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A GROUP OF traders who argue that Dublin City Council acted beyond its powers in adopting traffic bans on private vehicles have been granted leave to challenge the measures by way of judicial review.
Dublin City Centre Traders Alliance, led by solicitor Noel Smyth, is seeking a judicial review of the effects of traffic calming measures and works on several Liffey quays put into place by respondents Dublin City Council and the National Transport Authority (NTA) last August.
The alliance includes the owners of city centre car parks, including those connected to Brown Thomas, Arnotts and the Jervis Shopping Centre and counts the Restaurants Association of Ireland and Louis Copeland among their members.
By way of judicial review, the alliance seeks to challenge traffic changes and restrictions on the use of private vehicles at O’Connell Bridge, Bachelor’s Walk, Eden Quay, Aston Quay, Burgh Quay and Fleet Street.
Private traffic is not permitted to drive on a specific stretch of the quays on either side of O’Connell Bridge from 7am to 7pm to encourage the use of public transport and cycling.
The transport plan adopted has a stated aim to reduce congestion by discouraging traffic “that has no destination in the city”.
Smyth submits in his papers that a July 2024 report commissioned by the traders predicts that the adoption of the transport plan would have an overall negative impact of €390 million.
The traders’ report predicts a decrease in retail spending in the year 2028 of €141 million and a loss of over 6,000 jobs, leading to the total “adverse monetary impact” of €390 million.
In the grounding statement seeking judicial review, the traders seek an order quashing the July 2024 adoption – the first order – of the ‘Dublin City Centre Transport Plan’ by the respondents.
The traders also claim the adoption of the plan as a ‘joint plan’ between the council and the NTA is “invalid”. They further claim the council’s chief executive was “not empowered” to make the order [adopting the transport plan] because it “exceeded” the terms of the Dublin City Council Development Plan 2022-2028.
The adoption order was also “invalid and made in breach of fair procedures and natural justice”, the traders claim.
The group are also seeking a quashing of what they submit are the council’s second and third “invalid” orders, relating to the implementation of the traffic management changes and the granting of approval for signage for traffic calming measures along the north and south quays.
It is submitted that the council acted ‘ultra vires’ – beyond its powers – and erred in law in ordering the implementation of the traffic calming measures without an environmental impact assessment being carried out.
In Smyth’s affidavit, it is also claimed that a questionnaire, provided during an 11-week public consultation that closed on 1 December 2023 was “biased” and designed to “prompt answers in support of the respondent’s draft plan”.
The traders further claim that the respondents approached the adoption of the transport plan “with a closed mind” and followed a process “designed to achieve a pre-ordained outcome”.
When granting permission for the review at the High Court this week, Justice Richard Humphreys adjourned the matter to 13 January for what counsel for the traders, Eamon Galligan SC, called “quite a complex matter”.
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Ah yes the Semi-State worker, ye gotta love them, doesn’t matter what else is going on in the world nothing can touch the sanctity of their pay and conditions.
At least we get up of our arses and do something about it.
When you don’t come looking for subvention, then you will have my support. Otherwise, wealth creating parts of the economy are propping up you salaries, take more taxes off of one person so you are not out of pocket.
In fairness to BE, their isn’t a private bus company that could come close to providing the level of service that BE provide. BE provides a service to practically every rural town and village. For that there is a price to be paid that no private company could provide. Unless of course you think elderly people or students living in rural areas should be cut off from a public service transport.
Agreed Stephen BE do provide a good service to local towns and villages throughout the country, A private company could do the same if the profitable routes where leased in conjunction with loss making ones. The government provides €278 million to CIE every year, is that not a bit much.
They balloted for strike action on the basis of CIE bypassing them not because they think their pay is sacrosanct. Maybe read the story first and then comment
The National Bus and Rail Union members are employees of BE, which is a part of CIE. BE want to change their pay and conditions, union members don’t agree, strike is planned. BE wants to save money, Union members want to keep everything they have, Joe public gets shafted.
@ Anthony. It’s a pity this determination didnt also apply to the pride you work shy lot take in your jobs.
You tell him Pierce.
pierce, add up how many people are employed by CIE and the the amount of tax they pay per year…. it comes to roughly 265 million! as you say the subvention they get is just a couple of million more. great valve for money the 3 companies are and their service is good and there safety records are impeccable the most professional bus drivers in Europe we have, and you’d rather see them out of pocket?? fair play to them for standing up for their conditions if only we all as a nation had the motivation to do it!
