In a statement, Cllr Richard Boyd Barrett of the People before Profit Alliance (PBPA) has slammed the decision of Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown Co Council to go ahead with the closure of Sallynoggin library.Despite overwhelming public opposition and a number of protests, the Council closed the doors of the library yesterday (Weds 31st March).
The Council’s only concession to public anger is a proposal to open a volunteer based book collection in the Holy Child School nearby, which will open to the public for only six hours per week, as of April 20th. However, PBPA say this is no substitute for a proper library, run by librarians and with all the other services and proper opening hours and may well collapse altogether if volunteer numbers decline in the future.
PBPA condemned the government for imposing cutbacks that are undermining vital services and called for these cuts to be lifted. PBPA also condemned the Fine Gael, Labour coalition that controls the Council for singling out Sallynoggin for closure.
Cllr Boyd Barrett has put down a motion for the next Council meeting on Monday April 12th calling for the closure decision to be reversed. A public protest will also take place outside the Council meeting. The protest will assemble at 5pm outside the Council offices on Monday April 12th.
Cllr Boyd Barrett, who has organised a number of protests over recent weeks against the planned closure said:
“I am absolutely disgusted that the closure of Sallynoggin library has gone ahead. It is the purest hypocrisy for the government to talk about a developing a “knowledge economy” and at the same time to enforce cuts that result in library closures, particularly in disadvantaged areas like Sallynoggin. If I did know this was really happening, I would think it was an April fool joke. Still, what can you expect from a government that helped create the current economic crisis and is now pouring billions in public money into the banks whose greed has wrecked the economy?
With unemployment rocketing and the incomes of working people being slashed we need libraries like Sallynoggin more than ever. They are needed not just to provide recreational amenities for communities but most importantly to provide access to education and information for our young people and those seeking work.
Fianna Fail and the Greens should hang their heads in shame for allowing this to happen. The people of Sallynoggin are paying the price for the greed of bankers and developers, but the government choose to bail out the banks instead rather than our libraries and vital services.
We should be in no doubt that if government cut-backs and the recruitment ban remain in place, more libraries will close over the next year or two. It’s an utter scandal. The government should lift these cuts immediately, at least in those areas where they affect vital frontline services. Access to knowledge and learning cannot be sacrificed if this country is to have any future and get itself out of the mess its now in.
The local Council and the Fine Gael and Labour coalition that control it, also have a lot to answer for allowing this closure. It simply beggars belief that they voted to single out Sallynoggin of all places for closure, rather than to spread the impact of the staff shortages evenly across all libraries, in a way that could avoid any closures. If they were not so hell bent on building a super-library in Moran’s Park – which no one asked for – they could manage the library staffing problems in a way that that did not result in Sallynoggin or any other existing library having to close.
A volunteer run book collection that will be open only six hours a week to the public is no substitute for a proper library with proper opening hours and librarians. The Council’s claims that it is are ridiculous and entirely disingenuous.
However, as far we are concerned this fight is not over. We have a motion down for the next Council meeting calling for the closure decision to be reversed. We will also be holding a protest outside the Council meeting. I would appeal to all those who are concerned about the future of this country, not just people from Sallynogggin to support that protest and demand that Sallynoggin and all our libraries are protected.”