Cork WP Christmas Draw Results 2014

The Cork Region of the Workers' Party held its annual Christmas Draw at the Cotton Ball Bar, Mayfield at 9.30pm on Monday, 15th December, 2014.

The following were the winners in this annual Private Members Draw:

Prize	Ticket No.	Winner
1st	0397	John Jefferies, Cobh
2nd	0476	Sam McCarthy, Ballyphehane
3rd	0533	Sonya O’Neill c/o Sean McCarthy
4th	1476	Sean Crowley c/o Three Horseshoes Bar,  Dillon’s Cross
5th	2749	Shantell McCarthy, Mayfield
6th	1120	Richard Scannell, Dublin Hill, Cork
7th	1029	Eric Coughlan, Churchfield Avenue
8th	0006	Aaron Sherin, Mayfield
9th	0661	Nuala Crean, Mahon
10th	2875	Pat Cummins c/o Donie Crean
11th	0245	Martin Mason c/o Tom Mason
12th	0633	Nina Ahern Snr, Clonakilty
13th	0150	Willie Cronin c/o Donie Crean
14th	2607	John Brennan, Dripsey, Co. Cork
15th	2877	Pat Cummins c/o Donie Crean
16th	1051	Pat Tynan c/o Ted Tynan
17th	0429	Fiona McCarthy, Connolly Road, Cork
18th	0331	Gavin O’Callaghan, Mayfield
19th	0323	Sean Hales,  Bandon
20th	0416	Tom McCarthy, c/o Sean McCarthy
21st	0437	Tom McCarthy, c/o Sean McCarthy
22nd	0877	Roy Keating, Ballyphehane

All winners have been notified.  We would like to thank all those who donated prizes for the draw along.  Thanks also to all our ticket sellers and those who supported the draw.  We wish you Seasons Greetings and best wishes for the New year.

Peace, Work Democracy and Class Politics

Tynan demands action as Mayfield heating fails again

Cllr. Ted Tynan

A district heating system serving more than 200 houses and flats at Glenamoy Lawn and Ardbhaile in Mayfield on Cork’s Northside is giving trouble for a second winter in a row less than two years after a major overhaul was carried out.

Local Workers’ party Councillor, Ted Tynan, said dozens of residents in the local authority built estates are freezing in their homes just as the first sharp frosts of this winter begin to bite. 

Cllr. Tynan had raised the issue at a meeting of Cork City Council last February and had called for a thorough investigation to be carried out into the district heating system which relies on a large central boiler to feed hot water to the individual homes through under-floor piping.

“The system seems to function when demand for heating is average but when cold snaps such as the present one occur the heat doesn’t get to some of the homes leaving the occupants, including both elderly pensioners and families with young children, without any heating or with a bare minimum of heat” said Cllr. Tynan.

Cork City Council crisis - Tynan won't be moved by "Sword of Damocles"

Workers Party Councillor Ted Tynan has said that he will continue to vote against the Cork City Council budget as long as the local authority remains underfunded and its finances are linked to double taxation in the form of water charges.

The City Council last night failed to adopt a budget for 2015 and is now under threat of abolition with 14 days to adopt a budget or the elected councillors will be replaced by an unelected commissioner imposed by Minister Alan Kelly.  

Cllr. Tynan said that councillors were faced with a choice between adopting a budget which would mean more cuts in council services and more job reductions or having a dictatorial commissioner imposed on the council by Minister Alan Kelly.

“The Sword of Damocles that now hangs over Cork City Council is in stark contrast to the bottomless pit of money made available to Irish Water.  The leaking water system is inextricably linked to the years of underfunding of local authorities by successive governments and mirrors the overall decline of public services due to cuts and the public service embargo”

“People may not be aware that Cork City Council, which once employed hundreds of workers in a variety of trades, now retains only two full-time plumbers to look after the council’s 8,000 local authority homes .The council’s budget has fallen by €44 million (23%) since 2011 and in the same period employment there has dropped by 367. These cuts mean the council’s ability to provide vital services is being strangled”, the Workers Party councillor stated.

