Cllr Warren O'Toole

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Cllr Warren O'Toole Warren O ' Toole, a native of Arklow and your Sinn Féin Councillor for Arklow Municipal District.

GARVAGHY ROAD ✊🇮🇪Great news for the residents of Garvaghy Road.A community that stood firm, refused to be ignored and sh...
10/10/2026

GARVAGHY ROAD ✊🇮🇪

Great news for the residents of Garvaghy Road.

A community that stood firm, refused to be ignored and showed what solidarity and people power can achieve.

Huge credit to Breandán Mac Cionnaith, the residents, public representatives and everyone across Ireland and beyond who stood alongside them.

Respect, equality and community solidarity.

I’m disappointed with the outcome of today’s meeting but I’m glad that we got to debate the new Differential Rent Scheme...
05/10/2026

I’m disappointed with the outcome of today’s meeting but I’m glad that we got to debate the new Differential Rent Scheme and put the concerns of tenants firmly on the record.

We were one vote short of the 10 required to pass the Section 140 motion, with a number of councillors abstaining.

The postponement of implementation of the rent scheme from last Friday was welcome but the reality is that the new rents are still due to come into effect on 7th November. I will continue to advocate for tenants and raise the issues being brought to me.

There is still a significant volume of people trying to make contact with the Council and there appear to be difficulties for some tenants getting through. The planned workshops have also been postponed due to industrial action.

For me, the timing of these rent increases remains a serious concern. Introducing them in November, in the run-up to Christmas, when households are already dealing with rising costs, including fuel and the knock-on effect that has on other household expenses, is simply the wrong time to proceed. These were among the concerns I raised in the chamber today.

Local Property Tax was also discussed. The Council is looking at a 15% increase, fixed for three years, while a proposal from the floor suggested a 10% increase instead.

At a time when people are already under pressure from increased household costs, these decisions matter, and I will continue to raise those concerns.

Today is an important day in Wicklow County Council, with two major issues that directly affect people’s pockets , the D...
05/10/2026

Today is an important day in Wicklow County Council, with two major issues that directly affect people’s pockets , the Differential Rent Scheme and Local Property Tax.

Last week, following the emergency meeting we called, implementation of the new Differential Rent Scheme was deferred from 3 October until 7 November.

That was important but a delay is not a solution.

Bringing substantial rent increases back in November, in the run up to Christmas and in the middle of a cost-of-living crisis, simply does not reflect the reality many people are living with.

Today, the Section 140 motion that we called will come before the chamber and later Local Property Tax will also be decided whether to increase or not.

People are already under enough pressure. Whether it is rent, household bills, food, energy or taxation, the answer cannot always be to ask ordinary people to carry more.

I was elected to be a voice for people and days like today are when that matters.

We will be standing up for people, for fairness and for those who are already finding things difficult enough.



Tomorrow, Monday 5th October at 1pm, we are asking people to join us outside Wicklow County Council Buildings and make t...
04/10/2026

Tomorrow, Monday 5th October at 1pm, we are asking people to join us outside Wicklow County Council Buildings and make their voices heard.

The new Differential Rent Scheme has resulted in serious increases for many council tenants at a time when the cost of living is already putting huge pressure on households. Families, pensioners, people living alone and those already struggling deserve to be listened to.

This is not about refusing to pay a fair rent. It is about fairness, affordability and ensuring that people are not hit with sudden, excessive increases without proper consideration of the impact.

We are calling on Wicklow County Council to STOP, LISTEN AND REVIEW.

Please come along, stand together and support those affected.

Stop the rent hikes. Listen to the tenants. Review the scheme.





A picture speaks a thousand words.And for the thousands within that community, the memories have never disappeared.Time ...
03/10/2026

A picture speaks a thousand words.

And for the thousands within that community, the memories have never disappeared.

Time has moved on but that does not mean people have forgotten what they lived through, what was inflicted on their community or what those years represented.

There is no desire to turn the clock back and revisit it.
The memory remains and there's no going back .



A positive development for the Marshlands pitches and facilities in Arklow.Over the last while, a number of people and g...
30/09/2026

A positive development for the Marshlands pitches and facilities in Arklow.

