Agenda and minutes

Order: Agreed.

Order: Agreed.

      i.        Minutes of the Traffic Advisory Group Meeting held on 28^th April 2020.

     ii.        Traffic Advisory Group South East Area Works Programme 2020.

    iii.        Report on District Heating System.

      i.        Minutes of the Traffic Advisory Group Meeting held on 28^th April 2020.

Order: Noted.

     ii.        Traffic Advisory Group South East Area Works Programme 2020.

Order: Noted.

    iii.        Report on District Heating System.

Order: Noted.

      i.        Report on proposed disposal: Temporary convenience letting of a site at Beggar’s Bush, Shelbourne Road, Dublin 4 to Eir.

      i.        Report on proposed disposal: Temporary convenience letting of a site at Beggar’s Bush, Shelbourne Road, Dublin 4 to Eir.

Order: Agreed to recommend to City Council subject to insertion of a clause allowing Dublin City Council to consider selling the site at the end of the letting term.

      i.        Parks Works Programme South East Area 2020.

     ii.        Tree Works Programme South East Area 2020. For circulation later.

      i.        Parks Works Programme South East Area 2020.

Order: Noted.

     ii.        Tree Works Programme South East Area 2020. For circulation later.

Order: Noted.

Motion 1 from Councillor Mary Freehill

That Dublin City Council complies with its commitment to provide access to all its buildings to people with disabilities.

This committee and the City Council on a number of occasions have agreed to provide handrails along the steps to city hall so far nothing has been done.  This entrance and egress are leather for pedestrians and especially for the walking wounded.  A number of people have fallen on these steps, if the Council continues to ignore their responsibility they will incur insurance claims.

City Hall and Wood quay are seriously inaccessible to people with hearing losses. It is estimated that 25% of the population have hearing loss i.e. 1 million people.   The headphones that work in the council chamber don’t work downstairs.  There is no facility whatsoever for people with hearing loss in Wood Quay building.

This committee agrees that an acoustic assessment of both buildings is carried out and that hand rails are immediately installed on the steps to City Hall.  This has been agreed by the Council in the past but nothing has been done.  I ask that the City Architect attend our meeting to assure us on when the work will commence.

Motion 2 from Councillor Mary Freehill

That this committee elect and recommend to Council two members of the South East Area Committee to the management committee of the Swan management Company Rathmines. This was agreed in the first instance when the Management Board was agreed by Council.  Subsequently the Council’s Legal Dept. challenged the fitness of an elected member to be a member of this board.  I submitted a further legal opinion pointing out the inadequacy of this opinion.  See below:

“From: Cllr Mary Freehill
Sent: 25 February 2020 22:33
To: Paul Clegg <paul.clegg@dublincity.ie>
Cc: Owen Keegan <owenp.keegan@dublincity.ie>; Mary Taylor <mary.taylor@dublincity.ie>; John MacEvilly <john.macevilly@dublincity.ie>; Brian Hanney <brian.hanney@dublincity.ie>
Subject: Rathmines Swan management company

Dear Paul

Further to your email regarding the nomination of councillors to the management committee of the Swan Management Company in Rathmines which was agreed at the City Council by Management and Councillors when this item was agreed.  You will see from the legal advice I received that the Council legal opinion is incorrect.  I will therefore put a proposal to the council to ensure that elected members are appointed to this board.  The suggestion by Officials that elected members are not suitable to have oversight or capability of objective thinking  is a very worrying confront to democracy and has to be challenged.

Opinion sought and received by Mary Freehill

You might ask the Council if its legal advice on the nomination of councillors takes full account of section 228 (3) and (4) of the Companies Act 2014.

Under those provisions, without prejudice to a company director’s duty to act in good faith in what the director considers to be the interests of the company, a director may also have regard to the interests of a particular member of the company where the director has been  ...  view the full agenda text for item 6.

Motion 1 from Councillor Mary Freehill

That Dublin City Council complies with its commitment to provide access to all its buildings to people with disabilities.

This committee and the City Council on a number of occasions have agreed to provide handrails along the steps to city hall so far nothing has been done.  This entrance and egress are leather for pedestrians and especially for the walking wounded.  A number of people have fallen on these steps, if the Council continues to ignore their responsibility they will incur insurance claims.

City Hall and Wood quay are seriously inaccessible to people with hearing losses. It is estimated that 25% of the population have hearing loss i.e. 1 million people.   The headphones that work in the council chamber don’t work downstairs.  There is no facility whatsoever for people with hearing loss in Wood Quay building.

This committee agrees that an acoustic assessment of both buildings is carried out and that hand rails are immediately installed on the steps to City Hall.  This has been agreed by the Council in the past but nothing has been done.  I ask that the City Architect attend our meeting to assure us on when the work will commence.

Order: Agreed.

Motion 2 from Councillor Mary Freehill

That this committee elect and recommend to Council two members of the South East Area Committee to the management committee of the Swan management Company Rathmines. This was agreed in the first instance when the Management Board was agreed by Council.  Subsequently the Council’s Legal Dept. challenged the fitness of an elected member to be a member of this board.  I submitted a further legal opinion pointing out the inadequacy of this opinion.  See below:

“From: Cllr Mary Freehill
Sent: 25 February 2020 22:33
To: Paul Clegg <paul.clegg@dublincity.ie>
Cc: Owen Keegan <owenp.keegan@dublincity.ie>; Mary Taylor <mary.taylor@dublincity.ie>; John MacEvilly <john.macevilly@dublincity.ie>; Brian Hanney <brian.hanney@dublincity.ie>
Subject: Rathmines Swan management company

Dear Paul

Further to your email regarding the nomination of councillors to the management committee of the Swan Management Company in Rathmines which was agreed at the City Council by Management and Councillors when this item was agreed.  You will see from the legal advice I received that the Council legal opinion is incorrect.  I will therefore put a proposal to the council to ensure that elected members are appointed to this board.  The suggestion by Officials that elected members are not suitable to have oversight or capability of objective thinking  is a very worrying confront to democracy and has to be challenged.

Opinion sought and received by Mary Freehill

You might ask the Council if its legal advice on the nomination of councillors takes full account of section 228 (3) and (4) of the Companies Act 2014.

Under those provisions, without prejudice to a company director’s duty to act in good faith in what the director considers to be the interests of the company, a director may also have regard to the interests of a particular member of the company where the director  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

      i.        Report of the Director of Services, South City.

     ii.        Nomination of a councillor to the Dublin Strategic Canals Forum.  Core membership is comprised of representatives of Waterways Ireland Docklands Development and Eastern Region Management and Dublin City Council South East, South Central and Central Area Management. The meetings will be held quarterly in April, July, October and January. There will be one Local Councillor representative for each of the three areas attending every second meeting.

      i.        Report of the Director of Services, South City.

Order: Noted.

     ii.        Nomination of a councillor to the Dublin Strategic Canals Forum.  Core membership is comprised of representatives of Waterways Ireland Docklands Development and Eastern Region Management and Dublin City Council South East, South Central and Central Area Management. The meetings will be held quarterly in April, July, October and January. There will be one Local Councillor representative for each of the three areas attending every second meeting.

Order: Members rejected the Terms of Reference of the Dublin Strategic Canals Forum and agreed that all members of the committee should be free to attend.

Order: Noted.