People Before Profit

People Before Profit Alliance local election candidate in the North Inner City area, Colm Stepehens expressed his shock at the announcement on 10 December that Dublin City Council’s plans to regenerate Croke Villas using a ‘Public Private Partnership’ (PPP) scheme have collapsed. According to the City Council it has not been possible to negotiate a deal with the developer (Bennett Developments) because of the ‘economic climate and global credit crunch’.
He commented that “Because the developer cannot be guaranteed a profit from the sale of the private part of the development, the whole plan collapses and nothing gets built” and added that “We shouldn’t forget that developer has numerous state contracts including a €55 million project for new government offices in Trim, Co. Meath. The company made a profit of €4.5 million in 2007 but only paid a measly €2,642 in tax! And that was after it paid the directors over €5.8 million in ‘emoluments’!” *
The People Before Profit Alliance believes that it demonstrates the craziness of depending on millionaire private developers to provide public services. Colm Stephens commented that “There is no sign of the millionaires in Bennett Developments showing any solidarity to the taxpayer who gave them massive contracts – so much for their ‘patriotic duty’!”