Agenda item

Motion No. 1 proposed by Cllr. Vincent Jackson and seconded by Cllr Christy Burke

“that Dublin City Council Management see the employment & enhancement of Community Development Staff working on the ground across the City of Dublin as essential tool in developing the full capacity of our communities, that staff numbers be increased to ensure we have sufficient staff to work with & motivate various voluntary groups on the ground. I look upon areas and see when we have good staff the multiplier effect this has on the ground, these effort must be fostered going forward and sufficient resources made available for the community development staff.”

The motion put and carried.

It was unanimously agreed totake the following motion proposed by Cllr Hazel de Nortúin and seconded by Cllr Catherine Stocker without debate

“This motion is to seek the introduction of a Domestic Violence Liaison Office within Dublin City Councils Housing Department. Women and children experiencing Domestic Violence are left with no options other than being forced into Homelessness to seek safety or in most cases, women won’t see their children homeless so enduring the suffering at home is the option they choose in order to prevent the family being homeless.

We need more support from DCC to remove the alleged perpetrator from DCC tenancies and allow the victims to reside in their own home. This Council supports the review of current legislation to strengthen the powers of social landlords (LA or AHB) to remove tenancy rights from persons with a barring order to allow the safe enjoyment of the home by the victim of Domestic Violence. Therefore, the core function and purpose of the DV liaison officer would be to:

·         Act as a direct link between all DV services in Dublin and DCC for any housing needs DV clients have in a case management model.

·         Have a knowledge of and be able to access and escalate emergency cases at the different areas of housing such as allocations, HAP, homeless etc. 

·         Act of an advocate for DV victims/survivors within DCC while having an awareness of places available in Family hubs/Crisis accommodation for DV clients in order to support a swifter accommodation response.

·         Understand the extensive Dynamics of Domestic Violence/Family Violence. Have an unbiased non-judgmental approach when working with clients who have experienced DV and to understand the complexities of DV and risk to children exposed to the same. 

·         To write to the Housing Minister requesting that the Housing Legislation be amended to strengthen the removal of tenants convicted of Domestic Violence offenses.

·         To offer support and advice with key stakeholders such as Gardai Justice Tusla and DSP to support victims of domestic violence access immediate safe accommodation.

This Council supports the review of current legislation to strengthen the powers of social landlords (LA or AHB) to remove tenancy rights from persons with a barring order to allow the safe enjoyment of the home by the victim of Domestic Violence.

The motion was put and carried.”

The motion was put and carried.

Motion No. 2 proposed by Cllr. Nial Ring and seconded by Cllr. Cat O’Driscoll that

“this council notes that 27 councils have passed motions calling for the reinternment of the Invincibles, as has the Central Area Committee of Dublin City Council. 

The councils supporting the Invincibles Reinternment Campaign to date are: 

Galway County Council, Westmeath County Council, Wexford County Council, Cork City Council, Tipperary County Council, Louth County Council, Sligo County Council, Cavan County Council, Carlow County Council, Clare County Council, Mid Ulster District Council, Laois County Council, Limerick City & County Council, Fingal County Council, Cork County Council, Mayo County Council, Monaghan County Council, South Dublin County Council, Derry City & Strabane District Council, Waterford County Council, Fermanagh & Omagh District Council, Dún Laoighaire – Rathdown County Council, Kildare County Council, Donegal County Council, Kerry County Council, Kilkenny County Council and Meath County Council. 

The Members agree that Dublin City Council should be included on the list of councils that have passed motions calling for the Reinternment of the Invincibles. In adding the name of Dublin City Council to the list of supporting councils, the Members of Dublin City Council formally call on the Office of Public Works to carry out the necessary exhumation works to recover the remains of Joe Brady, Daniel Curley, Michael Fagan, Thomas Caffrey and Tim Kelly, in what is commonly known as the Invincibles Yard at Kilmainham Gaol.

The bodies of these five members of the Irish National Invincibles lie beneath the paving slabs of the yard where they were executed in 1883 for their part in the Phoenix Park assassinations.

The families of the five men are represented by the National Graves Association and the wish of the families is for their relatives' remains to be exhumed from Kilmainham Gaol and reinterred in consecrated ground at Glasnevin cemetery.”

The motion was put and carried.

Motion No. 3 proposed by Cllr. Carolyn Moore and seconded by Lord Mayor Caroline Conroy “that in recognising the challenges inherent in steering the city towards a sustainable, climate-proofed and green recovery from the economic impacts of Covid 19, this council agrees to follow the direction of Amsterdam, Portland, Philadelphia, Copenhagen and Brussels and formally implement the policies of Doughnut Economics in the preparation and finalisation of the City’s Local Economic and Community Plan.

In agreeing this objective, this council recognises that the principle of Doughnut Economics - implementing policies aimed at protecting the environment and natural resources, reducing social exclusion, and guaranteeing good living standards for all - offers a framework by which we can effectively realise the strategic vision of the Draft Dublin City Development Plan 2022 to 2028 in line with Dublin City Council’s Corporate commitment to the UN Sustainable Development Goals, and as such Dublin City Council will engage with the Advisory Group of the Dublin City Local Economic Community Plan (forthcoming) to identify the key stakeholders and partners for the development and adoption of the Doughnut Economics principles and working to commission a ‘city portrait’ for Dublin.”

The motion was put to a vote and was carried. Full details of the vote can be found
in Appendix B to these minutes.

Motion No. 4 proposed by Cllr. Catherine Stocker and seconded by Cllr Naoise Ó Múiri “that this council agrees that the manager should seek with urgency to install public toilet facilities in our public parks and areas with high footfall outside the city centre. That we agree this should be determined at local area committee level with a number of such facilities being allocated to each LEA. It is not acceptable that people who need to use toilets - in particular women who may be menstruating, pregnant or have weaker bladder control due to birth, older people or people with health issues who may have bladder or bowel weakness and children learning to use the toilet are left without basic facilities in our city in 2022. 

A number of the Councillors on the North Central Area committee have now submitted motions at a local level requesting toilet provision to no avail. The model which was proposed to us was one of combining toilets and commercial outlets and has failed to materialise. We note that other local authorities are more than capable of providing and maintaining toilet facilities - in particular we note the installation of new toilet facilities in many areas of Fingal county council (Photo attached of toilets at the Ardgillan Castle playground but there are similar in many other locations - recently installed) and ask that if necessary the manager liaise with adjacent councils with a view to learning from their progress.” 

The motion was put and was carried.

Motion No. 5 proposed by Cllr. Tara Deacy and seconded by Lord Mayor Caroline Conroy “that Dublin City Council agrees to the trialling of new Zebra Crossings in a number of local areas. There has been a reluctance to install this traffic calming measure in recent times and seems to be a policy of DCC not to use them anymore, can this be addressed.”

The motion was put and was carried.