STATEMENT BY PAUL GOGARTY TD ON ADAMSTOWN VOTE
  
The Adamstown plan was passed on May 7th, by 15 votes to 2, without any of the crucial amendments aimed at developing the land in line with external infrastructure and services such as train and bus capacity, road improvements, school delivery etc. I watched the 6 hour session closely from the viewing balcony. Cllr Fintan McCarthy tabled over 40 motions on behalf of Finnstown Input Group, LTQL, the Planning Council, the Community Council and residents associations. The majority of these were defeated or altered by Councillors who acted on the advice of Council management who have put the plan together.

Aside from the amendments, all of the local organisations and ourselves were given the impression by Council Management that the final vote would take place on Monday the 12th. This was pushed through yesterday and took some people by surprise. The Green Party considers that this was a deliberatemove designed to confuse any co-ordinated efforts and to stymie the hugely successful e-mail campaign by http:||www.deliveritright.com

Then there was the actual vote on Adamstown itself. Cllr McCarthy, supported by just one independent councillor, was forced to vote on conscience against the flawed plan, even with several good points in it, because the necessary safeguards to make it work were not included. This point was argued time and time again, but fell on deaf ears.

While we expected that the Fianna Fail, Fine Gael and PD alliance on the Council would be reluctant to support the wishes of local people (as witnessed by the vote of the local FF Cllr Doherty-Ryan and John Curran the TD) and that the Sinn Fein reps were more interested in Tallaght, we were disappointed that local Labour Cllr Tuffy and her party colleagues were notmore supportive. We do acknowledge there was a case for voting for the plan, warts and all, as this would be better than any plan put forward by
developers, but ultimately we felt it was too flawed to work without a strong planning foundation and we also took the decision in the absence of infrastructure to vote in line with the wishes of the thousands of people who bothered to make submissions on Adamstown or submit to the e-mail campaign.

Where to now? I am trying to get the matter raised in the Dail in an adjournment debate later today, calling on the Government to suspend Adamstown's designation as a Strategic Development Zone pending funding guarantees for infrastructure. Patricia McKenna MEP is following up on the EU angle, seeking an Environmental Impact Study (one of the amendments thrown out today). We will of course be helping local groups with the appeal to An Bord Pleanala.

We have four weeks to put in a credible submission that will counteract the
developers who oppose even the weak plan that was passed."

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