High car insurance premiums are crippling the working poor – Codd

Irish car insurance premiums are still over 30% more expensive on average than they were in 2015 a local election candidate claims. Jim Codd of Aontu says shocking insurance quotes are crippling young people and the working poor and encouraging a culture of uninsured driving.

“Our car insurance industry remains deeply flawed despite government efforts to reform it,” Mr Codd said. “Car premiums are rising, particularly for young drivers and owners of older cars. Many drivers of cars that are over ten years old find it hard to even get an insurance quote, even though their car may have just passed the NCT. The argument that older cars are more likely to be involved in claims based on recorded stats does not hold up as it very obviously fails to acknowledge the great number of older cars on the road and the high number of them being driven by ‘at risk’ categories of drivers.”

“The government’s plan to deal with unsustainable car insurance is to make both premium calculation and details of past claims more transparent. This is nothing short of ineffective bureaucratic shadow boxing and will do little to help people struggling with unaffordable insurance bills.”

“Radical action is required. In Australia, all cars must be registered, which usually comes with a vehicle test similar to the NCT. They are then given state appointed compulsory insurance which covers personal injuries to the driver or third parties. We could adopt this system and, by further developing the NCT and DOE, offer all passed vehicles a basic third party insurance. This would eliminate the uninsured drivers problem and create an unbiased form of base insurance for younger drivers and owners of older cars. Obviously fire and theft, and comprehensive insurance would still be privately purchased.”

“Greater regulations on accident claims must also be introduced. In 2012 strict cut off points were introduced on accident claims in Florida resulting in a drop of 13% on average car insurance premiums over the next two years. Thinking differently is the only way to tackle this crisis. Setting up government sub committees advised by the very insurance companies who are profiteering off the current premiums will do nothing but ensured continuing escalating annual quotes.”

Commercial vacancy rates rebate is counterintuitive – Cole

Over 12% of commercial properties are unused in Wexford town. Local election candidate Elaine Cole says that this figure could be reduced by dramatically lowering the commercial rates rebate in the town, which she claims is counterproductive and a contributing factor to high rates for existing businesses.

 The Aontu rep said; “Owners of commercial sites that remain vacant for a year or more are eligible for a rebate on their rates of up to 85%. This reduces the encouragement for owners to drop high rents to attract tenants. In turn this means that SMEs and start ups struggle to rent property they need while owners can afford to leaves sites empty. This is counterintuitive.”

“Last year our local councillors once again refused to lower the generous rebate and instead are complicit in the recent rise in commercial rates for many businesses across Wexford. A massive lowering of the rebate would have helped the argument to reduce rates on small, struggling businesses.”

“One business owner I met while canvassing had her rates raised by €1400 this year – a 34% increase. To top this, the rates incentive offered to her by the Council to open her business in a vacant premises two years ago has still not been given. Add to this the increase in VAT and the cost of bins which the rates should but do not cover, and we see the burden placed upon small business owners. They are squeezed rather than fostered.”

“If elected, I will strive to work towards the lowering of the rate rebate on vacant sites and a reduction on rates payable on leased premises. This would help rejuvenate Wexford, which in turn will attract more tourism, more footfall and more jobs."

Codd: State wastage is impacting on autistic kids

Qualified teachers are being paid by the government for one on one services with children under the home tuition grant because there is a severe lack of ASD unit space in Wexford. Aontu Rosslare LEA rep Jim Codd has challenged the states wasteful approach to dealing with the 1300 plus waiting list for children to see an occupational therapist in County Wexford.

 “I’ve been a teacher for over two decades in Bridgetown College and I’ve seen first hand the huge difference that ASD unit, SNAs and additional services have made to students over the past few years. These services prevent vulnerable children from disappearing through the cracks in our education system and allow them to open up as confident individuals.”

 “There are over 1300 children stuck on waiting lists to see an occupational therapist in County Wexford at the moment. This is 33 times the national average and a damning indictment of Wexford services.”

 “Some children can’t manage in mainstream classes because of sensory overload or extreme social anxiety. We don’t have enough ASD spaces available across the county. This has led to a situation where qualified teachers are being paid by the government for one on one services with children under the home tuition grant. This is unsustainable and clearly not the most efficient way to handle the huge backlogs in the system.”

 “There is huge wastage in our public service. If this was adequately addressed, funding would become available to help those who are most at risk and end these shameful waiting lists.”

Taghmon eviction must be stopped - Aontu

Jim Codd, an Aontu rep in the Rosslare LEA, has called on the County Council to show compassion and halt the eviction of a young man from his family home in Taghmon. Thomas Fitzgerald faces eviction from his family home on the basis of an antiquated rule from a council tied up in legal jargon, Mr Codd said.

“Thomas Fitzgerald grew up and lived all but one year of his life in number 6 Monastery Avenue,” Mr Codd said. “He stayed nearby after moving out and regularly stayed over night with his parents when they both fell into bad health. Mr Fitzgerald moved back in permanently to care for his mother after the death of his father. He should be given a medal for doing so, not an eviction notice.”

