CAMPAIGN NEWS
Wicklow Martial Arts Coach Will Use Salary to Fund Youth Mental Health Initiatives if Elected
A Bray martial arts coach said he would forego the salary paid to a local councillor if he is chosen to represent Bray West in the 2024 Local Elections, on June 7.
Rob Carry, who established the Jai Sua Muay Thai in 2014, announced he will be standing as an ‘Independent Nationalist’ candidate to compete for one of four council seats in Bray West Local Electoral Area.
While the shift from martial arts into politics might not seem an obvious one, Rob feels it’s a logical next step for him, given his wider background.
“I’ve always been interested in politics,” he explained. “I’ve got a degree in History and Politics from UCD. It’s something that I’ve spent a long, long time considering.
“I think too that my involvement with the club has given me the chance to get to know a huge number of people in the area. I’ve been able to get a real insight into the challenges that people are facing right now,” he added.
The Jai Sua Muay Thai club has grown to become one of the biggest sports clubs in Bray. Now Rob, who is originally from Ballybrack, explained why he decided not to run in his home town and opted instead for the Bray West Local Electoral Area.
“We got started in a small space in Shoreline Leisure,” he explained. “But about five years ago we moved into a huge, 1,000-square metre facility on the Boghall Road. The club has really gone from strength to strength since then.
“I’m running in Bray because although I’m not a Bray native, this is where I spend practically all my time. I set up a martial arts club here, I’ve a lot of family in Bray and my partner is a Bray local. Bray was the obvious choice,” he said.
Rob has fundraised extensively for various charities and this, he explained, is at the core of what has prompted him to run in the election:
“Through the club, we’ve been able to raise money for a number of great charities. We did a recent one for Bray’s homeless services charity Five Loaves, we’ve done some for Medical Aid for Palestine and we run a fundraiser for Breast Cancer Ireland every year through our women-only class.”
Rob, who fought at a professional level in Thailand during his fight career continued: “It feels like a drop in the ocean. The issues facing the town – and the country – are immense and I want to play a bigger role in trying to effect greater positive for change.”
On the salary – the representational allowance as it is called – Rob said that rather than keeping the estimated €26,000 paid for the role, if elected he will instead use it to support further good causes. In particular, youth mental health. “We’re in the grip of a youth mental health crisis that is going largely unchecked,” he said.
The club recently established an initiative which provides completely free access to counselling sessions to all of its students through Bray-based service Mynd. The unique mental health project was in honour of one of its most esteemed members, Eoin Lawlor, who took his own life on New Year’s Day this year.
“It’s easy to tell people, young men in particular, that all they have to do is reach out and talk and their problems will be solved. But the reality can be a lot more complex than that. My door is always open to my students but at the end of the day I’m not trained in how to deal with a mental health crisis.
“With a couple of fundraisers and with the help of Mynd we were able to put together an initiative that has given immediate and completely free support to hundreds of our students.”
Aside from improving access to mental health services for young people, Rob feels more needs to be done in support of the people of Bray in a number of other areas.
“The housing crisis is forcing people from Bray out of the town,” he added. “People can’t get a doctor’s appointment or even a school place for their children. The population of Bray – and the country – is growing at breakneck speed and the consequences of that are becoming apparent. Services, housing, education, healthcare – even the road infrastructure – just can’t keep up.”
Rob, who is a former Sinn Féin member, moved away from the party and is instead standing as an ‘Independent Nationalist’.
“I felt Sinn Fein’s policies in a number of areas were just too close to those of the Government. They seem to echo the Government on issues like migration, hate speech and they even sided with the Government parties on the recent family and care referenda.
“I think we need a more radical alternative than the one being offered and independent candidates are just that.”
WICKLOW LOCAL ELECTION CANDIDATE SAYS PRIORITY FOR SOCIAL HOUSING SHOULD GO TO 'THOSE WITH LONG-STANDING TIES TO AN AREA'
Bray West candidate for the local elections, Rob Carry, has said social housing should only be given to people with strong and long-standing ties to an area, amid a “surge in non-Irish applications”.
Citing a report published in the Summary of Social Housing Assessments 2023, by the Housing Agency, there was an increase of almost one-third in social housing applications lodged in Wicklow by non-EU nationals.
From a total of 1,909 applications in 2022, 1,577 were Irish, 240 were EEA, 87 were non-EEA and 5 were from the UK. In 2023, 1,342 were Irish, 206 were EEA and 124 were non-EEA, with 8 applications from the UK.
