para 2).


Councillor Ciarán Hayden has criticised GPDA/GUBOH for producing yet another long list of insatiable demands to be put to Sispar. At last night’s Town Council meeting a delegation of Harbour protesters produced another long list of demands all of which had been answered in great detail at the March Harbour Liaison meeting. The list contained many unworkable demands including opening the North breakwater and seeding the area reserved for housing. The protest group had these demands answered in great detail by Sispar and Wicklow County Council not two weeks ago.

Cllr Hayden said after the meeting, “what we have seen here tonight is another attempt in a long list of attempts to discredit Sispar and their partners in moving forward with this development. This protest group is now down to about a hard core of ten dissenters, mostly staunch original objectors to the harbour plan, determined to drive Sispar out of town. This group is about constant negativity and they would run to the top of Everest to find something negative if they thought it was there. A list of things are conceded to the community and then this lot are back for more – they are insatiable”

It was decided by the Council, on a vote of six to three, to water down the unworkable demands and replace them with a letter that has the demands attached, but in no way expressed the views of the Council, and invites Sispar to the next meeting of the Town Council. The vote came after Cllr Kathleen Kelleher had tried, in vain, to table an alternative motion that would require two votes.

Cllr Hayden finished up by saying “it was incredible to see six Councillors, some with long experience, voting to attach a document to a letter that they have never read. Unfortunately some Councillors set about playing to the gallery last night instead of concentrating on the real issues. It is a disgrace that Cllr Kelleher’s attempts to table an alternative motion were completely ignored by the Mayor ”

Cllrs Hayden, Mitchell and Kelleher voted against the proposal.

Fiachra2 wrote: »

Another offering from a local Councillor taken from:



http://www.greystonesguide.ie/harbour-protest-group-submission-full-of-errors/

I need hardly add that the references to myself are "erroneous" to say the least.

The "apalling and despicable behaviour" referred to was -believe it or not-simply asking the question "when will the project be finished?"

On Tuesday 27th March a group that purports to represent the entire community in Greystones made a submission to the Town Council that contain very serious inaccuracies that misrepresent fact. After receiving a copy of their submission from the Town Secretary on Wednesday I feel it necessary to point out the inconsistencies and errors contained in that submission. Unfortunately six of the nine Councillors agreed that this document should be forwarded as an attachment to a letter requesting Sispar attend the next meeting of the Council. I voted against this as I had not read it but my fears were realised when I did read it.
In paragraph 1 it states ‘GUBOH are not opposed to the Bord Pleanala approved Development’ – This is a lie. Fiachra Etchingham, the spokesperson for this group has led a 10 year campaign to halt the harbour development and currently has a live objection with An Bord Pleanala. At least two other committee members on this group were/are part of Fiachra’s GPDA.
In paragraph 2-2a it states ‘We do not believe that the harbour is solely for the benefit of the boating community’ The dictionary definition of a Harbour is a safe haven for boats. Notwithstanding the obvious reason for a harbour to exist other clear measures have already been put in place including a new beach, 2 slipways, enhanced walkways and safe parking to mention a few of a long list.
In paragraph 3 the group are consistent in negatives and talk down the project. Fiachra Etchingham has stated on radio and in social pages that he is opposed to the PCC. This is borne out in this paragraph and it is my belief this protest group is opposed to the PCC.
In paragraph 4 it states ‘Sispar have been on site for four and one half years’ This is another factual error Sispar have been on site for 4 years and one month – again an attempt to beef up their negative sentiment.
In paragraph 5 all these unworkable ‘demands’ were dealt with by Wicklow County Council and Sispar at the March Harbour Liaison Committee where the real community representatives had to endure appalling and despicable behaviour by this groups rep. The type of behaviour I hope is never witnessed again at a HLC meeting.
Paragraph 6 it is seeking Sispar to admit some sort of defeat or wrongdoing. Sispar have done a remarkable job in sticking with this project. I believe the community at large are supportive and this was borne out by comments from Residents Associations, Chamber of Commerce and elected representatives at the HLC. Sispar have my 100% support in their endeavours to see this project through.
In Paragraph 7 we see more lies. I met with this group as did a lot of my Council colleagues and I told them in no uncertain terms that their proposals were not reasonable nor practical. In fact I met them twice and told them so as did my party colleague Cllr Kelleher.

To sum up it is my belief, and the belief of many, that this protest group may have set out with honest intentions but has now been overrun by the negative GPDA faction. The hidden agenda is to talk down the PCC, grass over the entire site and drive Sispar out of town – this will not be allowed to happen!

Ciaran Hayden

This man is clearly upset and taken this matter far too personally. I feel his objectivity has been compromised with complete rage. No public representative should endure this kind of stress. I make a plea to whatever powers have authority, to relieve this man from office for the sake of his own health. He should either voluntarily take a sabbatical for 6 to 12 months or be removed from office completely. I say this with, genuine concern for him and his family before its too late.

Ethics and Codes of Conduct:

In January 2003 an ethics framework came into operation governing the ethics and codes of conduct of local authority members. As a general rule, this framework provides that it is the duty of every local authority member and employee to maintain proper standards of integrity, conduct and concern for the public interest. In addition, it established for each member a system of annual declaration of interests, disclosure of interest in a matter which comes before the authority and a public register of interests.

Local Government Act 2001

Consultation with the local community.

127.—(1) A local authority may take such steps as it considers appropriate to consult with and promote effective participation by the local community in local government.