Cllr. Tynan said the government had created the crisis that now engulfs it and imposing a dictatorship on Cork City Council would merely exacerbate the situation. “The onus is not on councillors but on Minister Alan Kelly to ensure that the council is properly funded. Having abolished 80 town councils last year is his government now going to abolish a major city council which received a fresh mandate from the people a mere six months ago?”, he queried.

Tynan slams cuts to Mayfield library services

Workers’ Party Councillor Ted Tynan has accused management at Cork City Council of “backwards thinking” following cuts in services at the Frank O’Connor Library in Mayfield as a result of understaffing.  Cllr. Tynan is to raise the issue at tomorrow (Monday) night’s meeting of Cork City Council.

The library will now be closed on Thursdays and will no longer open late on Wednesdays.   These cuts have forced the scrapping of a Junior Chess Club which has been an outstanding success since it was established some years ago on the initiative of one of the librarians.

Cllr. Tynan said that the reduction of staff and opening hours at the Mayfield library made no sense and showed a tendency on the part of some in City Council management to pick soft targets for cutbacks.

“The Frank O’Connor Library is an important part of the fabric of community in Mayfield and the North East Ward.  It should be used a lot more and its services should be better advertised by the City Council.”, said Cllr Tynan.

Mayfield Library (Photo: Cork City Council)

He continued, “The abandonment of the Junior Chess Club is a serious mistake. Chess is recognised worldwide as being beneficial to the developing minds of children especially in expanding their thinking and analytical skills.  In 2002 an important US study proved that children who played chess from an early age scored significantly higher on all measures of academic achievement, including maths, spatial analysis, and non-verbal reasoning ability”.

The Workers’ Party councillor pointed out that Frank O’Connor, the renowned Cork writer after whom Mayfield library is named, had been a librarian before he became a full-time writer.  “I’m sure Frank O’Connor, if he were alive, would be deeply disappointed at this retrograde step in downgrading the library and that nearly 50 years after his death this service is going backwards”,

Top council officials wined and dined by Irish Water at Croke Park corporate box

Cllr. Ted Tynan (WP)

Cork Workers Party Councillor Ted Tynan has called on Irish Water to confirm or deny reports that top local authority officials, including some from Cork, were wined and dined in the company’s corporate box at Croke Park during last Saturday’s American Football game (Aug 27th).

Cllr. Tynan said he had been given sight of a photo in which at least one senior official from Cork was clearly recognisable and said the attendance of local government officials at such an event was completely inappropriate.

He said, “The presence of these very senior officials as guests of Irish Water represents a serious conflict of interest on the part of the officials concerned and a blatant waste of taxpayers’ money by a company which has become a black hole into which vast amounts of public money is disappearing”.

"Corporate boxes at Croke Park cost upwards of €160,000 or can be hired on a once-off basis.  Already Irish Water has spent more than €85 million of public money on consultants and unknown sums on corporate entertainment. This cavalier attitude to scarce public funds shows Irish Water's contempt for the Irish people."

“This junket must be deeply repugnant to the householders of this country who are being told that they might be facing water bills of up to €900 a year for a service they already pay for.   I am calling on both Irish Water and the officials concerned to come clean and account for their actions and for the government to see sense and put an end to Irish Water and the water privatisation plans”, said Cllr. Tynan.   

He commended the stand of thousands of householders around the country in resisting the installation of water meters and urged others to join that battle. 

Cllr. Ted Tynan, Telephone (086) 1908281

Future of 208A Lotamore bus service must be clarified says Tynan

Bus Éireann: service to public must be a priority

Workers Party Councillor Ted Tynan has called on Bus Éireann to clarify its position with regard to the future of the 208A Bus service which serves the Lotamore and Montenotte areas of Cork city.

Cllr. Tynan said he was shocked to hear reports that the service was to be withdrawn at the end of this month (July) and warned that such a move would have a serious effect on residents and commuters in the area.

The 208A bus was previously known as the 8A and for decades it operated as the 7A service.

“This is a very limited service which operates only three daily departures from Lotamore and just two return journeys from Patrick Street”, said Cllr. Tynan.   “It serves areas which are well beyond the main 208 bus service.  It is a vital link for many older residents living in the area and I strongly suspect Bus Éireann wants to abandon it because it is not making enough profit for them”.