“Mr Fitzgerald informed the County Council of the change of circumstances following the death of his mother. He never missed a rent payment and was the perfect tenant. Yet, because of an antiquated rule, the Council has deemed it fit to evict him from his family home. When challenged on the unfairness of this, they had the audacity to take the high moral ground and claim they couldn’t break the rules because there were 2500 people on the housing list in Wexford. Yet they only bothered building 21 council houses last year!”

“The eviction of Thomas Fitzgerald will mark a new low for our local administration. Throwing people out of their homes is something that the Irish have always opposed. It was a deciding factor in our national struggle and to have compassionate local politicians claim that this is some morally justified act to ease the housing crisis at a time when no real effort is being made to build either social or affordable homes in this county is scandalous.”     

Old Garda Station must be used for benefit of town, not property developers

The sale of the old Garda Station in Wexford town by the OPW would benefit nobody except property developers, according to a local election candidate. Elaine Cole said that statements in today’s edition of the Wexford People suggesting that the building was too far gone to be used for community projects were misleading and biased.

“It’s a thorough disgrace that this public building has been left to lay idle and fall into disrepair,” Mrs Cole said. “It’s easy for Wexford County Councillors to talk about it being utilised now when an election is looming but why didn’t our elected reps ensure that this building was used over the past few years in a time when Wexford people are sleeping rough and it’s estimated that there are 120 homeless people in the locality. Just last week the main charity helping homeless people in the town lost their shop and main source of fundraising due to a disgraceful rates bill imposed by these same council reps.”

“The idea that the old Garda Station can’t be restored and the best solution is for the OPW to sell it off to property developers is disgusting. Other abandoned Garda stations, like the one in Baldwinstown, that have been sold on by the OPW have yielded zero benefits for the people of Wexford. The money disappeared into a public sector black hole while locals were still left with lack of basic services.”

“Why has the old station been left to rot during a local homeless crisis? Why has Wexford County Council been able to increase spending on homeless emergency accommodation by 900% in the last five years? Why did our local reps think that spending over €1 million of taxpayers money on private B&Bs and hotels was a better idea than developing their own emergency hostels in publically own buildings? These questions have to be asked because, despite all the spin and the thin veneer of piety, this Council has effectively stood idly by while a shanty tent town developed around the Wexford and young people inhabited the underside of our bridge.”

Front garden swamped with sewerage for one year

A young family living in Our Lady’s Island have been forced to live with raw sewerage flooding in their garden for the past year, according to a local election candidate. Jim Codd of Aontu said he was shocked that the County Council had not fixed this issue despite promises having been made.

“The Dunne family in Loch Tochair View in the Lady’s Island are living in a house where potentially lethal raw sewerage has been flooding their front garden at irregular intervals for the last year,” Mr Codd said. “Despite several reassurances this issue has not been fixed.”

“This family has a young child with autism and ADHD. In an effort to tackle this, the family have built a sensory garden at the front of their house. This garden has been flooded with sewerage five times in the past year.”

“Mr Dunne is also legally blind, making this situation even worse. I’m appealing to Wexford County Council to deal with this issue immediately. It’s morally irreprehensible to leave a family suffering in a situation like this.”

Why are people sleeping under Wexford Bridge?

A viral video which got over 30,000 views in 48 hours has sparked outrage in Wexford. Jim Codd, the Aontu rep for the Rosslare LEA, said he made the video to highlight an issue that seems far away to most, but is happening right under our nose.

“Last week a former student of mine got in contact and told me that he was sleeping in a nook underneath Wexford Bridge,” Mr Codd said. “That’s why I decided to make the video. It was even worse than I expected when I got out there. From a shanty town of tents over looking the town to damp caverns lined with old sleeping bags underneath the bridge, it was clear that local and national government had failed in its efforts to tackle the housing crisis.”

“Homelessness has become a buzzword in Ireland. People throw it around and politicians make grand speeches about how they’ll tackle it. In fact, several well meaning but effectively useless motions went before Wexford County Council over the past few years in relation to the housing crisis. There total lack of impact can be seen in the fact that only 21 social houses were built in Wexford last year and 120 people are homeless in this area.”

“The Oireachtas Housing Committee pledged to build 10,000 new social housing units in the state. Only 21 were built in Wexford last year, below the national average, and no affordable houses have been built in the last three years. 70% of the government’s ‘Rebuilding Ireland Policy’ is provided for by private tenancies which is counter-productive to this crisis.”

“Aontu will push for accountability and demand that the 10,000 social housing target is surpassed and that government aid for private property development and speculation ends. We will also push for the reintroduction of affordable housing construction by local authorities.”

“In the immediate term, I will campaign for the construction of another homeless refuge in Wexford town to deal with the emergency situation. Having spoken to housing campaigners, I am told that some current emergency housing accommodation in Wexford is not available everyday and leaves families having to vacate their dwellings during the daytime or for whole weekends. It’s incredible that volunteer charities have been left alone to find rooms for rough sleepers while our councillors make benign motions in a €60 million glass fortress. An emergency refuge is not a long-term solution to lack of social housing, but it is far more humane than leaving people living in tent towns and underneath bridges.”