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There's more to Democracy than a Vote
Surely democracy is much more than a vote cast every few years? Today, in the current political culture of increasing openess and transparency, there is a 'public consultation process' involved in many of the major decisions that will affect local people. Local town plans, area plans and the county development plan all have a public consultation element. Woe betide the local authority or government department that affects the lives of people in the community without consulting them in advance.
Resisting the Magnet of Dublin
Anybody who spends a large part of their life travelling in and out of Dublin to work will be aware of the value of local jobs near to where people live. Instead of getting up at 6:30 in the morning to spend and hour and a half in traffic, you get up at 8:00 to be in work for 9:00 nice and relaxed and ready to face the day ahead. Instead of queuing in a deli for a roll, you can go home for lunch and instead of spending Saturday trying to catch up with your life you can go to the bank and the post office and your local doctor during the day. Working local is how people are meant to live.
The Garbage County
The time scale of Wicklow's waste disaster is sobering. The vast majority of the damage has been done relatively recently - almost all of it within the last few decades. But the effects of this damage will still be felt far into the future by many generations to come. The legacy we are leaving the future inhabitants of Wicklow is a toxic one. Nothing less than a revolution in popular and official attitudes to waste production and disposal is called for.
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