“Bus Éireann must not be allowed to cherry-pick the most profitable routes and abandon people who have worked hard all their lives and paid taxes to the state.  Just because a significant number of those who use the 208A route are older citizens does not justify withdrawing the route.  That would be completely unacceptable”.

Cllr. Tynan said that the real reason for this reported cut is because the present government and its predecessors have successively cut state funding to the national transport company.  “Tens of millions of euro has been cut from the state subvention to the CIE group, including Bus Éireann, in the past few years.  This is all part of the privatisation agenda and, in this case,  is direct discrimination against older citizens.   It completely goes against the founding principles of the CIE group”.

“Bus Éireann must be reminded of its obligations as a publicly owned company”, said the Workers Party councillor, “I am calling on the company to make a clear statement on the future of the 208A bus route and to withdraw any planned threat to take away the service”, said Cllr. Tynan.

Workers Party will oppose rejigged pact

Workers’ Party Councillor Ted Tynan has said that under no circumstances will he support any nominee of a pro-austerity party for the position of Lord Mayor of Cork

Councillor Ted Tynan - always opposed pacts

Cllr. Tynan said that he was shocked to discover his name was being bandied about as part of a deal on the mayoralty.   This was absolutely untrue, he stated.  He said somebody was spinning stories to suit their own agenda and there was no question of the Workers’ Party’s single vote on the City Council going to elect right-wing parties.  “It would go against everything we stand for”, he said.

“The Workers Party, out of courtesy, met with all the groups on the City council who had asked to meet us.  We agreed no deal with anyone and made it clear that our anti-pact position of the past three decades had not changed and would not change.  Our opposition to water charges and privatisation of council services is not going to change”  

“I am most disappointed that Sinn Féin, having being elected on an anti-cuts platform, is to re-build the mayoral pact which was torn asunder by the voters of this city three weeks ago.  It does not matter whether it is elected under the D’Hondt system or any other, this is a reincarnation of the old pact, with Sinn Féin and a few independents taking the place of the Labour Party.  I wish to make it absolutely clear that the Workers’ Party is not part of the Independent group and will oppose tonight’s nomination of the pact’s candidate”.

Thank You!

THANK YOU!

My sincere thanks to all the people of the North East Ward for re-electing me as a councillor for the area. Thanks also to my family, my comrades in the Workers' Party and all those who helped out in the election.  I am humbled by the huge support I got from people and I hope I can live up to your expectations of me.   Sorry I could not be joined by my party colleague and comrade James Coughlan who got a very respectable vote in Cork City North West on his first electoral outing.  I think James has shown great heart and has the potential to make it next time.

Congratulations to Stephen Cunningham who just pipped me at the post for the first seat.

The result of this election is a clear message to the government, the EU and the banking elites that the people will no longer be taken for granted, but the battle is a major one and has really only just begun.   The issues of water charges, cutbacks in health, education, welfare and essential services have not gone away. The battle against privatisation is still to be fought.  The austerity agenda is being driven by powerful forces and can only be defeated if the majority in society, the working class, stand united and fight.  That fight will not be won in the council chambers alone, in the Dáil or in the European Parliament.  It can only be won on the streets and in the communities across this city, across the country and worldwide.

Once again thank you to everyone. I continue to be available to constituents and can be contacted at (086) 1908281 or by email at tedtynan@gmail.com

Save Mayfield Post Office says Tynan

Mayfield Post Office

Mayfield Workers Party Councillor and local election candidate Ted Tynan has accused the government of deliberately putting off a decision on the future of local post offices until after the European and Local elections.

Cllr. Tynan said that Minister Pat Rabbitte was holding off on a decision on the future of local post offices and outsourcing the tender for social welfare payments away from An Post.  The Workers’ Party councillor said that for a full week the government had been in overdrive making apparently positive announcements to boost support for the coalition parties but had been silent on issues such as the post office controversy.

In particular, Councillor Tynan expressed concern that the local post office in Mayfield would close if the government proceeds with its plans.   “Mayfield has already lost its two banks which have been left as empty buildings. More and more people are unable to make simple transactions locally such as paying bills and cashing cheques. If the post office closes then the heart will truly be gone from Mayfield and other communities like it.”