(2) Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (1) a local authority may—

(a) undertake such action under section 64 as the authority may consider appropriate,

(b) establish strategic policy committees or a municipal policy committee in accordance with Part 7,

(c) consult with local sectoral, community or other groups,

(d) arrange for the representation on area or other relevant committees of the authority of persons having knowledge or experience of relevance to the work of the particular committee,

(e) consult with a recognised association under section 128 ,

(f) make arrangements for attendance and raising of issues by interested persons at meetings of the authority or of any of its committees in accordance with such rules as may be determined by resolution of the authority,

(g) arrange for the holding of information meetings and the dissemination of information to the public in relation to any matter connected with its functions.

(3) (a) Where in relation to any function of a local authority under this or under any other enactment the relevant enactment requires the publication of a notice in a newspaper and the invitation of submissions or observations in connection with the performance of that function, the local authority may take such additional steps as it may consider appropriate to publicise, facilitate or promote the consultation process including the use of other forms of communications, including local radio stations, and the use of electronic forms of communication.

(b) A local authority may, in respect of reports, plans or any other material in relation to the performance of its functions, arrange for the making available or display of such materials at suitable locations additional to those required by this or any other enactment.

(4) Nothing in this section shall be read as limiting or departing from the role of a local authority as an elected body.

Excellent Cheeky, and well done.

To our 200 daily readers of this blog:- There are those amoung you who must remember that this code not only exists but is applicable to you. Do we request GUBOH to publicly remind you of this code of ethics or will the compliant reprentatives who have unquestionable integrity raise this officially as a point of order in light what could be described as misfeasance that has been perpetuated through rage and personal malice rather than objectivity and civil duty.

We look forward to identifying and acknowleding those who take the initiative first. So it's either stand up and be counted or continue to sit on the fence. Your choice.

Town Council supports GUBOH’s requests to Sispar

The Give Us Back Our Harbour group welcomes the support they received from Greystones Town Council at its meeting on 27 March.  A GUBOH delegation asked the Town Council to call on Sispar to undertake landscaping work and other improvements in the harbour area in order to ensure that it is not left in its present unsightly condition for years to come.

“We came to the Council with a simple and reasonable request,” said GUBOH spokesman Fiachra Etchingham. “We pointed out that the harbour project has stalled now for over a year and that, while the boating community has benefited greatly from the improved facilities, the rest of the community has suffered considerably from noise, dirt and loss of visual and recreational amenity in the four and a half years Sispar has been on site.”

Greystones harbour has always been the heart of the town and is hugely important to everyone who lives here. We want it restored to that status while we are waiting for development to resume. To achieve that the following is needed:

Landscaping the whole area to the north of the harbour
Opening the north pier to public access
Removal of all unnecessary fencing
Opening the whole harbour to local and visiting boats as a matter of urgency
“We were delighted that Councillors accepted this reasonable request,” said Etchingham. “A number of them drew attention to the awful appearance of the area on the approach from the Cliff Walk and the impact this is having on tourism. They also commented on the excessive amounts of fencing and the lack of facilities for visiting boats. A small minority of councillors opposed our request and so it was necessary to put the matter to a vote. This was carried by a majority of two to one and the Town Council will now forward our request to Sispar and invite them to a meeting to discuss the issues raised.”

The housing market, on which this project depended, is severely depressed and there will be no significant progress on this project for quite some time.  It is essential that we ensure that Greystones is not left with the present eyesore for years to come. We are delighted that the Council is prepared to take action on the community’s behalf to ensure this does not happen and that interim, temporary remedies are found until the development can proceed. 

Etchingham said he was concerned about the attitude of a small minority of Councillors to GUBOH’s request. “At the meeting, two councillors were hostile towards our delegation. Since the meeting, one in particular has issued a number of vitriolic press releases attacking GUBOH and insisting that the community in general is being unreasonable in asking for the area to be cleaned up. It is very difficult to understand how this councillor can be so opposed to the simple measures we propose and why he should attack individual members of the community in such an intemperate way.

“However, we are delighted with the support we received from the majority of councillors and we look forward to the community’s concerns being resolved before the summer season.” 

Fiachra Etchingham        
Spokesperson  
GUBOH Group
31/03/2012

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Tags: Greystones Harbour, Greystones Marina, GUBOH Group, Sispar, Town Council supports GUBOH’s requests to Sispar
Category: Around the site, Harbour Updates

Latest post to the Greystones Guide. Obviously democracy doesnt work for these guys


On Thursday 29th March the Harbour protest group GUBOH issued a press release with the following title “Town Council supports GUBOH’s requests to Sispar”

As a result Cllr Ciarán Hayden and Cllr Kathleen Kelleher have found it necessary to refute this misleading headline. At the March meeting of the Town Council the protest group had asked the Council to support their unworkable demands. However this support was not forthcoming and the Council decided, as a compromise proposed by Cllr George Jones, to attach GUBOH’s demands to a letter requesting Sispar to attend the next meeting of the Council. This action by the Council in no way inferred an opinion by the Council. Both Cllr Kelleher and Cllr Hayden opposed this motion as the Council had not received a copy of the demands in advance nor were the nine Councillors given an opportunity to read the document.

Cllr Kathleen Kelleher said on reading the misleading statement “this press release is factually incorrect and endorses the support of the Council which is not the case. GUBOH should clarify this immediately.”

Cllr Ciarán Hayden further commented “once again we are witnessing the typical Jesuitical language from this group. This comment is inaccurate and misleading but something I have come to expect from a group made up of people that lead a very bitter and divisive campaign in our community for a period of ten years or more.”

Both Councillors confirmed they will seek clarification from the Town Council when the minutes of the March meeting are proposed on the 24th April.

Joint Press Release
Cllr Ciaran Hayden
Cllr Kathleen Kelleher
02/03/2012

Whats also interesting is that-believe it or not- I work for the Jesuits!!

It looks awful John.