Harbour campaigner seeks green light from voters

One of the women behind the phenomenal 10-year local campaign to stop a 100,000-tonne incinerator being built at Cork Harbour is hoping to win a seat in tomorrow’s county council elections.

Passage West/Monkstown town councillor, environmental engineer, and mother of five Marcia D’Alton was approached to run for Cork County Council by one of the big political parties but felt she would be “better able to express herself” as an independent.

Cllr D’Alton is a member of Cork Harbour Environmental Protection Association (CHEPA) who worked with CHASE (Cork Harbour Area for a Safer Environment) and a number of other local groups to fight Indaver’s planned industrial and household waste incinerator.

Cllr D’Alton wasn’t opposed to incineration but felt the Ringaskiddy proposal “was the wrong site”. She gave evidence at both oral hearings. She also drew up Passage West town council’s submission against the Port of Cork’s original expansion plans, which have since be revised.

Cllr D’Alton says she decided to run for Cork County Council as she thinks the council and the people of Cork would benefit from her engineering and community background.

“At present, local government is being run from the top down and I firmly believe it should be run from the bottom up and the only way to make this change is through stronger voices at the bottom. I firmly believe that the strength of our country lies in its communities at the most local level and too much of the recent changes in local government have been adopted with a one-size-fits-all attitude,” she said.

So if she believes so passionately in local government, why not effect change with the support of one of the big party machines?

“I thought about it when the offer was made but I need the freedom to speak out if I have strong feelings on an issue. Being part of a big party can shut down that freedom to respond on the behalf of your community.”

D’Alton acknowledges that being an independent is an advantage at the doorsteps in this election. “People want alternatives. I’m hearing a lot about the effects of austerity. One woman who has a son with serious seizures told me that she has to bathe him five times a week. He refuses to get in a shower and so she is terrified about the impact of water charges. I’m hearing a lot of stories too about losing medical cards and disability allowance. There is a lot of pain out there.

“A lot of people have asked that I come back and talk to them if elected. They want councillors to engage with communities and with residents associations, to keep in touch.”

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