Agenda and minutes

The Lord Mayor, on behalf of Dublin City Council, extended her deepest sympathies to the people of Turkey & Syria on the recent tragic earthquake and also to the families from those countries who now reside in Ireland. She also extended condolences to the family and friends of the former Minister Niamh Breathnach who passed away recently. 

The Lord Mayor extended her warmest congratulations to Cllr. Catherine Stocker on the birth of her baby daughter.

The Lord Mayor reminded Councillors to return their Ethics Declaration to Natalie Leonard in the chief Executive’s Office no later than the 28th February.

The Lord Mayor informed Members that following a resolution passed by the City Council in March last year, she travelled to Brussels on 28th November 2022 and signed a Twinning Agreement between the cities of Dublin & Kyiv with the First Deputy Head of Kyiv City State. A reception was held on 31^st January 2023 in the Mansion House in recognition and celebration of this Agreement. The Ukrainian Ambassador and members of the Ukrainian community and Councillors attended.

Standing Orders were suspended to allow for a Cross-Party Motion on anti-immigration protests to be discussed. Members from all political groups commended the motion which supported residents in building strong, welcoming and inclusive communities. The motion as proposed by Cllr. Daithi Doolan reads:

“Dublin City Council acknowledges and supports the recent initiative taken by An tArd Mheara to invite City Councillors and community activists in to the Mansion House to discuss how we can support residents across Dublin in building strong, welcoming, inclusive communities.

We welcome the setting up of ‘For All’ groups in Dublin.

Furthermore, Dublin City Council are committed to working with communities in forming similar groups in the City, leading to the establishment of a City For All network right across Dublin. 

We call on Dublin City Council to urgently develop and resource a city-wide strategy to promote integration and tackle racism in our city.

We further call on the Government to immediately provide supports, including significant additional funding, to assist community, voluntary, youth and sports organisations in stepping up their work at a local level in actively promoting integration and social cohesion throughout Ireland, and particularly in communities challenged by social exclusion.

In conclusion, we call on the Government to engage with elected representatives and other stakeholders when planning the delivery of services for asylum seekers.”

Sinn Féin, Green Party, Labour Party, Fine Gael Party, Fianna Fáil Party, Social Democrats, People Before Profit Party, John Lyons, Independent Left

The motion was put and carried.

It was moved by Councillor Joe Costello and seconded by Councillor Anthony Connaghan that Dublin City Council approves the Dublin Chief Executive answering the questions lodged. The motion having been put and carried, written answers to the  questions lodged for the City Council meeting were issued. The Questions and Answers are set out in Appendix A to these minutes.

? Monaghan County Council

? Meath County Council

? Cork County Council

? Tipperary County Council 

? Cavan County Council

It was proposed by Councillor Seamas McGrattan and seconded by Councillor Dermot Lacey that Dublin City Council notes the contents of all correspondence listed. The motion was put and carried.

The minutes of the City Council meeting held on 9^th January 2023 having been
printed, certified by the Meetings Administrator, circulated to the Members and taken
as read, were signed by the Lord Mayor

It was proposed by Councillor Patricia Roe and seconded by Councillor Janet Horner that Karl Stanley be co-opted as a new member of Dublin City Council following the temporary absence of Councillor Catherine Stocker as per the Local Government (Maternity Protection and Other Measures of Local Authorities) Act 2022.

The motion was put and carried.

Councillor Stanley took his place in the Council Chamber and joined the meeting. Congratulations were extended to him by the Lord Mayor and by the Members of the City Council.

It was proposed by Councillor Patricia Roe and seconded by Councillor Donna Cooney that Councillor Karl Stanley be appointed to the Climate Action, Environment and Energy Strategic Policy Committee. The motion was put and carried.

It was proposed by Councillor Patricia Roe and seconded by Councillor Donna Cooney that Councillor Karl Stanley be appointed to the Housing Strategic Policy Committee. The motion was put and carried.

It was proposed by Councillor Patricia Roe and seconded by Councillor Donna Cooney that Councillor Karl Stanley be appointed to the City of Dublin Education and Training Board. The motion was put and carried.

It was agreed to defer the filling of this vacancy.

It was proposed by Councillor Michael Pidgeon and seconded by Councillor James Geoghegan that Councillor Janet Horner be appointed to the Protocol Committee. The motion was put and carried.

It was proposed by Councillor Joe Costello and seconded by Councillor Alison Gilliland that Councillor Dermot Lacey be appointed to the Planning and Urban Form Strategic Policy Committee. The motion was put and carried.

It was proposed by Councillor Dermot Lacey and seconded by Councillor Mary Freehill that Councillor Alison Gilliland be appointed to the Housing Strategic Policy Committee. The motion was put and carried.

It was proposed by Councillor Dermot Lacey and seconded by Councillor Mary Freehill that Councillor Alison Gilliland be appointed as the Chairperson of the Housing Strategic Policy Committee. The motion was put and carried.

It was proposed by Cllr. Donna Cooney and seconded by Cllr Dermot Lacey that pursuant to Standing Order  39.1. the members meet in the absence of the media and the general public for part of the Council meeting for the purposes of receiving legal advice in private from Stephen Dodd SC on the judicial review of the Development Plan concerning site at St Paul’s Raheny Dublin 5. 

The motion was put and carried

The meeting administrator then requested that the webcast and Zoom recording be paused and that all members of the public and media leave the Chamber for the duration of the discussion.

Cllr. Danny Byrne recused himself for the duration of the discussion due to a potential conflict of interest.

Stephen Dodd, Senior Counsel briefed the Members on the basis of the legal challenge brought against the City Council in relation to the Development Plan zoning of lands located to the east of St. Paul’s College, Raheny, Dubbin 5. Senior Counsel provided clarification to the Members on the issues they raised during the discussion.

