Bray Flood Vote 'Undemocratic', says Sinn Féin Councillor

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Bray Flood Vote 'Undemocratic', says Sinn Féin Councillor

Thursday, March 15 2007

Bray Town Council's handling of this week's flood plain vote has been branded as "undemocratic," "extremely biased," "party political" and "reeks of bully boy tactics," according to Sinn Féin Cllr. John Brady. "I am outraged with the way the residents of Little Bray have been shafted, and the way their alternatives have been shouted down by a crowd of self-serving, well-connected politicians," Brady said.

His comments followed the vote taken by Bray Town Council to force along the planning application for the Bray Golf Club lands on the Dargle Floodplain. However, in taking this vote, a majority of councillors intentionally voted to scupper an amendment to seek public input on the plan.

"Consultants were in this week to outline options for the Dargle. I welcome any flood defences for Little Bray. The area needs it badly. But it should be done in conjunction with local residents and with maximum public consultation. However, when the consultants' plan was being discussed, I proposed an amendment to have it go on public display," Brady said.

"That is when all hell broke loose. I was shouted down and my amendment was completely ignored by Cathaoirleach Anne Egan of the Labour Party," he added.

"The consultants gave a fairly detailed submission. But there was one fundamental flaw: they assumed the building would go ahead that the land would be paved over. Leaving the floodplain intact didn't seem to be an option. That was the recommended solution of the Barry Report commissioned after Hurricane Charlie. Pouring cement over a floodplain has severe side effects. It means people along the river will be more prone to flooding. And the Dargle floods catastrophically once ever 25 years. Swamping a floodplain in tar and cement will exacerbate the problem," Brady explained.

"This so-called 'town centre development' is a €2 billion plan. It is huge. That money is the equivalent of the GDP of Guinea -- an entire country in West Africa. And that country is still 142th in world rankings. There are another 41 countries with national GDPs smaller than this plan to pave over the floodplain," Brady said.

"Surely when a project this enormous comes along, all kinds of due diligence should be done. The public should be consulted. Insurance companies should be contacted to determine what kind of coverage residents will lose. The public should be consulted. Politicians should plan and act in the public interest. Second and third opinions should be sought. And at the risk of repeating myself, the public should be consulted," Brady said.

"But when the vote came up, I proposed an amendment to publish the consultants' report for public consultation. I found a seconder in the Green Party. Yet Cathaoirleach Egan of the Labour Party completely ignored the amendment and rammed through the vote to move the application along. People with €2 billion burning a hole in their pockets can afford lawyers, consultants, PR people and to befriend the occasional politician. In short, they can afford to do things properly. My job as a public representative is to ensure they do," Brady declared.

"People in Little Bray and areas around the Dargle are terrified of this scheme. They need to be confident it will not destroy their lives," Brady said.

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