Housing

Almost 600 new social and affordable homes demonstrate influence of Greens in Government – Cllr Claire Byrne 

Cllr Claire Byrne today (July 6) said that the impact of the Green Party in Government was again demonstrated after the Cabinet’s decision to approve the construction of almost 300 new cost-rental homes in Shanganagh Castle, Shankill, Co.Dublin. This is as part of a wider commitment to develop 597 new social and affordable homes.

Speaking as part of her closing comments on the Dublin Bay South (DBS) byelection at Dublin Castle, Cllr. Claire Byrne said;

“The Green Party was the first party in Ireland to champion the cost rental model and now that we are in Government we are seeing it become a reality. I am passionate about making Dublin a city for living again, a city that people can afford to live in again. Electing me to the Dáil on Thursday will help ensure the delivery of similar crucial projects – such as the Irish Glass Bottle site – which will offer secure and affordable homes in Dublin Bay South and help bring an end to our housing crisis.

“I’m asking people on Thursday to make their vote count. We are now dealing with a climate crisis, a housing crisis and public health crisis. You can send all the signals you want to government by voting for opposition candidates, but signals don’t build houses, signals don’t take climate action, and signals won’t steer us out of the Covid crisis. These are things the Greens in government are doing and the best signal voters can send this week is that they want a progressive female voice in government; someone who can actually deliver, and deliver quickly.”

Green Party Leader and Minister for Transport and for the Environment, Climate and Communications, Eamon Ryan TD, said the party had also achieved another goal today after the cabinet agreed to adopt the use of wellbeing indicators to measure the progress of society and the country;

“Instead of simply relying on income as we did in the past, we will use wellbeing indicators such as health, housing and the environment to assess how we are doing as a country.”

“I’m asking the voters in DBS to vote for Claire Byrne this Thursday to give us additional strength in Government to ensure further progressive policies are implemented over the next four years.”

Green Party Deputy Leader and Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, Catherine Martin TD, added;

“Claire has a long track record of delivering in her community. She is the only candidate in this election with the breadth of experience to actually hit the ground running. We need a female representative for Dublin Bay South again and Claire is the progressive Green voice that we need to strengthen priorities on climate, housing and culture in this Government.”

Equality

The Gender Pay Gap Information Bill has today, July 5th, passed through all stages in the Seanad and is now due for a final vote in Dáil Éireann on Wednesday July 7th.

The Bill will require organisations to report on pay differences between female and male employees, including bonuses. The requirement will initially apply to organisations with 250 or more employees but will extend over time to organisations with 50 or more employees. Green Party Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, Roderic O’Gorman T.D. has spearheaded the progression of the Bill that was originally published in 2019 but lapsed with the dissolution of the last Dáil.

Welcoming the passage of the Bill in the Seanad, Minister Roderic O’Gorman said;

“The Gender Pay Gap Information Bill will require employers to publish details of their gender pay gap, providing accountability and transparency for employees. Once enacted, this legislation will bring us a step closer to achieving a more equal society for everyone.

“In Government, the Green Party is taking real, substantial action to progress gender equality in Ireland, and so I am delighted to see the Gender Pay Gap Information Bill progress through the Seanad today.”

Commenting on the legislation, Cllr. Claire Byrne said;

“This is a real opportunity to challenge what has been decades of inequality across the Irish workforce. The most recent available figures show that the gender pay gap in Ireland is over 14%. We need to gain an accurate understanding of the gender pay gap to help address the root causes of the pay disparity between men and women. 

“While we still have a long way to go, this Bill reflects a positive step forward in gender parity. If I am elected in this week’s Dublin Bay South byelection I will be working with my colleague Minister O’Gorman to drive further reforms to ensure an equal Ireland for every woman.”

DBS Campaign

Green Party Cllr Claire Byrne at the official launch of her Dublin Bay South byelection campaign

Councillor Claire Byrne officially launched her campaign as the Green Party candidate in the Dublin Bay South byelection today (June 20th).

Claire has served as a Dublin City Councillor since 2014, and has more than 16 years’ experience in politics, including working with Green Party leader Eamon Ryan TD in his constituency office in Dublin Bay South.