On the conclusion of the briefing the meetings administrator requested that the Webcast and Zoom recording be restarted and invited members of the public and media to re-join the meeting.

The following motion was then proposed by Cllr. Donna Cooney and seconded by Cllr. Deirdre Heney that:

“Pursuant to Section 153 (2) of the Local Government Act 2001 the elected members give express authorisation to the Chief Executive to act in  the defence of the legal proceedings initiated by way of Judicial Review of the Development Plan 2022 – 2028 concerning the zoning of lands located to the east of St Paul’s College, Raheny, Dublin 5.”  The motion was put and carried.

It was proposed by Councillor Dermot Lacey and seconded by Councillor Deirdre Heney that Dublin City Council notes the contents of Report No. 17/2023 and hereby approves the proposals set out therein. The motion was put and carried.

It was proposed by Councillor Cat O’Driscoll and seconded by Councillor Michael MacDonncha that Dublin City Council notes the contents of Report No. 39/2023 and hereby approves the proposals set out therein. The motion was put and carried.

The following amendments were proposed by Councillor Michael Pidgeon and seconded by Councillor Claire Byrne:

SDP11 Public Lighting

·         Under "Principal Service Objectives", add a new bullet point:

"Continue the switch to more energy efficient lighting across the city's public lighting system."

·         Under "Performance Standard", add two new bullet points:

"Street lights retrofitted to be energy efficient"

"Percentage of public street lights now using energy efficient systems"

SDP18 Air and Noise Pollution

·         Under "Performance Standard", add a new bullet point:

"Percentage of all air quality monitors which achieve at least a 90% data capture rate"

The motion was put and carried.

It was proposed by Councillor Cat O’Driscoll and seconded by Councillor Joe Costello that Dublin City Council in accordance with Section 134A of the Local Government Act 2001, as amended, notes the contents of Report No. 36/2023 and hereby adopts the Annual Service Delivery Plan 2023 as amended. The motion was put and carried.

It was proposed by Councillor Alison Gilliland and seconded by Councillor Daithí Doolan that Dublin City Council notes the contents of Report No. 34/2023 and hereby approves the initiation of a public consultation process on the Draft Dublin Fire Brigade Fire and Emergency Operations Plan. The motion was put and carried.

It was proposed by Councillor Alison Gilliland and seconded by Councillor James Geoghegan that Dublin City Council notes the contents of Report No. 35/2023. The motion was put and carried.

Due to time constraints the Assistant Chief Executive agreed to issue written replies to all questions submitted by the Members.  

It was proposed by Councillor Séamas McGrattan and seconded by Councillor Declan Meenagh that Dublin City Council notes the contents of Report No. 38/2023. The motion was put and carried.

It was proposed by Councillor Naoise Ó Muirí and seconded by Councillor Alison Gilliland that Dublin City Council notes the contents of Report No. 30/2023. The motion was put and carried.

It was proposed by Councillor Dermot Lacey and seconded by Councillor Patricia Roe that Dublin City Council notes the contents of Report No. 40/2023. The motion was put and carried.

It was proposed by Councillor Anthony Connaghan and seconded by Councillor Naoise Ó Muirí that Dublin City Council notes the contents of Report No. 32/2023. The motion was put and carried.

It was proposed by Councillor Alison Gilliland and seconded by Councillor Anthony Connaghan that Dublin City Council notes the contents of Report No. 33/2023. The motion was put and carried.

It was proposed by Councillor Cat O’Driscoll and seconded by Councillor Anthony Connaghan that Dublin City Council notes the contents of Report No. 31/2023. The motion was put and carried.

It was proposed by Councillor Anthony Connaghan and seconded by Councillor Séamas McGrattan that Dublin City Council notes the contents of Report No. 41/2023. The motion was put and carried.

It was proposed by Councillor Cat O’Driscoll and seconded by Councillor Anthony Connaghan that Dublin City Council notes the contents of Report No. 42/2023. The motion was put and carried.

It was proposed by Councillor Deirdre Heney and seconded by Councillor Eimer McCormack that Dublin City Council adopts the contents of Report No. 37/2023. The motion was put and carried.

The following Topical Issue was submitted for discussion:

“A Directly Elected Mayor for Dublin”.

The motion was put to a vote and failed to receive the necessary 2/3 support from the Members present. Full details of the vote can found in Appendix B to these minutes.

1.) Motion in the name of Councillor Máire Devine and seconded by Councillor Sophie Nicoullaud:

“This Council notes that;

·         Successive governments have failed to resolve the housing crisis and it has deepened;

·         Rents and house prices have passed their Celtic Tiger peak and are still rising;

·         Homelessness is at levels never seen before with child homelessness up by 51%    since April 2021;

·         An entire generation of people are locked out of secure and affordable homes;

·         Waiting lists for social housing are too long and eligibility thresholds remain low;

·         The student accommodation crisis is forcing some students out of third level education;

·         Travellers, migrants, people with disabilities and older people continue to experience discrimination in the housing system;

·         Those seeking International Protection continue to live in inadequate accommodation and thousands of people granted asylum are unable to find a pathway out of Direct Provision;

Agrees to:

·         Declare a housing emergency to allow the adoption of emergency responses and extend the ban on evictions.

·         Write to “Raise the Roof” campaigners to thank them for their determined work in coalescing civic society to give voice to the housing disaster;

·         We call on the Lord Mayor to write to the Minister for Housing urging him to declare a 'Housing Emergency' and invite him to address a full City Council meeting;

The motion was put and carried.

Councillors Deirdre Heney and Eimer McCormack wished it noted that they opposed the motion.

No Emergency Motions were taken for debate.