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Brian Leddin

Brian Leddin

Green Party

New and upgraded rail infrastructure is the key enabler of the Midwest's potential to be a counter weight to the Dublin / Eastern Region. A rail link to Shannon Airport and a commuter rail network, opening land banks for housing and enterprise, is deliverable. It is my main priority.

Priorities

  • Transport

    Getting transport systems right is key to addressing many societal challenges, such as in housing, health and well-being and our economy.

  • Housing

    A successful society is one where everybody has a roof over their head. But housing must also be well designed, well located and accessible.

  • Environment & energy

    We are transitioning to a low carbon society. The change will deliver huge benefits to our economy, health and well being as well as our environment.

These answers were provided by the candidate

Taxes and charges
1 of 21 questions
Local Property Tax rates in Limerick should be reduced, even if it means cutting spending on local services and amenities
  • Agree
  • Neither agree nor disagree
  • Disagree
  • No opinion
Comment: "A better society is one that provides a myriad of beneficial services and amenities for its members. We all get the benefit from paying LPT, through the many, many services and amenities provided to us by the local authority. "

- Brian Leddin
Taxes and charges
2 of 21 questions
Commercial rates in Limerick should be reduced to help local businesses, even if it means cutting spending on local services and amenities
  • Agree
  • Neither agree nor disagree
  • Disagree
  • No opinion
Comment: "A careful balance is needed. Rates cannot be so high such that they make business impossible. "

- Brian Leddin
Taxes and charges
3 of 21 questions
On-street parking charges should be reduced, even if it means cutting spending on local services and amenities
  • Agree
  • Neither agree nor disagree
  • Disagree
  • No opinion
Comment: "The cost of on-street parking is not the reason we have challenges to retail in the city centre (we have the lowest charges in the country). We must develop ways to enable quick, easy and inexpensive access to the city. That is why good public transport and cycling infrastructure is so important."

- Brian Leddin
Housing
4 of 21 questions
The Council should increase the percentage of social and affordable housing in all new developments
  • Agree
  • Neither agree nor disagree
  • Disagree
  • No opinion
Housing
5 of 21 questions
If someone refuses an offer of social housing, they should be put to the back of the waiting list
  • Agree
  • Neither agree nor disagree
  • Disagree
  • No opinion
Comment: "There are often very legitimate reasons for refusing an offer. It does not make sense, nor is it fair, to have a hard rule that refusal would void one's application. There must be some flexibility in the process. "

- Brian Leddin
Housing
6 of 21 questions
More accommodation for Travellers should be built in Limerick
  • Agree
  • Neither agree nor disagree
  • Disagree
  • No opinion
Comment: "More accommodation, generally, should be built in Limerick. "

- Brian Leddin
Housing
7 of 21 questions
Too many one-off rural houses are being built in Limerick
  • Agree
  • Neither agree nor disagree
  • Disagree
  • No opinion
Comment: "We must invest heavily in services and amenities in towns and villages so that they are attractive places to rear families and to grow old. This is the best way to revitalise rural Ireland. One-off housing is the preferred option for many people because we have not done that to date. "

- Brian Leddin
Housing
8 of 21 questions
To increase housing density in urban areas, new developments should be limited to one parking space per house
  • Agree
  • Neither agree nor disagree
  • Disagree
  • No opinion
Comment: "In urban areas that have excellent public transport and safe active travel networks and access to services and amenities this makes sense. Some smaller urban areas (i.e. villages) may not get this level of services and infra in the short to medium term and there should be an allowance for that. "

- Brian Leddin
Transport
9 of 21 questions
The provision of public transport (rail and bus) should be prioritised over building roads
  • Agree
  • Neither agree nor disagree
  • Disagree
  • No opinion
Comment: "For many journeys that we take there is no choice except to drive. If we invest in public transport, walking and cycling infrastructure we will provide alternative options for many of the journeys. This is the way to reduce traffic and reduce the need to spend money building very expensive roads."