Launching her campaign, Cllr Claire Byrne said;

“As a local Councillor for the last seven years, I understand the issues that are important to the people of Dublin Bay South. I believe that Dublin should be a great city to grow up in, and to grow old in. Not just a place to visit, but a city where you can afford to stay and never want to leave. If we put climate, housing and culture at the heart of our decisions, we can make Dublin a city for living.

“The Green Party in Government brings a progressive voice to the very core of our country’s decision-making process. Our influence in government in the past year has been palpable. Everyone can see the progress that has been made on climate action, active transport, cost rental housing, direct provision and universal basic income. Unlike some of the other candidates running in this election, I have a real track record of working on these issues for many years. I also have genuine on-the-ground experience in the community in Dublin. Voting for me will guarantee an experienced, committed, female Green voice in Government who can actually deliver for the area and the country.”

Green Party Leader Eamon Ryan said;

“We have a real opportunity to reinvent and rebuild Dublin after Covid as a greener more liveable city that prioritises housing, high quality transport, access to public spaces and a vibrant and diverse cultural life. Just this week, the Green party showed how it is delivering on this agenda with the passage of the Climate Bill through the Dáil. The election of Claire Byrne will strengthen our capacity to deliver real progressive change in Government.”

Deputy Green Party Leader Catherine Martin TD said;

“In the year 2021, it’s hard to believe that less than a quarter of our current TDs are women, and Dublin Bay South currently has no female TDs at all. However, this reflects the reality of the barriers that women face in politics. Claire has been balancing a full-time career along with her busy role as councillor and being the mother of two young boys. She understands both the challenges and the critical importance of female representation and influence in Government. The Green Party is committed to fighting for gender parity in politics and an equal Ireland for every woman. Cllr Claire Byrne is the representative who can deliver for Dublin Bay South.”

Green Party Director of Elections for Dublin Bay South, Roderic O’Gorman TD said;

“Claire brings an experienced green voice to Dublin Bay South. She is the only candidate in this election with a real track record in delivering on climate action, sustainable transport and innovative responses to the housing crisis such as cost rental. We can all see that other candidates in this election are greenwashing their campaigns but only the Green Party can be relied on to prioritise climate action, support for the arts and equality for marginalised communities. We are delivering in Government, but we can deliver more with Claire representing Dublin in Dáil Éireann.”

Climate

Climate change is one of the single biggest threats we face in the coming years. Therefore, as a member of the Environment Strategic Policy Committee, one of the first things I did when I was elected in 2014 was to ensure that we developed a new climate change plan for Dublin City. The last plan had not been reviewed or updated since 2009. We established a sub-committee, which I co-chair with my colleague Cllr Ciaran Cuffe and in 2016 we published the first ever climate change strategy for all four Dublin LocalAuthorities.

A new draft Climate Action Plan for Dublin City has just been completed. Public engagement is essential for the success of this plan, so  a public event about the plan took place in February 2019, the Mansion House. This was  an opportunity for everyone, from the young to the old, to drop in to see the plan and can share their views. Myself and my colleague Eamon Ryan TD and Cllr Ciaran Cuffe hosted a public meeting in The Hilton, Charlemont, with guest speaker Dr Cara Augestenbourg, which was very well attended.

To view the plan go to www.dublinclimatechange.ie

Mar 30, 2019

Cost Rental: a solution to the rental crisis?

Mar 1, 2018

Eamon Ryan, Claire Byrne and Patrick Costello will be hosting a public meeting on Cost Rental as a solution for our housing needs, in Slattery’s Pub Rathmines on Monday March 5th at 7:30pm.

Watch our cost rental explainer video here: https://www.facebook.com/GreenPartyIreland/videos/10157399946888066/

This week our Green Party team in Leinster House are launching a detailed motion calling for the introduction of a Cost Renal model to help bring about affordable, accessible public housing and tackle the housing crisis in Ireland, increase supply and stop runaway rent inflation.
Cost Rental is an innovative way of providing long term housing to those who need it  – calculating the cost of rent from a public housing tenant on the basis of the cost of providing the property over the lifetime of the tenancy. Costs are distributed amongst a range of tenants on differing incomes, so those unable to afford a cost rental home can receive additional state support to do so.

This system works well in Austria and other European countries, and it’s a model supported by Threshold, Respond!, Simon Communities, Peter McVerry, the Irish Council for Social Housing and NERI.