Action needed on planning to stop population decline

The planning regulations that are stopping young couples building in rural areas, combined with the failure to provide proper road infrastructure and job opportunities is causing the decline in population in North Mayo.

I am responding to census data published by the C.S.O. that showed a declining population in large areas of North Mayo and other rural areas in the county.

We have had a situation in this county, whereby the Planning Office, in Mayo County Council, has acted like God in the way it has shaped the living patterns in this county. Today’s CSO figures have shown us the shape of what it has achieved-a drop in population in large sections of rural Mayo-, especially in North Mayo.

The Planning Office has adopted a policy of stopping young couples building in rural areas, forcing them into larger towns where developers can charge what they like for a home. This ridiculous policy, combined with a total lack of any initiatives to provide real employment outside of our major towns and an appalling rural road network, has lead to this serious decline in our rural population.

A new government must overhaul this ridiculous policy of closing up rural Ireland, by actively encouraging, rather than hindering, the settlement of young families in our rural villages. This will take serious investment in roads, broadband and incentives to attract local businesses to expand so that viable employment opportunities become available to rural families.

“I will be calling for a review of current planning regulations if elected and I will insist that state monies be made available to assist in the regeneration of all areas affected by poor planning policies by our local authority, poor road investment and a total failure of our government representatives to fight for investment in areas like North Mayo

ends: Harry Barrett 087 9713268….see CSO figures in Irish Times

Barrett dedicates campaign to family issues

I have officially booked my spot on the ballot paper for the Mayo constituency by handing in my nomination papers at 12 o'clock today at the Courthouse in Castlebar. I was accompanied by Labour Cllr. Johnny Mee, my director of elections, William Walshe and many party supporters.

I intend to focus on the issues that affect hard working families in the county, especilly in relation to health. He singled out the promise to provide Health insurance to all under 16's and free GP. Cards to all under 5's as a very progressive one.

I am angered at Fianna Fáils recent conversion to childcare issues and the plight of young couples trying to afford a home after ten years of total inaction. I am going to campaign vigorously, as a government T.D., for the Mayo's fair share of exchequer funding for the appalling state of the road network after ten years of east coast boom.

I welcome Pat Rabbittes 5 Commitments for Change and I have particular praise for Labours promise to help families where one parent stays at home to care for children or dependents by increasing the home carers credit from 770 euro to1760 euro the same level as the PAYE tax credit Barrett stated that Labour woud also increase by 5,000 euro the level at which one income families hit the higher tax rate.

ends Harry Barrett 087 9713268

ENJOY THE BANK HOLIDAY WEEKEND! IT’S ON US - BARRETT

Enjoy your Bank Holiday Weekend with Labour. I am distributing fliers houses in Castlebar, Westport and Ballina, reminding them that it was the Labour Party, who in 1993, declared the first Monday in May as a public holiday.

May Day is a commemoration of the historic role played by workers in shaping the more democratic and inclusive societies we live in now compared to those of a hundred years ago.

Yet despite this, Ireland still has one of the lowest number of public holidays in the EU

Labour knows that we all benefit when we have time to be with our families and loved ones, time to contribute to our communities, time to enjoy the fruits of our hard work.

That is why Labour, if elected to government, wants to introduce two additional annual public holidays to bring us into line with the rest of Europe. Happy May Day and looking forward to more!

ENDS Harry Barrett 087 9713268

Erris still without Recycling: Barrett

I have recently written to Mayo Co. Council to force the private bin collector to provide recycling facilities in the Erris area. Barrett is angered that, 3 months after the privatisation of the bin service, the private operator has failed to provide a bin for recycling.

I am contacted on a weekly basis about this issue. Erris, the size of Co. Louth, has no recycling facility, 3 months on after privatisation. All rubbish in Erris currently goes into landfill despite the calls by the people for recycling facilities. This is a disgrace and goes to show how little is thought of the needs of the people of the Erris area.

“I am informed that this company has a waste licence that is up for renewal shortly. I am also informed that they are still using the Council bins. How has this been allowed to continue? I have written to the Environmental section of Mayo Co. Council to investigate the matter.

