Ahead of the 2024 Local Elections on June 7th, the Green Party today launched our ambitious manifesto for local government.
I joined my party colleague Minister Catherine Martin at the launch of the Green Party manifesto this morning, setting the blueprint to keep Ireland going green.
1 month from election day, the publication of our manifesto marks a stepping up of my campaign to win a seat in the Dundrum local electoral area and maintain a Green voice for Dundrum on Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council.
On the fifth anniversary of Ireland’s historic decision to recognise that we are in the middle of a climate emergency, we are laying out a detailed blueprint for new measures at local level to improve our towns and villages and help restore nature in rural and urban areas. As new challenges emerge, the party’s basic message is that Ireland needs to Keep Going Green.
The Green Party has played a key role in ensuring every council has a strong and legally binding Climate Action Plan. Green councillors will now make sure these plans are implemented. The party wants all local authorities to publish annual audits of their carbon footprint and report on progress towards shrinking it.
Pledges in the 57-page local election manifesto include;
Fewer vacant and derelict properties by deploying more compulsory purchase orders
Ending raw sewage discharges in coastal areas
Planting of 1 million trees over the next five years and more pocket parks
Reducing speed limits to 30km/h zones in towns
Annual carfree days in some towns and villages to reclaim streets for local festivals
More greenways, enhancing cycling network and walking trails
Ensuring all local authority meetings are livestreamed and votes are recorded and easily available
New local assemblies where people can suggest policy ideas for local problems for their council to trial and make permanent if successful
Giving all towns and cities above 30,000 people the option of a directly elected mayor
Speaking at the manifesto launch today, Minister Catherine Martin, Deputy Leader of the Green Party, said;
“This manifesto is a plan to help empower local communities in Ireland. The Dáil may decide our laws and budgets but it is local councils that put many of them into effect. It will be our communities that lead the transition to a sustainable, fairer, healthier way of life. This decade is our opportunity to transform our society to benefit everyone. We cannot afford to waste it.”
You can find a fully searchable copy of the manifesto by clickling below.
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