Aodhán Ó Ríordáin (Labour) | Oireachtas source

On the floor of this House last week, I raised the issue of religious orders selling off to private developers lands forming part of school properties, with boards of management in certain parts of this city being abolished as a result. The Cathaoirleach facilitated a debate during Commencement matters between the Minister and me to discuss the issue in some depth. I would like to put a letter I have received from a developer on the record of the House. It is quite disturbing. Developers in this country used to own people in the Oireachtas and councillors up and down this land. They used to stuff envelopes full of cash. They now send what I would consider to be threatening letters to people who want to defend the rights of communities to engage in the planning process, and to object or give observations on planning applications. I will read one paragraph, if I might. It states:

I am prompted to write to you following remarks you made in Seanad Éireann on January 30th in relation to our proposal to deliver 536 housing units on lands at St Paul's School, Raheny.

You stated that our proposed development would "destroy St. Anne's Park" and would result in a loss of playing pitches and community facilities.

Your remarks are fundamentally inaccurate and are the latest example of a catalogue of misinformation being dispersed through various mediums and by various people about our development. As you may appreciate, if such inaccurate and flawed information is not corrected in the same public manner in which it was transmitted, it is likely to have a negative impact on our development, which, in turn, will have ramifications for those responsible.

I would like the Leader of the House to restate in the strongest terms the following: that Members of this Oireachtas are not to receive threatening letters from developers; that those days are gone; that no-one in this House is beholden to a developer any more; that in a republic, one is quite entitled to stand up for one's local community; and that for any developer to send any Member of the Oireachtas, councillor or public representative a letter threatening "ramifications" is bang out of order.