In a statement, Cllr Richard Boyd Barrett of the People Before Profit Alliance has said a special meeting of Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown Co. Council due to take place next Monday 26th at 12.30pm will finally force Councillors to “pin their colours to the mast” on the issue of Sallynoggin library, which was recently closed down.
The special meeting has been called to deal with the huge back-log of Councillors motions that have built up over the last number of months.
The meeting will finally allow debate and a vote on a motion tabled by Councillor Boyd Barrett in January that calls for the decision to close the library to be reversed.
Over the last number of months Cllr Boyd Barrett has been involved in organising a campaign and protests against the library closure, following the decision of the Council to pass a budget in December that included the closure plan.
Cllr Boyd Barrett has condemned the government cut-backs and recruitment embargo that created a staffing crisis for the County library service but has also been sharply critical of the Fine Gael, Labour majority on the Council for singling out Sallynoggin library to bear the brunt of the cut-backs.
Cllr Boyd Barrett also has motions pending condemning the government’s recent budgets, cut-backs and the NAMA scheme and a motion relating to the future of Dun Laoghaire Harbour , which are also likely to be dealt with at the meeting.
Cllr Boyd Barrett said:
“This is a moment of truth for all the main parties in the Council. Now they will have to pin their colours to the mast. They have all tried to pass the buck of responsibility on the issue of Sallynoggin library since they agreed to its closure at the December budget meeting. Fianna Fail tried to blame Fine Gael and Labour, while Fine Gael and Labour said it was all the government’s fault. In reality, they are all responsible.
The government is to blame because their public sector recruitment embargo, which has caused a staffing crisis for libraries and other vital public services. But Fine Gael, Labour and Fianna Fail all voted in the Council to support the budget in December which singled out Sallynoggin library for closure.
It is absolutely outrageous that the Council deemed it acceptable to close a library in one of the more disadvantaged areas in the County, when it is precisely areas like Sallynoggin that need libraries and amenities the most.
Of course, we need to campaign and protest against the government’s cut-backs and the recruitment embargo which is slaughtering our public services and I have also tabled a motion condemning the government’s cut-backs and the crazy NAMA bail-out of the banks and supporting protests against these policies. However, it was the Council itself that made the decision to single out Sallynoggin for closure rather than spread out the impact of the cuts more evenly across the library service, and that way prevent any library closure.
The decision to close Sallynoggin is linked to a wider Council plan to reduce the number of smaller branch libraries and centralise library services, with the proposed new super-library library HQ at Moran’s Park. This is an utterly misguided policy. Library usage is directly related to how accessible the library is and this is even more the case in an area where many people are on low incomes. The first priority is to provide libraries where people are.
The volunteer-run book collection that the Council is providing as a replacement to Sallynoggin library is only to open six hours a week. This is not an adequate substitute for a library with professional staff and proper opening hours.
With every body shouting about the importance of education and the ‘knowledge economy’, it is just not acceptable that any library should be shut down but it is utterly disgraceful to close one down in area of high unemployment and disadvantage.”
For more info/confirmation contact: Richard Boyd Barrett 086-7814520