Erris Road Trees

I recently asked Dublin City Councils Area Manager if he was aware that a number of trees on Erris Road in Cabra East are significantly overgrown and need to be pruned?  I asked the Manager to let me know when Dublin City Council would take action to prune the trees and remove the risk of potential damage?  In reply the Manager has advised me that trees on Erris Road are mature Hornbeam and have been listed for pruning in early 2014.  Mary

Killkieran Court

I recently asked Dublin City Council's Area Manager if he was aware that the street sign for Kilkeran Court, Cabra West has been vandalised and needs replacing? and I asked if the Manager would let me know when it will be replaced?  In response the Manager replied to me that Dublin City Council's Traffic Division have been requested to clean the above sign and it will not be necessary to replace it. Mary

 

Nelson Mandela

A Book of Condolence that has been set up in the Mansion House for Nelson Mandela and is open to the public on Saturday and Sunday from 10.00 - 17.00. May he rest in Peace.  Mary

“The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.”

Death in Phoenix Park

It was very sad to learn that the body of a dead man was discovered in the early hours of this morning in the Phoenix Park. The dead man was discovered near the Wellington Monument in a sleeping bag. The Gardai are keen to talk to anybody who may have been in the vicinity of Wellington Road in the Phoenix Park between 12.30am and 1am today. Anyone with any information is asked to contact Cabra garda station on 01 666 7400.

This very sad discovery again highlights the housing crises in Dublin City where despite €millions being spent every year, and close to half a €billion over the last ten years, we have almost 30,000 applicants on the City Council housing list and ever increasing numbers of homeless people.

At Monday's meeting of Dublin City Council we will consider for approval an action plan to end homelessness by 2016. While I support an action plan to address this issue I am very concerned that the draft plan will fail to address the problem. The plan does not include any measurable targets and this makes it weak.

At the November meeting of the Central Area Committee I received unanimous support for the following emergency motion:The elected members of the Central Area Committee support the objective of the Dublin Homeless Action Plan to end the need for people to sleep rough and long term homelessness in Dublin by 2016. To strengthen the draft Action Plan we propose amending the plan to include the target number of housing units and the budget that will be required for each year to achieve the Action Plan’s objectives.

An action plan without measurable targets is like a car without an engine, you can put it on the road but it will go nowhere. I hope the motion I proposed will be adopted by the full council so that the action plan might make some real impact to address the serious homeless problem in our city.  Mary

Free Water for everyone

I welcome the announcement last night by Minister Joe Costelloe TD, at a public meeting in Cabra, that there will be “free water for everyone” when domestic water meters are introduced. Minister Costelloe advised residents, who are concerned over increased charges for less services, that they need not worry about charges for water when the domestic meters are installed because “a political decision has been taken by the government that there will be free water for everyone”. This is very welcome news to all hard-pressed homeowners and I welcome this announcement.

I am concerned however that this announcement might end up being another Labour “promise” that is broken as quick as it is made. Everyone knows that currently commercial water users pay not only for water usage but also for the meter. Can it really be that the Government is going to charge homeowners nothing for installing water meters and supplying water ? It begs the question what is the point of setting up Irish Water? Of transitioning water services from Dublin City Council to Irish Water ?

Myself and my colleagues are concerned that while Minister Costelloe is promising free water for everyone Minister Hogan is still pressing ahead with his crazy plan to transfer water services from Dublin City Council to Irish water on January 1, 2014. This is less than five weeks away and the City Manager has told Councillors that he is extremely concerned that key issues to do with the proposed transition remain uncertain. As a consequence of this uncertainty the City Council is now facing an unprecedented financial crises. The City Council is unable to finalise its €800million budget for 2014 because the Minister has failed to tell the City Council how much funding, if any, it will have next year.

I call on Minister Hogan to stop hiding from this issue and tell Dublin City Council how much funding it will have in 2014 so that we can keep the city open for business over the Christmas and into the New year. Mary