Deirdre de Burca - About Deirdre

Déirdre has lived in Bray for many years

Greystones Harbour

Deirdre has been a member of Wicklow County Council since 1999

Cllr. Deirdre de Burca is orginally from Loughlinstown, Co Dublin. She attended Cabinteely Community School and then progressed to Carysfort Teacher Training College, Blackrock where she trained as a Primary School Teacher. She taught for three years and then returned to college to study psychology at UCD. She then worked with Rehab for over ten years as a psychologist and was a Rehabilitation Team member in Rehab’s vocational training centers for people with disabilities. She established the Camus community-based rehabilitation programme for young people who have experienced serious mental health difficulties and she also helped to set up Minds Matter, one of Ireland’s first patient-led groups which set out to lobby for reforms in the mental health services. She is a member of a wide range of interest groups including an Taisce, the Wicklow Planning Alliance, the Foundation for Sustainable Economics (Feasta), Sustainable Communities Ireland and the Peace & Neutrality Alliance.

Deirdre has been an extremely active member of Wicklow County Council since she was first elected in 1999. She was re-elected with a greatly increased mandate in the local elections of 2004 and was also one of three Green Party councillors to be elected onto Bray Town Council for the first time (from the North Ward). Deirdre has built a reputation for being a hard worker who is committed to public service since she was elected. She is particularly interested in planning and waste management issues and has worked closely with communities around the county to try to ensure that local development plans for their areas meet the real needs of these communities. She achieved prominence during the drafting of the 2006-2011 Wicklow County Development Plan because she publicly challenged a number of late-night controversial zonings that were adopted her fellow councillors. These re-zonings were the subject of much negative attention from the national media at the time. The majority of these re-zonings were subsequently withdrawn or significantly modified by the council. However, one of these controversial re-zonings formed the basis of a formal ethics complaint by Deirdre in relation to the conduct of one of her fellow councillors on Wicklow County Council. This complaint was the subject of an ethics investigation by the County Manager and Chairperson of Wicklow County Council. The final result of the ethics investigation was challenged by Deirdre and she received leave from the High Court in October 2005 to legally review that decision.

This is not the first time that Deirdre has legally challenged a decision of Wicklow County Council. In February 2001, following the total privatisation of waste collection services in the county by Wicklow County Council despite massive public opposition, Deirdre received leave from the High Court to judicially review this decision. She was not successful in being granted the reliefs she sought but did not have costs awarded against her as the judge in question ruled that her case had raised a number of important legal points.

Deirdre has been linked with many other high-profile campaigns in the county. She has campaigned for the preservation of Bray Seafront as a public amenity and against a 2001 proposal for the massive commercial development of the area. In conjunction with her Green colleagues she has been successful in getting all-party support on Bray Town Council for a Special Amenity Area Order for Bray Head which will protect it into the future from inappropriate development. She has been one of the few councillors on Wicklow County Council who has consistently opposed the huge development planned for Greystones Harbour. She has been a vocal champion of the rights of Blessington residents and those in other parts of West Wicklow who have had to tolerate the huge quantities of illegal waste found in their areas. She has campaigned long and hard for the recognition and listing of a comprehensive network of public rights of way in the County Development Plan.

She campaigns on a broad-based platform which emphasises the following policy areas :

proper planning and development in County Wicklow and the full enforcement of current planning legislation
more open, responsive and accountable local government
full community involvement in local decision-making
protection of the natural environment with an emphasis on clean water, clean air and clean food
the promotion of organic farming
the implementation of effective Waste Management strategies based on reduction, re-use and recycling
the provision of affordable housing for local people
the introduction of affordable and high-quality childcare services
a modern, integrated and efficient public transport system for the county
the closure of Sellafield

Deirdre's Email address is deirdre@deirdredeburca.com. She can be reached by telephone at 086-8061450