I want the company to roll out its recycling bins immediately. I also want a proper recycling facility placed in the Belmullet to cater for the needs of residents. At the moment the only facility is a grubby, filthy, bottle bank located in a totally inaccessible area in Belmullet town. The attitude seems to be, “ah sure it’s good enough, it’ll do.” Under EU environmental law, it’s not good enough and I will pursue this issue until these laws are upheld

Ends: Harry Barrett 087 9713268

Barrett sets out Labour Commitments

Hi folks...this is an excerpt from our commitments for change. Please read. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

For this election, Labour Party Candidate, Harry Barrett has made it clear what Labour's top five priorities will be. These are five Commitments for Change which he and the Labour Party are promising to deliver in government. Barrett maintains that these five key areas will address some of the pressing concerns facing thousands of people, both young and old throughout the county.

Barrett explains, "After ten years of FF/PD government, we have a crisis in health, housing, childcare, public order and they way in which we treat our carers. These five commitments are not the only things that Pat Rabbitte and the Labour Party will achieve in government, but are five Commitments that Pat Rabbitte promises to deliver in office. The actual commitments are: 1.More beds in clean hospitals. 2.Pre-school education for all our children. 3.More community Gardaí on the beat in Mayo towns and villages. 4. Abolish the means test for carers in Mayo . 5.Enable more people to begin to buy a home. These are key concern to many, young and old all over the county. In particular, our joint policy on health, with Fine Gael, contains solid proposals to address the bed shortage in our acute hospitals and the pressures facing young couples to pay for access to a proper health system.

Speaking about his Commitments for Change, Cllr. Johnnie Mee said, "The Labour Party is going to bring about change in this election. People have rightly been asking me what difference change will make- these 5 commitments for change will make that clear. I want to impress upon voters, that if the Labour Party is elected to government, we will introduce these set of changes that will have a positive impact on their quality of life. A vote for our Labour candidate, Harry Barrett will assist in bringing this about.

"This election is going to be about the quality of life of hard working families in communities all over Mayo. The Labour party is committed to a strong economy which continues to generate prosperity for the people. It is time now to deliver on a better quality of life that this prosperity provides us with- and to do that we need to make a change."

ends: Harry Barrett 087 9713268

Election Launch Night!

Friday night saw the Labour Party in Mayo launch the 2007 Election campaign, in the Imperial Hotel, Castlebar with an appeal to the electorate to vote for change and to vote for the strongest hand for the county, a new Labour/Fine Gael coalition. This option will,"give Mayo Government ministers and government T.D.'s as opposed to the invisible deputies that we have at present."





The following is an excerpt from the press release which has just gone out for the to support the launch

"Harry Barrett, Labour's general election candidate, launched his campaign on Friday night, in the Imperial Hotel, Castlebar with an appeal to the electorate to vote for change and to vote for, what he termed," the strongest hand for the county in a new Labour/Fine Gael coalition. Barrett maintained that this option will,"give Mayo Government ministers and government T.D.'s as opposed to the invisible deputies that we have at present."

Barrett spoke to a packed audience that included party and family members and was applauded when he made a number of stinging attacks on the present governments record in relation to infrastructure, education and the "squandering of our natural resources in terms of the Corrib gas find.". He also set out his own vision for the development of the county and the way in which a new government could address the ongoing road, rail and network upgrades, so badly needed in the Mayo.

Cllr. Johnnie Mee, spoke of the candidates passion and his hardworking nature and he committed himself to helping him in every aspect of the campaign. Cllr. Mee staed that, "Mayo has not had strong representation in Dáil Éireann since 1997. The time has come for a change, for a new voice and for a man that will work hard to deliver the healthcare system, the infrastructure and the quality of life issues that people have been denied in this county in an era of great prosperity."

Cllr. Keith Martin added to those words of support and commended the candidate on his stance on unfinished estates both in Castlebar and Wesport and on his work for areas affected by poor quality wter supplies. Martin maintained that the candidate was the, "dark horse in this election and that when people realise that a Labour T.D. would mean a government T.D., many more voters would opt to vote for the candidate to get another government T.D. working for the county.

Barrett also had a word to say about one outgoing T.D., that he said was in the "Trolly wing of FF, about to be wheeled into the ward wing of the party after a long wait as soon as the election was over. " He said that the candidate must be, " held accountable for the neglect of the county as her voting record has never shown protest against the government on issues such as Breastcheck, BMW underspends or the crisis in our A/E departments. Barrett stated that she had, "sat on her hands for five years on these crucial county issues"

Another Health Fiasco..

