Fianna Fáil and Greens need to come clean with Dubliners about empty promises in uncosted plan– Rock

After less than two weeks the agreement underpinning the Fianna Fáil-Green Party coalition on Dublin City Council has been exposed as nothing more than a list of aspirational ideas with no thought behind them, a Fine Gael TD has said.

Fianna Fáil councillors, and their partners on Dublin City Council, the Green Party, the Social Democrats and the Labour Party, agreed the so-called ‘Dublin Agreement’ in the wake of the local elections.

Dublin North West TD, Noel Rock, said: “The agreement, which outlined dozens of uncosted policies for Dublin, has been exposed as undeliverable.

“According to reports today the Chief Executive of Dublin City Council, Owen Keegan, has written to the Lord Mayor of Dublin to say that a significant number of actions are outside the ability of councillors to deliver on. He also expressed concern about the level of funding that would be required and the absence of any detail on funding required.

“I had already raised concerns about the extensive list of promises made as a means of securing a vote pact on the council because there was not a word about funding in the document.

“In fact those party to the agreement couldn’t even agree on an approach to the Local Property Tax, one of the most important revenue streams that Dublin City Council has as a local authority.

“Now it appears my concern was well-placed and the document is merely a list of aspirational ideas with no thought behind them.

“This is typical of Fianna Fáil’s approach to policy, to simply throw some ideas out there and hope that the money magically materialises – or that voters will forget about the promises made.

“I am calling on the Lord Mayor to convene a meeting of councillors and DCC management about the agreement and the promises made.

“The parties must start again and produce an agreement that is well-thought out, costed and, most importantly, honest with people.

“We should all have ambition for Dublin but there is nothing to be gained by making empty promises, other than trying to pull the wool over the eyes of Dubliners.”