Cllr Joan Collins: fighting for the rights of ordinary people
Councillor Joan Collins Tel: 086 3888151 Clinic: First Wednesday of every month 3pm-4pm, Lr Crumlin Youth Centre, Clogher Road
Joan Collins has been your representative on Dublin City Council for the last five years. Despite changes to the local election boundaries Joan will continue as your representative and will stand for election in the Crumlin/Kimmage Ward in next year’s local election.
Joan was elected as an anti bin tax councillor, and while continuing to lead opposition to double taxation, including the likely attempt to bring in water charges after the local elections, there are many issues facing working people, not least of which was the outrageous budget introduced in September by this government.
For these reasons Joan will be standing next year as a People Before Profit Alliance candidate. People Before Profit does what it says on the tin, puts the interests of working people before the greed for profit of the banks, speculators, developers and big business in general.
You can contact Joan at 0863888151 if you have concerns on any issue
Community & Workers Action Group
Needs of community before developers’ profits
The CWAG grew out of the campaign against the Bin Tax. It involves local activists and residents, including Joan Collins, and Pat Dunne from Walkinstown. We are campaigning about job losses in the area; about mobile phone masts; and about Crumlin Children’s Hospital. We have branches in Crumlin and Drimnagh, but have suspended meetings for the duration of the general election in order to work in Joan Collins election campaign. As you can see from Joan’s press releases, we remain active on these issues. For more information, or to get involved, call Joan Collins.
Protest at Childrens’ Hospital Crumlin
13.00, Sat. April 28
The CWAG is campaigning to save hospital services in Crumlin.
Cllr Collins said: “The Children’s Hospital in Crumlin provides vital services for the people of Dublin South Central, and it must continue to do so. Even if a new national hospital to provide specialist care for sick children from around the country is needed, it makes no sense to locate it at the Mater Hospital in the City centre.
Whatever is done about a new hospital, Crumlin hospital should be kept open. Funds should be made available to modernise it so that it can continue to provide the excellent care for our children that it has done over the last fifty years.” Go to press releases
Mast madness
The manager of Wigoders in Walkinstown has assured the community that because of the concerns in relation to health, Wigoders will not give permission for the mast to be located at their premises. This is a victory, but the planning permission 02 were granted lasts five years. We need to keep our eye on the situation into the future.
A campaign has been set up in the area for a Better Environment- for Safer Technology. A number of us from the campaign did a survey of the area. There are masts on four locations at the Walkinstown roundabout and three on the Walkinstown Road. The radiation coming from these locations was very strong. A report carried out by the National Cancer Registry (1994-2001) found that the cancer rate in this area of Walkinstown is 30% over the national average.
There are two mast locations in the Walkinstown area, the roof on the Halfway House and the roof on top of Curves, that the campaign wants removed because of their proximity to housing and schools. Special thanks to the nearly 1,000 residents and parents of school children who signed the petition to have these masts removed. I will be actively supporting the campaign in their quest to get these masts removed.
Loss of employment in the Drimnagh area
At the end of September Unilever (Ire) Ltd., announced the closure of their Factory at Goldenbridge with the loss of 145 jobs. The relocation of the Dulux factory to new premises will bring the loss of employment in the immediate area to almost 190. Lyons Tea, a previous major employer for Drimnagh on this site, is now finally closed after being taken over by Unilever.
There will obviously be a knock on effect in the area and if the property developers continue their relentless quest for acquiring and developing every available site within walking distance of the LUAS: a lot more local employment will vanish.
Considering the population of Drimnagh is around 24,000, if we were a provincial town we would be considered an unemployment black spot.
We also understand the Blind Craft Factory located beside Unilevers’ premises is to be closed with the loss of 33 jobs. As many people in the area will know this facility has provided employment since 1957 to blind and partially blind members of our society.
The loss of this facility will be a huge blow to all employed at the site. The Health Services Executive who manage this facility have as yet made no arrangements to provide alternative employment for these disadvantaged members of our society. Is the value of this land sold to property developer’s worth more than the livelihood and self esteem of these employees?