While canvassing, the other night, I was asked at one door in Castlebar to find out about the services for sufferers of eating disorders in the county. I was shocked at the results. No specialised beds. No specialised treatment. No public or private beds and worst of all, there is no presence of the support group Bodywhys in the county. The only real option for a child or adult with this serious complaint is to travel to Dublin and buy a private bed in either St. Patrick’s Hospital or St. John of Gods, both in Dublin.

The health and recovery of a person in Mayo, with an eating disorder is solely a matter of whether they can afford to pay the astronomical cost of a private bed in a Dublin hospital.

To make matters worse, I read that there are only 3 public beds in the country for adults with eating disorders. I find it astounding that the Health Service Executive has not contracted beds in our regional hospitals to deal with this growing issue. This is a prime example of the way the public patients is treated as a second class citizen. If you have the money to pay you get treated: if not, you suffer on a waiting list which currently stands at an 18 month wait time.

“This is unacceptable and wrong. Eating disorders are on the increase, they can cause long term damage if not treated quickly and they can be fatal. Sufferers need very specialised help to overcome the disorder and as of March, 2007, in Co. Mayo, there is no help from our Health service for the public patient. Indeed, the private patient must travel to Dublin to access the luxury of immediate care in a private bed.

Martin Rogan, assistant national director with the HSE admitted the current level of service provision “struggles” to provide an adequate response. He also accepted there was a lack of inpatient beds for children and adolescents with mental health problems, but said there were plans for 80 more beds at four centres around the state.

Mental health was the Cinderella of the Irish Health Service and that it would take a new government to take on the challenge of investing in bed capacity to deal with such serious conditions so that sufferers could be gaurenteed a bed regardless of their financial status.

Closing Time....

In a controversial statement this week I called for a local review of pub closing times in Mayo. I made the call after a Garda report revealed that public order offences in Tralee Co. Kerry, have decreased “significantly” since a reduction in late night pub and club opening hours by a mere half an hour.

“In every town an village in this county, families have to endure the late night rowdiness of those that have drank to excess in bars and clubs every weekend. The impact of lengthening the amount of time that people can drink on in pubs can be seen in our A/E unit in Mayo General, in our Courtrooms, and indeed in our homes. Gardaí will tell you informally that the decision to allow late night drinking has had a dramatic effect of public order offences in Mayo and this is backed up by this recent report issued by the Garda Síochána in relation to Tralee, in Co. Kerry.

“Last October, a judge at Tralee District Court agreed to a Garda application to curtail serving times of late night pubs and clubs to 2 a.m. throughout Kerry. Gardaí had objected to applications at the annual licensing court for special exemptions to 2.30 a.m. in the belief that an earlier closing time would curtail violence and disturbance and assaults on gardaí on the streets.
“According to Garda figures, the first four months of the earlier closing time had seen a reduction in public order offences, which include disorderly conduct, intoxication in a public place, and abusive and insulting behaviour. From October to January, arrests for these types of offences were down by one third compared to the same period the previous year.

“As a public representative, I cannot ignore these figures, especially in the context of the number of calls that I receive from families in both rural and urban areas that have to bear the brunt of the shouting, car revving and vandalism being carried out late at night, right across the county.

“I am calling on the Garda authorities in Mayo to follow the same route as applied in the Kerry case. We have to deal with the reality of late night binge drinking and to the damage it is causing to the social fabric of our community. If we are serious about dealing with the abuse of alcohol and the human consequences of such abuse, we cannot, as a community, ignore the facts,” concluded Harry Barrett.
Ends: Harry Barrett…..087 9713268 see Irish Times, 14/3/07

Mayo left out again.......

I have pointed out, yet again, the neglect of Mayo, in this years round of funds for festivals around Ireland. I was infuriated after reading the list of festivals granted funding for this year. It has also emerged that almost 20% of the monies allocated in festival grant aid announced yesterday, by Minister for Arts John O’ Donoghue has been allocated to events in his own constituency of Kerry.

WHERE ARE THE SUMMER FESTIVAL MONIES GOING..........KERRY!

This is another good example of the neglect of Mayo when it comes to exchequer funding. We have fine summer festivals right around Co. Mayo, from the Ballina Heritage Week to the Belmullet Sea Angling Festival. Not one of our summer festivals has been grant aided for this year.

