Thanks to all who took time to join us and fly the shirt for Waterford. And again, a very sincere thanks to Duggan Coaches for looking after us with the bus and driver for the day.
We also stopped to pay Phil Hogan a visit on the way home, but sadly, he wasn’t there. We left him a shirt and this little video message:
We’re having a collection in John Roberts Square on Saturday 10/11/12 between 2-5pm for the Waterford Gives a Shirt campaign…
Just to re-iterate our core message:
Waterford has nothing left to give except our shirts so we’re having a big collection to give to the Government so that they can have those too.
So Saturday is about us meeting the public and show the real payple of Waterford that we’re serious whilst having a bit of crack too. We have thousands of shirts collected already and they’re flying in so this is the final push.
The Save Waterford gang are going to drop us off shirts at the end of their march which we really appreciate. I would say there will be thousands at this March. I really hope the turnout is great.
Rock and roll.
Hi there and welcome to Waterford Gives a Shirt. This is our first blog post 
“The Government has taken our jobs and given our money to the bankers. Now they want to rewrite 1100 years of history and take Waterford’s City status!!! Seeing as there’s nothing left to give… they may as well strip the shirts off our backs too!
A group of like minded people have come together with a tongue-in-cheek campaign to help highlight Waterford’s plight. We are asking the public to donate 50,000 shirts to the cause, one for every man, woman and child in the Waterford city area: a sort of petition with a difference.
Once we have collected all the shirts we will pull off a PR stunt and deliver a message to Leinster house letting them know that Waterford people have been stripped of their shirts.
We will then recycle the shirts and give the monies earned to a worthy local charity so it is a win win situation.
Please follow us on facebook and spread the word about us to your fellow Waterfordians.
If you want to donate a clean shirt to the cause please see the collection points link in the menu above.
We can make a difference together!
Click below to view the letter:
This letter outlines the speicific ways in which Waterford has been particularly disadvantaged in recent years. These points, when taken all together, could be interpreted by some as neglect on the part of successive governments. It very strongly makes the case that Waterford should now be treated in proportion to the rest of the country, and suggests remidies for each of the points made so that Waterford and it’s region’s organic development can continue in proportion and in pace with the rest of the country.
Isn’t getting blaas in Australia like trying to make Champagne in Dunmore? Impossible!!
Website owners! Promote the Waterford Gvies a Shirt Campaign by putting one of these fancy ribbons on the top corner of your site, just like the one above!
Give a shirt ribbon 1Insert this javascript code into the bottom of your web page:
Give a shirt ribbon 2Insert this javascript code into the bottom of your web page:
At the moment Waterford City, the oldest city council in Ireland, is run by the Waterford City Council and in short has the power to raise its own taxes through commercial rates. It is through these rates that capital investments can be made to develop the city. Through the new proposals, by government, to merge the city and county, are not conducive to the proper development of Waterford as a gateway City to the southeast.
You need to understand that a City is a City, and its focus and expertise are different. We’d save a lot more money if Waterford City was actually allowed to manage all of its own environs. What is being proposed here dilutes the focus of the city. Shared services are a great idea, but only where it makes sense.
The terms of reference for the Local Government Committee clearly state that the capacity of Waterford City needs to be maximised, that it has to ‘act as a strong and dynamic focus and generator of growth for the wider hinterland under the National Spatial Strategy, and that of other urban and rural areas to contribute in that regard in the context of balanced development.’
The idea that the only way to save the €5 or €9 million is by merging the City into the county of Waterford is presented as the only available solution. This is false reasoning. T The same savings can be achieved while keeping the valuable City status. And, make no mistake, it is valuable.
In a UN report, “UN System Task Team on the Post 2015 UN Development” the report states that “Cities are important economic forces not just for themselves, but to the entire nation, and central players on the world stage. When they are well-articulated with the national and provincial governments and their own development agendas are linked to regional and national development plans, when investments from central governments are aligned with local investments, cities can yield critically important results for the nation as a whole”.
It is important that Waterford keeps its city status for the following reasons.
Another report from the European Union, “Cities of Tomorrow- Challenges, Visions, Ways Forward” states that, “Cities play a crucial role as engines of the economy, as places of connectivity, creativity and innovation, and as centres of services for their surrounding areas. Due to their density, cities offer a huge potential for energy savings and a move towards a carbon-neutral economy. Cities are, therefore, essential for the successful implementation of Europe 2020”.
Not only is Waterford a city but is also a regional capitol and if there are no investments in the city then the whole region could suffer
According to the Waterford City Councils Draft Development Plan 2013-2019.
“The overarching goal is for Waterford City to fulfil its role as a Gateway City and, as the economic driver of the South East Region, to facilitate the provision of key investment priorities whilst ensuring the City develops in a balanced, sustainable, transport friendly and attractive way with good quality of life and opportunities for all its citizens. The image and attractiveness of the City and the quality of life it offers are fundamental and shall be protected and enhanced through policies and objectives of the Development Plan”.
Waterford City needs to stay a city.
Councillor Seamus Ryan Gives a Shirt. So should you!