The recent introduction of “Post Points” in supermarkets such as Tesco and Dunnes Stores was another sign of things to come, Cllr. Tynan warned. “These Post Points may seem convenient but they could spell the death knell for local post offices.

The Workers’ Party councillor said that while the government had heralded the departure of the Troika as the return of Ireland’s economic sovereignty, the coalition is acting as if the Troika was still telling it what to do.  “What does economic sovereignty mean if the state has to slavishly do the EU/IMF’s bidding and privatise services, sell off our water,  our state companies and now the post office network?  They won’t be happy until they have left many parts of this country an economic wasteland”

Government intent on shutting down social housing says Tynan

Workers’ Party Councillor Ted Tynan has warned that the government and city managers are intent on shutting down social housing and handing it over to private or voluntary groups.

The Mayfield based councillor said that while there have been long-term problems without housing waiting lists, over the past few months the allocation of social housing units had come to a virtual standstill while the building of new housing units directly under local authority control was practically non existent.

Cllr. Tynan said: “I am deeply concerned that Cork City Council and other local authorities are going to offload social housing in the same way as they privatised the refuse service and now the water service.  Social housing provision is more likely to be handed over to housing charities or indeed to private landlords.  I believe this would be a very bad outcome for local authority tenants and those on the waiting lists”.

He continued, “This government, in league with the European Union bureaucracy which brought us the Troika, is determined to turn a whole raft of state agencies, including local authorities, into purely regulatory bodies.  In effect the state is divesting itself of social responsibility.  The rights of citizens to jobs, roofs over their heads and a social welfare safety net is being eroded day by day.

Cllr. Tynan, who is standing for re-election in the Cork City North East ward, said that local government would cease to be relevant to citizens if its role as a service provider is abolished. “There will be a major battle on the new councils to preserve key services such as social housing.  If re-elected I intend to fight to keep these services under public control through the local authorities.”, he said.

Deduction of Household Charge is theft says Tynan

Workers Party Councillor Ted Tynan has said that the Revenue Commissioners’ imminent deduction of unpaid Household Charges was nothing less than pure theft from the pay-packets of workers and the welfare payments of honest citizens.

Cllr. Tynan said that the circulation of letters of intent to thousands of homes in the last few days had caused anguish and anger and many people already struggling to make ends meet now find their meagre incomes are about to be raided.

He pointed out that when the Household Charge was introduced originally it had nothing to do with Revenue and was supposed to be about funding local government, recent legislation converted unpaid charges into a portion of Property Tax purely to give Revenue the power to deduct it directly from pay or welfare.

“This is the lowest of the many disgusting decisions taken by the present government. It is utterly reprehensible.  It is theft by any other name.    I think the best way householders can respond to this larceny is to join the protests against the installation of water meters because converting water charges to a tax is likely to be the coalition’s next nasty step.  If governments resort to coercion to enforce an injustice then there can only be one answer and that is mass organised resistance”, said Cllr. Tynan.

Local Elections 2014 - Cork City North East - Vote No.1 Ted Tynan

Over the past five years, Ted Tynan, has been by far one of the most active and consistent members of Cork City Council in many years, representing the people of the North East Ward of the city.

On Friday, 23rd May this year there will be local elections across the state.  Ensure that Ted Tynan continues to serve you and the citizens of the North East Ward by giving him your No.1 vote in the election.

Government playing a "softening up" game on water charges

Councillor Ted Tynan

Cork Workers’ Party Councillor Ted Tynan has accused the government of playing a cynical game of rumour and denial as part of a “softening up” exercise to prepare people for much higher water charges than originally stated.

Cllr. Tynan said that the issue of whether there would be a standing charge on water bills was a “red herring”.  The real issue, he said, was the fact that these charges are unnecessary, have nothing to do with water conservation and are a prelude to privatisation of water services in this country.

“Water”, said “Cllr. Tynan, “ is essential to human life, wellbeing and hygiene.  It is already more than paid for through central taxation as it has been for decades. The new water charges are nothing less than extortionary double taxation.”  

“The standing charge issue is just further proof that water charges will cripple working class families and must be resisted and stopped.  If we do not fight the installation of meters and these unjust charges then the sky is the limit on how high the prices will soar”, said the Workers Party councillor.

