Labour local election manifesto: Many Fianna Fáil candidates in Dublin are "trying to pass themselves off as independents" because of Government failures on crime, transport, housing and hospitals, the Labour leader, Mr Pat Rabbitte, has claimed.
In a statement yesterday to mark the publication of his party's Dublin manifesto, Mr Rabbitte said it was "almost impossible to find the party logo, or even the party colours, on a Fianna Fáil poster. They know they have let the people of Dublin down, and they know they are going to be punished."
He said Labour proposed enacting an anti-"joyriding" bill, setting up local Garda liaison committees, putting more gardaí in estates with crime and anti-social behaviour problems, and giving better resources to community policing.
He said the party also wanted to consider "good neighbour" legislation to encourage more reasonable behaviour in relation to parties, loud music and late drinking. There should be better resourcing and more independence for community drug treatment projects and improved resources for the Probation Service.
The party favoured a metro for Dublin, the banning from the city of trucks higher than the port tunnel, new bus routes and keeping heavy trucks off residential roads.
They wanted the introduction of paid family leave, the expansion of childcare and after-school facilities and the allocation of pre-school places to all three year olds.
In relation to disability, they wanted to "disability-proof" all building work, to adopt the National Disability Authority's policy on inclusion as council policy, and to introduce a new condition for all work on roads and footpaths that they be reinstated as fully smooth and suitable for wheelchairs and blind pedestrians.
Mr Rabbitte said local government could not accomplish all this on its own. "But we want Dublin's councillors to be able to give a lead to the city, to determine the real priorities, and to be in a strong position to advance the cause of Dublin. We have already published a detailed policy document on the future of local government in Ireland." This would allocate greater responsibilities to local government, set up regional authorities and assign various functions to local councils.