Pierce and Simon, you two seem like a right pair of upbeat glass half full chaps… The subvention will always be needed because BE provides a service to rural non profit making routes… Its not possible to make a profit overall even when you take onto account profit making routes…. private operators are also working these profit making routes… if my boss decided to cut my wages and holiday days per year without negotiation I’d strike too…
Stephen, ooceallaigh, Jencui and Leonard. You obviously think we need to provide 1/4 of a billion Euro to provide transport services to none profit making rural areas, I think you are wrong and BE seems to agree with me. BE wants to cut 16 million, the unions say no. Why should a driver get paid more for driving a bus for BE than for driving for a private company, it simply doesn’t make any sense.
The cheek of worker’s trying to protect themselves from pay cuts. .. We should all just accept whatever slap in the face we get I suppose?
Yes Dermot it’s fine for everybody to pay more in taxation so they can keep the status quo.
” Union members want to keep everything they have” really? Did their unions say that? Nope. Can Pearse 2020 vision provide anything to back that statement up? Nope. Is Pearse2020 like the fox news of comments? Yup
CIE want to change their pay conditions.. without any consultation or agreement. That’s seems to be the county sized caveat you’re desperately trying to ignore.
How come its always either Bus, Luas or Taxi drivers who are threatening strikes over pay?
There are thousands of other workers in different types of jobs that work longer hours on far less pay than them.
It’s pure self entitlement especially from Taxi drivers.
It’s up to you’s to get out on the street and fight for it . You won’t win sitting at home and moaning about it..
They organise into trade unions in order to protect their own standards of living. Quite a normal thing to do actually.
Private sector workers are being hung out to dry, bought out by the excesses of the phoney Celtic Tiger. Instead of moaning that other workers should have their living standards cut, why not fight back and have your own living standards raised!
Fight back? As if its a battle?
It’s simple economics. The business will run at a loss of €16 million, so MUST reduce costs and increase productivity. Pay cuts NEED to be introduced. Surely it’s better than the company going bust and them all losing their jobs.
That is simple economics, ‘simple’ being the appropriate word. As I said in a previous post BE provide a service to rural towns & villages that no private company could match. There is a price to be paid for that.
You could of course find bus drivers who will work for minimum wage. But if I was a passenger, I would rather that the driver was motivated to do a good job, particularly in the area of health & safety. For that you need to protect t&c’s.
Stephen. Set up your own business if you feel exploited. If you are too incompetent or idea less to do so then be grateful an employer is prepared to give you a job.
pierce, an answer for you question. why should a driver working for BE be paid more?
why does this government continue to pay bonds and make the ordinary Joe soap foot the bill?
we can all ask stupid questions at the end of the day these men and women have the courage to stand up for their pay and conditions instead of letting it be an easy race to the bottom
@ Leonard – a race to the bottom of what exactly? Do you understand economics, do you understand the current situation Ireland faces as regards being unable to balance its budget? Do you understand that this is important for a country and that to do this the money paid out needs to reflect the money coming in? What do you believe will be the outcome if we dont adjust down the states wage bill (which you pay incidentally). Do you think the Bus Eireann and the likes will return the country to a better economic status? They had no contribution to its success in the past yet benefited hugely by being linked to the private sector who grew the economy. It is not reasonable to expect that they should also be linked to the downturn, or do you believe they should be immune.
So what exactly do you mean by a race to the bottom?
I really am flabbergasted at the anti union/worker vitriol that is so prevalent from people who contribute to ‘the journal’. What is fundamentally wrong with a group of organised workers whose hard fought conditions are under attack from a totally inept group of managers and government( including a so called ‘labour’ party) from taking strike action? As workers the greatest and only real weapon we have is a withdrawal of labour. And please don’t give me that nonsense about towing the line and doing it for the greater good of the country-pure garbage. Just because they are not going to lie down and get completely taken to the cleaners,it’s a real shame so many other sectors and industries just caved in. All over the world we are seeing massive attacks on working people’s pay and conditions, the casualisation of jobs,industrial relations are going backwards-kind of app since its the centenary of the 1913 lock out- good on them for doing what they are completely entitled to do.