The Mid-East (Louth, Kildare, Meath and Wicklow) had 8,411 households or 14.3pc of the national figure, identified as being qualified for social housing support. This figure was up by 6.8pc (533 households) on the 2022 assessment.
Commenting on the report, Mr Carry, a former member of Sinn Féin, said that young people in Bray “can’t afford to live in their own town”.
“They are being left with a choice between trying to raise a family in their parents’ box room, or moving well beyond their support network. That can mean living anywhere from Wexford to Sydney,” he said.
Mr Carry, who is standing as an independent nationalist, continued: “This type of familial break-up means a heavy reliance on expensive childcare and long commutes on the one hand and grandparents growing old without their kids and grandchildren close by on the other. It serves no one. The council has to do whatever it can to keep these families together.”
As a well-known business owner and martial arts coach in Bray, Mr Carry said he believes the number of non-EU families seeking social housing in Wicklow will continue to grow.
“Given that the number of international protection applications Ireland is now receiving is up 95pc on the same period last year we have to assume that the number of non-EU applications for social housing will increase in Wicklow and beyond. Now is the time to start planning for that increase.”
Mr Carry pointed to guidelines on who can apply for social housing which are included in a document called the Local Government Housing Circular 41/2012, whereby "a non-EEA national who has been granted refugee, programme refugee, or subsidiary protection status is eligible to be considered for social housing support, from the date of granting of such status, on the same basis as an Irish citizen”.
He said the guidelines further show that those who fail in their application and are instead given ‘leave to remain’ can still be put on social housing waiting lists – as can their spouse and other family members such as parents and siblings if they successfully apply for family reunification.
Mr Carry said measures similar to those used to guide planning decisions on one-off rural housing should be adopted in social housing allocation.
“In order to be considered for permission to build a one-off home in rural Wicklow you will have to show long-standing and deep ties to the area,” Carry explained.
These guidelines, detailed in the Wicklow County Council Pre-Planning Guide No1, recognise the “need for residential development to house those who are indigenous to and/or have a bona fide necessity to live in the rural area”.
Strong links “usually mean either a strong family linkage or a need to live in the area because of your employment”.
“These are common sense guidelines,” he said Carry. “And if they are used to inform decisions on social housing allocation they could slash waiting lists for people all over Wicklow dramatically – and almost overnight. If elected, I’ll be examining whether something like this can be implemented as a priority.”
Mr Carry, who graduated from UCD with a degree in History and Politics before completing a Masters in Journalism, announced his decision to stand in the local election back in March.
He has fundraised extensively for various charities including Bray’s homeless services charity Five Loaves, Medical Aid for Palestine and Breast Cancer Ireland. He has said that rather than keeping the estimated €26,000 wage paid for the role of councillor, if elected he will instead use it to support further good causes.
ELDERLY AND DISABLED 'REALLY, REALLY ANNOYED BY DEPOSIT RETURN SCHEME, SAYS WICKLOW LOCAL ELECTION CANDIDATE
A local election candidate has compared the Deposit Return Scheme to a tax on people with mobility issues and has called for an exemption from the charges for over 65s and people with disabilities.
Rob Carry, an Independent candidate running in Bray West, said that while the public generally has embraced the scheme, he has encountered a lot of opposition from people on the doorsteps who are “really, really annoyed about it”.
While the firm behind the scheme, Re-turn, has told Mr Carry that it is “committed to promoting accessibility and inclusivity”, he said not enough is being done for those members of society who are simply struggling to use it.
Under the scheme, bottles and cans come with a deposit charge of either €0.15 or €0.25 per container depending on size. When the empty containers are later deposited in one of the scheme’s Reverse Vending Machines (RVM) the deposit is then returned.
However, Mr Carry believes the scheme has failed to take account of people who have logistical difficulties in returning bottles: “There are a lot of people out there who are struggling with this scheme,” he said. “It’s straightforward for people who are fully able-bodied and who have their own transport. It’s just a case of bagging up your bottles and throwing them in the boot of the car. But not everyone in our community is in that position.”
Mr Carry, who is a well-known local business and sports club owner, continued: “The logistics involved in taking part in this scheme get a lot more challenging if you’re a person who has difficulty getting around – perhaps due to age or a disability. For some, bringing a bag of empty bottles to their nearest RVM, often by public transport, just isn’t an option.
“If a person is physically unable to go and get their deposit back then we’re effectively levying a tax on them because of their age or disability. I’ve heard a lot of candidates singing the praises of this scheme but to my mind that’s not acceptable.”