Over the last while, a number of people and groups have contacted me about this premises and access to it .

It’s very welcome to see KWETB making these facilities available for use and opening them up to the wider community.

There’s a wider benefit here. By supporting and making use of these facilities, we can help ensure they remain sustainable and accessible, not only to the wider community but also to some of the more vulnerable people and service users in our area.

The astro pitch is available from €40 per hour including floodlights, with the indoor sports hall available from €30 per hour, subject to availability.

It’s good to see facilities that are already there being used and made more readily available fir use .
Hopefully this will be well supported and will help ensure the Marshlands site continues to serve both the wider community and those who rely on it most.

Full booking and contact details are on the poster below.

Yesterday, Cllr John Ward and I with the support of fellow councillors, succeeded in having a Special Emergency Meeting ...
29/09/2026

Yesterday, Cllr John Ward and I with the support of fellow councillors, succeeded in having a Special Emergency Meeting of Wicklow County Council convened to discuss the new Differential Rent Scheme.

It gave us the opportunity to debate an issue that is affecting people right across County Wicklow, to raise the serious concerns being brought to us by tenants, and to seek clarification on a number of aspects of the scheme , some of which we are still awaiting clear answers on.

The large crowd that gathered outside County Buildings, including tenants and Sinn Féin representatives from across the county, showed the depth of concern that exists. People travelled from across Wicklow to have their voices heard.

We also formally handed in the petition opposing the increases and submitted a Notice of Direction under Section 140 of the Local Government Act 2001 to the Chief Executive. This means the proposed direction can now come before councillors for debate at next Monday’s full County Council meeting.

Yesterday did achieve something important. The proposed implementation of the new scheme on 3 October has been stopped, providing tenants with a small but welcome reprieve.

But moving the implementation date to 7 November is not enough.

That date comes at a time when households are heading into the most expensive months of the year, facing winter heating costs and the run-up to Christmas. The concerns being raised by tenants cannot simply be pushed five weeks down the road.

Before any new scheme is implemented, the people who will be affected by it deserve to be heard. Councillors need clear information about how the figures have been calculated and the impact these increases will have on households across the county.

Our position remains clear:

STOP. LISTEN. REVIEW.

Stop the implementation.
Listen to the tenants affected.
Review the scheme properly.

Yesterday was an important first step but this issue is far from finished.

90 minutes can pass , a stand can echo forever. There are moments when sport stops being just sport.Ireland knows that b...
26/09/2026

90 minutes can pass , a stand can echo forever.

There are moments when sport stops being just sport.

Ireland knows that better than most.

In 1984, a group of young Dunnes Stores workers refused to handle South African goods because they would not turn a blind eye to apartheid.
Recently Irish musicians and artists also took a stand.
Today, Irish footballers find themselves facing their own questions.

Sometimes history remembers the score.

Sometimes it remembers who was prepared to stand up.

This feels like one of those moments.





24/09/2026

Council tenants across Wicklow have told us how worried they are about the planned rent increases. They deserve to be heard before the new scheme comes into effect.

On Monday 28 September, we’ll gather outside County Buildings, Wicklow Town, at 9:30 a.m., ahead of the special emergency council meeting at 10 a.m.

If you’re affected or you want to stand with tenants and families facing these increases, please join us. We’re calling for the increases to be halted while their impact is properly examined.

At Loughcrew Cairn T this morning for the autumn equinox , standing in a place where people gathered over 5,000+ years a...
23/09/2026

At Loughcrew Cairn T this morning for the autumn equinox , standing in a place where people gathered over 5,000+ years ago to mark the changing seasons.

There’s something powerful about standing in a place like this, thinking of all the generations who came before us , those who carved the stone's that we get to view down the chamber . Each watching the same sun, the same landscape and the same turning of the year .

The equinox reminds us of the balance between darkness and light and of celebrations that have taken place across these lands for thousands of years, bringing people together to mark the rhythms of nature and the passing of the seasons.

Places like Loughcrew remind us that the land tells a story. A story carried through generations ,ancient, sacred and still speaking to us today.

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South Co. Wicklow

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