Yet, we learn that the Minister has allocated 20% of the total monies totalling 1.43 million euro to his own constituency for a raft of festivals in Kerry. Indeed, I do not blame the Minister for looking after his own people in this regard. This type of funding distribution is exactly what happens when you have a strong voice in government. We in Mayo have not had this in over ten years, and will not have it until we vote for our own in power. “Fortunately, the people of Mayo will have a chance to rectify the situation in 12 weeks. A new government with Pat Rabbitte as Tanaiste, will provide a strong political voice for Mayo and will guarantee the county its fair share of funding in all department areas.

POST OFFICE CLOSURES AN ATTACK ON THE LOCAL COMMUNITY

Up to 500 post offices could be closed by An Post after a review of the network to be completed this year. This in my view is an appalling attack on an important part of our community.

The postal network has already been decimated under the lifetime of the government. In 2000 there were around 1800 postal units in the network, yet this figure has now dropped to just 1300. Without doubt, these closures will affect many rural communities throughout Mayo

If 500 more post offices are to close down we could be left with less than 800 post offices throughout the whole country and whole communities may be forced to travel for miles to access essential postal services throuhout this county.

Postmasters and postmistresses in Mayo are right to protest at the utter lethargy shown by the government towards the postal sector. They have legitimate and deep frustration at low wages, poor working conditions, the increased attacks on post offices and the non-automation of nearly 400 post offices.

Too many communities around the county have already been devastated by the closure of their local post office, which plays a vital economic and social role in both rural and urban areas, especially for older people.

Pat Rabbitte and the Labour Party will continue to pressure the Government to do their duty for the Irish postal network and establish a proper postal strategy to secure the long-term survival of a nation-wide and viable post office network.

Barrett calls for Minister for the Regions

It is high time we see the appointment of a Minister for the Regions in a new administration, to oversee the spending of both exchequer and European monies in areas of disadvantage. I made this call at a special meeting with both Ruairi Quinn ,T.D. and Mr. Michael D Higgins, T.D., at the recent Labour Party Conference in Dublin last Saturday.

The divide between east and west is greater now that at any time in the history of the state. Monies that should have been spent in Mayo and other western counties has gone to build huge road and rail projects along the east coast. The reality is that nobody is responsible for this pickpocketting of the people of the west.

I want a minister of cabinet rank to take charge of regional development in a new administration, so that this sort of bogus planning for the west, seen under the National Development Plan, (NDP) is held up to account. A Minister in this regard would oversee the planning and delivery of the key road, rail, power and broadband networks needed to allow us to attract high end industry into the county and other .

When we read that Allergan in Westport cannot expand due to power ESB difficulties and when we see the state of the rail network we have to endure, it is time to put one person in charge of the provision of these vital network upgrades. I have had detailed meetings with both Labour deputies mentioned above, and this idea is very much on the cards. We are all in agreement in terms of what needs to be done. We have waited long enough. Let me know what you think of this idea....post a comment...

m: 087 9713268

e: harrybarrett1@eircom.net
w: http://harrybarrett.blogspot.com

Calling all housebuyers: Refuse Estate Agents Price Rise!

I find it truly unbelievable that estate agents are considering increasing their commission rates for property sales in anticipation of a slow down in house prices. At no stage over the last decade had estate agents in Mayo considering lowering their rates despite them making massive profits on the back of the property boom all over the country.
The Institute of Professional Auctioneers and Valuers met this morning (Monday, 5th) to consider increasing their rates by up to 33% due to a slowdown in the housing market. This will mean house-buyers in Mayo who already have to pay record prices, forking out an average €1,750 extra for house sales. Yet it is auctioneers and estate agents who have done very well over the last decade. They made massive amounts of money from their commission rates, yet never offered to lower these to make life easier for buyers forced to pay record prices for even the most modest properties.
Once again, this move underlines the need for new legislation to regulate auctioneers and estate agents. Indeed many auctioneers and estate agents have themselves sought increased regulation.
Throughout the recent property boom Labour has made numerous proposals at various different times for new legislation to: 1) Outlaw price gazumping 2)Ensure housing estates are properly completed: there are 33 such estates in Castlebar alone. 3) egulate auctioneers and estate agents 4) Give homebuyers increased consumer protection
On each occasion the Government has shot down these proposals. In doing so they have exposed home buyers in Mayo and all over to exploitation and rip-off in the housing market. While the market may be slowing down to some extent, this is not a reason for such sharp practice to continue and Labour in government is committed to legislating to protect the house-buyer in this county from such behaviour from auctioneers and estate agents.

m:087 9713268

e: harrybarrett1@eircom.net

w: http://harrybarrett.blogspot.com