- Brian Leddin
Transport
10 of 21 questions
Too many bike lanes are being built in Limerick
  • Agree
  • Neither agree nor disagree
  • Disagree
  • No opinion
Comment: "Bikes lanes are one of the best ways to reduce traffic. They give people, particularly those undertaking short journeys, an option other than driving. If we build a full network of safe bike lanes, segregated from the road, then we can solve the school traffic problem particularly. "

- Brian Leddin
Transport
11 of 21 questions
Road projects such as the N/M20 and the Northern Distributor Road must be urgently progressed
  • Agree
  • Neither agree nor disagree
  • Disagree
  • No opinion
Comment: "The N/M20 project should proceed as a good road between Limerick and Cork is important. The Northern Distributor Road is different, however. A much more beneficial, more achievable and less expensive, project for the Midwest, would be to build a railway to Shannon and a metropolitan rail system."

- Brian Leddin
Transport
12 of 21 questions
More streets in Limerick city and town centres should be pedestrianised
  • Agree
  • Neither agree nor disagree
  • Disagree
  • No opinion
Comment: "Pedestrianisation is one part of making streets attractive destinations. But it must be done right. It is generally proven to lead to increased footfall and increased business, and makes towns more attractive places to live. There are rarely calls for pedestrianisation projects to be reversed."

- Brian Leddin
Transport
13 of 21 questions
The new 30km/h speed limit in Limerick city centre should be extended to more urban areas
  • Agree
  • Neither agree nor disagree
  • Disagree
  • No opinion
Comment: "Fast traffic creates hostile, unsafe and unappealing town centres and contributes to their deterioration. Slowing traffic, in conjunction with other measures, can have the opposite effect by making urban areas attractive for spending time in and living in. "

- Brian Leddin
Health
14 of 21 questions
To address the trolley crisis, it is better to expand capacity in the UHL emergency department than to re-open other emergency departments in the region
  • Agree
  • Neither agree nor disagree
  • Disagree
  • No opinion
Comment: "It is best that emergency departments are located where highly specialised, acute medical care can be provided. This means UHL is the appropriate location in the region. However, distributed primary care facilities and elective hospitals can play an important role in relieving pressure on UHL."

- Brian Leddin
Health
15 of 21 questions
The development of new private hospitals in Limerick will undermine the public health services and should be opposed
  • Agree
  • Neither agree nor disagree
  • Disagree
  • No opinion
Comment: "We need to move towards universal healthcare. However, in the interim there is a place for some medical procedures to be provided at private healthcare facilities. "

- Brian Leddin
Law & order
16 of 21 questions
The Council should be more willing to evict local authority tenants who engage in anti-social behaviour
  • Agree
  • Neither agree nor disagree
  • Disagree
  • No opinion
Comment: "The Council already have strong legal powers to evict and have shown that they are willing to use them, if necessary. Eviction should be used as a last resort following every effort of the community sustainment unit of the Council to resolve the issues, in liason with the tenants and wider community"

- Brian Leddin
Law & order
17 of 21 questions
The Council should step up efforts to impound horses that are held without licence
  • Agree
  • Neither agree nor disagree
  • Disagree
  • No opinion
Environment & energy
18 of 21 questions
More wind farms (including onshore) should be built in Limerick
  • Agree
  • Neither agree nor disagree
  • Disagree
  • No opinion
Comment: "Our traditional way of producing electricity (imported oil, coal and gas) is costly and makes us vulnerable to situations outside our control. Wind does the opposite. It makes electricity cheaper and makes us less vulnerable to external shocks. Having clean power hugely benefits our economy."

- Brian Leddin
Environment & energy
19 of 21 questions
It would be good for the region if the Shannon liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal went ahead
  • Agree
  • Neither agree nor disagree
  • Disagree
  • No opinion
Comment: "A commercial, international trading hub for fracked gas is not something we should pursue. It would undermine our credentials on the global stage and would not address the energy security risk. A strategic reserve, however, does make sense, but other locations in Ireland may be more suitable. "

- Brian Leddin
Immigration
20 of 21 questions
Some vacant buildings in Limerick should be used to alleviate the shortage of accommodation for asylum seekers
  • Agree
  • Neither agree nor disagree
  • Disagree
  • No opinion
Immigration
21 of 21 questions
Limerick should accommodate a proportionate share of the asylum seekers who come to Ireland
  • Agree
  • Neither agree nor disagree
  • Disagree
  • No opinion