Tynan slams wanton waste of boarded-up homes

Hundreds of thousands of euro paid annualy to private company for hire of steel shuttering

Scarce money paid for this!

Mayfield Workers’ Party Councillor Ted Tynan has described the situation where over 500 local authority flats and houses remain empty in Cork City at a time of housing crisis as a “no brainer”.

Speaking at tonight’s (Monday) meeting of Cork City Council, Cllr. Tynan said that with  8,000 people on Cork City Council’s housing list it simply made no sense to have hundreds of homes boarded up at considerable cost to the local authority. He also raised the ongoing problem with the faulty district heating system in Mayfield

“People may not realise that Cork City Council is paying out hundreds of thousands of euro every year to rent out the steel shuttering used to secure the empty homes.  In 2012 the council paid over €175,000 to a private company to hire these steel shutters.  This figure continues to rise.   At the same time there is a hidden cost to the council in tackling vandalism, illegal dumping and other forms of anti-social behaviour which are encouraged when an area looks neglected”, said Cllr. Tynan.

The Workers’ Party councillor said that the City Council was paying for neglect and the money used in shuttering, security and tackling anti-social behaviour should instead be used to make good the empty homes.  “This simple act”, said Cllr. Tynan, “could create badly needed building jobs, reduce the housing list, improve the look of many areas and actually increase the revenue of the City Council through rent”.

Cllr. Tynan said that the government had become ideologically blinkered against anything progressive, viewing everything purely on grounds of immediate cost rather than weighing up the benefits of a scheme.  “They would rather leave the 500 homes boarded up and pay for  them to remain derelict than invest in the future because the whole culture of austerity has infected their thinking.  They simply refuse to see the obvious”, said the Workers’ Party Councillor

Concluding, Cllr. Tynan appealed to the City Manager for urgent action to deal with the ongoing problems with the district heating system at Glenamoy Lawn and Ardbhaile, saying it was causing serious hardship for many residents who were paying for heat they were not getting from the system.

Tynan slams Irish Water's €50 million consultancy spent

Workers Party councillor Ted Tynan has said that the new Irish Water company had become a magnet for profiteers and opportunists, many of them hoping to make a financial killing from the eventual privatisation of the public water system.

Cllr. Tynan said that while Fine Gael and the Labour Party had come to power on a platform of so-called reform, including the abolition of 145 Quangos, they had created a super-quango in Irish Water which had already engaged a raft of consultancy firms at a cost of €50 million to the taxpayers.

“It is not however only the issue of this huge sum of money paid to consultants that is deeply disturbing”, said Cllr. Tynan, “but the nature of the consultants and the previous roles most of them have played in privatisation of public assets, including water. Like vultures these consultants have come to pick on the bones of the public water system and are being paid a huge bounty in the process, a tab that will be put onto the consumers who already pay for water through taxation”.

Cllr. Tynan will be calling for the suspension of Standing Orders at a meeting of Cork City Council tomorrow evening (Monday) in order for the issue to be discussed.   He concluded by saying that the Irish Water debacle should be a wake-up call to householders. “It is not too late to stop water charges and the march of Irish Water in their tracks by halting the installation of water meters. This requires public resistance on a major scale but the alternative is to surrender to ever soaring charges and sale of a critical public asset”.

Government takes away key elderly / disabled grants

 The latest changes in eligibility criteria for home adaptation and mobility grants for the elderly and those with a disability have been condemned by Workers’ Party Councillor Ted Tynan.

The Mayfield councillor said that the government had come like a thief in the night on New Year’s Eve to bring in the new rules, which will make it harder for people to qualify for grants to adapt their homes and would affect three key areas of assistance:  the home adaptation grant for disabled people, the housing adaptation grant for the elderly, and mobility aid grant scheme.

Cllr. Tynan said that after all the hype about the departure of the Troika and the so-called regaining of Irish sovereignty it was clear that nothing had changed in relation to austerity and cuts to the most basic of services.  “The Troika maybe gone”, said Cllr. Tynan, “but the culture of vicious attacks on the most vulnerable remain and will continue under the Fine Gael & Labour coalition”.