Simple answer. They don’t have the money to keep paying those wages. The two choices are to make cuts or go bust. Simple.
Ok let me get this straight- if any boss/company/organisation say to their staff your taking a pay cut or we are shutting down the company the staff should just accept it ? Is that really how you see this- simple black and white? What about the social ramifications do you want to create a massive working poor people getting paid a pittance or whatever the boss deems acceptable to pay them? People have no pride in their work no self esteem- how could you be happy working all the hours god sends trying to make ends meet when all conditions and rights have been stripped from you and your wages have been slashed? No one ever thinks of those knock on effects in society as a whole it’s just greedy union members how dare they
I don’t agree with this strike. It’s doesn’t make any sense at all. How is striking and costing more money going to stop their pay cut? If anything they’ll have to make more cuts now.
This strike will affect the customers. They will get no sympathy. Without your customers you are nothing. You lose those customers and you won’t be getting pay cuts, you’ll be losing jobs.
This “standing up for ourselves” attitude is going to backfire.
Typical ‘sheep’ comment. These union thugs standing up for their rights how dare they…..fair play Billie that’s the attitude I was talking about in earlier post. That’s why our basic rights as workers are going out the window,that idea of not rocking the boat- ‘sure no problem boss I’ll take a pay cut sure aren’t I lucky I have a job’-is it any wonder we are heading up s**t creek with that kind of attitude
Nice and aggressive, nice one Gavin.
Simple economics. If a company is losing money it needs to make cuts. Unfortunate but true. BE cannot afford to spend the amount of money it is currently paying without going bust. Money doesn’t grow on trees.
The strike will achieve nothing other than screwing over the ordinary decent people of this country. Drivers going on strike will mean others can’t go to work putting their jobs in jeopardy.
I’m not a sheep. I’m a realist. I will not be bullied by someone like you. I have a different opinion to your own, but you don’t see me throwing my toys out of the pram and calling people names.
Merely a reference not a direct attack on you Billie
I bet if Bus Eireann strikes Varadkar will open up the affected routes to private operator’s? He might even do a Ronnie Reagan & sack them all & privatise the bus industry completely.
Varadkar hasn’t the brains to blow his nose, how do you propose he could carry out what you’ve just suggested?
Hopefully
Somehow I don’t see him having the cojones to do this. Unfortunately.
Simon, why is there a budget deficit in this country? because of Anglo Irish bank!
how does BE contribute to economy? it provides essential infrastructure in the form of helping people commute to and from work, it grows jobs, it provides jobs, it provides much needed money in the form of tax revenue. if there paid less they pay less tax! and as i said earlier the taxable income on employees alone is near enough what the companies receive in there annual subvention! and not factoring in the likes of road tax etc… so ask yourself this… do you know economics?
Lots of you are commenting on what a heart service they provide. I beg to disagree. How can a bus consistently ten mins late every morning when it starts a ten min drive down the road. Simple the driver is too jazz to get his arse out ofbed on time. Also lots of them are ignorant not even acknowledging you when you hand over your extorionatee fare.
*Great and *lazy
This is tantamount to serfdom. A 39 hour week? Only a mere hour less than the standard? Solidarity, brothers.
@willy First rule of conflict. Never underestimate your opponent.
Leo talks a lot of old guff. Taking on a transport union requires cojones of steel. Not a hope.
And before i am plated it actually costs me more to take the bus than drive into town. How is that right? Surely it should be cheaper
Well Fiona why don’t you drive, it’s cheaper for you
So many posts referring to ‘simple Economics’.If economics were simple we wouldn’t be in this mess.
The same few clowns on again berating The working men and women who have a back bone to stand up for themselves,it’s sad the way the whole country has taking all the cuts this disgraceful government have thrown at us lying down..the only thing we seem good at nowadays is moaning about the cuts.we should take a few lessons from the French and the Greeks ..
Cannot see this strike going ahead as all public will come to a halt
I hope the talks between bus eireann and the workers succeed because at the end of the day there’s no winners.
There won’t be a strike as the union doesn’t have the money to pay strike pay; if the drivers knew this there’d be murder. Squandered on fat salaries & failed planning permission applications. Effectively broke!
*slated
Anthony what i usually do is drive to the luas and take the tram. I do not take the bus to town. Happy?
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