Mr Carry has called on the firm Re-turn to examine the possibility of providing an exemption based on the Free Travel Scheme, where those eligible hold a Public Services Card with a Free Travel (FT) stamp in the top left corner that allows them to board public transport without being charged.
“People who have this card should be able to flash it at the till when purchasing, or display online if they’re having their shopping delivered,” Mr Carry suggested.
"Free Travel holders could then automatically be exempted from having the deposit charged on their purchase. I think this needs to be looked into.”
Re-turn said the scheme is a “circular economy initiative that aims to create a closed loop recycling system guaranteeing the material is returned and recycled into new drinks containers" and the measures are also designed to reduce littering.
“In addition, with the separate collection of drinks containers, there is no cross contamination and a higher quality of recyclate is collected, which is more efficient,” the company said.
However, Mr Carry said the guidelines do not make it clear what benefit there is to the scheme when compared with bottles that are simply disposed of in the correct manner via peoples’ recycling bins.
“Re-turn has talked about littering, about reduced contamination and a higher quality recyclate. But those issues don’t apply to correctly disposed of bottles. I’m struggling to see the environmental justification for responsible consumers being obliged to use this system over a correctly stocked recycling bin. I fear this is more about blindly following an EU directive that has not been fully thought out.”
The Re-turn website states, “The Single Use Plastics (SUP) Directive is the main driver for the introduction of Deposit Return”, adding “We need to achieve the EU recycling targets of 77pc by 2025, and 90pc by 2029 and Deposit Return is a proven successful solution to achieving these targets.”
Mr Carry contacted Re-turn to voice his concerns about how the scheme is impacting people with disabilities and mobility problems.
Return said in a statement: ‘Re-turn is committed to promoting accessibility and inclusivity for all consumers in our efforts to create a successful deposit return scheme. The National Disability Authority are supporting Re-turn in the establishment of a consultative group to ensure that the concerns of all parties, in particular those with accessibility challenges, are heard and addressed.
“This will involve an audit of the national infrastructure with the establishment of a continuous improvement programme as the output. The input of people from Disabled Persons Organisations (DPOs) has been sought, ensuring that the consultation represents the range of impairments, sensory, mobility and cognitive,” the company concluded.
WICKLOW MARTIAL ARTS CLUB OFFERS FREE COUNSELLING IN HONOUR OF FIGHTER WHO TOOK HIS OWN LIFE
A Bray martial arts club, Jai Sua Muay Thai, has launched a unique mental health project that will allow its students to access free counselling sessions in honour of one their late fighters.
It follows the tragic loss of one of its most esteemed members, Eoin Lawlor, who took his own life on New Year’s Day this year, something the club said was very difficult to take.
“A much-loved fighter and coach at our club, Eoin Lawlor, tragically lost his life to suicide,” said Rob Carry, head coach at Jai Sua. “It was devastating news and it left everyone struggling.”
Jai Sua, which was founded in 2014, teaches the Thai national sport of Muay Thai and operates from a facility on Bray’s Boghall Road.
Eoin had trained at the club since shortly after it opened, winning a string of junior and senior titles during a glittering fight career.
While still an active pro fighter, Eoin had more recently taken on a role of assistant coach, helping to develop the next generation of fighters.
With the news of his passing, Eoin’s teammates wanted to do something in honour of his memory so they came together to organise a fight event. Five other Muay Thai clubs from around the country came to Bray to face off against the Jai Sua fighters.
Some 30 students from the Bray club took to the ring on the day, many for their first fight.
“The turnout was amazing, the place was packed,” Rob said. “The lads from the club were brilliant on the day, every one of them left it all in the ring.”
The money raised was split between two causes – a memorial for Eoin and a mental health initiative that would help to support Jai Sua Muay Thai students who might be struggling with their mental health.
“It’s not my area, it’s not something I have any training or background in, but it’s quite obvious that young people are suffering,” Rob added. “We’re in the middle of a youth mental health crisis. I don’t know exactly what is being done about it, but whatever is being done isn’t working.”
The club has tied in with Mynd, a mental health and wellbeing space, founded in 2022 and located on Bray’s Albert Walk.
“Mynd have been really helpful,” explained Rob. “I spoke with Cady Walker, founder of Mynd, and she and her team were eager to come on board and do what she could to support our lads.”
With the funds raised and the support of Mynd in place, Jai Sua’s students were given a number and told to save it in their phones.
“I didn’t tell them what the number was for until they’d all done it,” Rob explained. “Then I let them know that anytime they felt they needed it, there was a counsellor that was a WhatsApp message away and ready to help.”