Motion 1 from Councillor Sophie Nicoullaud
That the Director of Services recognises the major asset that Crumlin Swimming pool is for this wide part of the city which includes Drimnagh, Bluebell, Walkinstown and beyond and that the pool needs to be used to its full capacity for the maximum of people and clubs to be able to use it. To do so opening hours need to be extended for the public to be able to use on a daily basis at any time of the day and for clubs to be able to run classes on a daily basis also. That OAP be given extras slots on a daily basis.
Motion 2 from Councillor Dermot Lacey
This Committee request the Manager to respond positively to the request regarding trees in the Brookfield Estate as outlined below:
“If they were pruned back it would save the residents huge numbers of hours during the year cleaning up the roads and paths of leaves. It would make it much safer for us and our property too as the street lighting would be more effective if there was less foliage and height on the trees.”
Motion 3 from Councillors Dermot Lacey and Mary Freehill
In the interests of good planning and upholding the integrity of the City Development Plan in the minds of citizens, this committee agrees to write to the Minister for Housing and Local Government to withdraw the Specific Planning Policy Requirements provisions that enable ministerial guidelines to override such plans and lead to the probability of An Bord Pleanála continuing to ignore democratically agreed city and county development plans. The committee agrees to circulate this motion to all Councillors to encourage a united approach on this issue. Furthermore we call on the Lord Mayor to request an urgent meeting with the Minister for Housing on behalf of DCC to request the termination of the use of these powers.
Motion 4 from Councillor Tara Deacy
That this committee agrees to trial the ‘Fix your street’ initiative in the Kimmage/Rathmines ward, similar to the model rolled out in South County Dublin. This process would allow the general public to lodge/report issues such as graffiti, leaks and drainage, litter and illegal dumping, road and path defects etc.
Motion 5 from Councillor James Geoghegan
That the Area Committee agrees;
Ø to request the relevant department in Dublin City Council to pilot the reassignment or creation of a parking space which could be marked with ‘Hidden Disability’ as a courtesy space for use by those with a sensory disability as done by Waterford Council in Dungarvan as per the image attached; and
Ø that the pilot parking space would be located adjacent to Tesco in Sandymount Village and that the Area Office would write to the Tesco Sandymount manager seeking its support for the initiative; and
Ø that where necessary, the relevant department in Dublin City Council would engage with ‘Neurodiversity Sandymount’ in the piloting of this parking space.
Motion 6 from Councillor James Geoghegan
That the Parks Department re-install clasps on the pedestrian entrances to Sandymount Green for safety to avoid children running out onto the road and in conjunction with same, that an estimate of cost is sought and obtained for the installation of a system that could motorise the gates for opening and closing with a button.
Motion 7 from Councillor James Geoghegan
That the Area Committee agrees to write to the Minister for Education to;
Ø request a full explanation as to the attempts that were made by her Department to purchase the site formerly owned by the Jesuit Order at Milltown Park;
Ø seek the rationale for requesting An Bord Pleanála to refuse to grant planning permission for the residential development on that site because it wished the site to be developed in line with its land zoning so as to enable a school to be built;
Ø ask whether the Minister is considering a judicial review of the decision of An Bord Pleanála to grant permission for the residential development on a site the Department had earmarked for a new school in Dublin 6; and
Ø explain what options remain available to the Department for the development of a new secondary school in the Milltown/Ranelagh area for Dublin 6 and its environs and if this is still being pursued.
Motion 8 from Councillor Dermot Lacey
This Committee requests that an audit be carried out of public lighting need in Ringsend Park and that the results are acted on when the audit is completed.
Motion 9 from Councillor Mary Freehill
In the event of Cathal Brugha Barracks Rathmines ceasing to be an Army Barracks; that the Planning Department carry out a survey of the site to assess what buildings should be placed on the Record of Protected Structures.
Motion 10 from Councillor Tara Deacy
That this committee agree to revisit the proposal to complete a feasibility study for the Kimmage area, bearing in mind the length of time Local Area Plans take, this would be a beneficial first step in terms of highlighting need and mobilising the wider community in this process.
Motion 11 from Councillor Mary Freehill
Since the establishment of Irish Water in 2013 as a Single Water Utility, services have been removed from Local Authorities and placed into a centralised administration. While we acknowledge the excellent work done by IW in updating much of our water supply infrastructure, unfortunately this is not matched by their responsibility to communicate with the elected members or affected citizens.
As elected members we have found when contacting Irish Water, we are usually put through to a generic answering service some place in Cork, staff have no local knowledge of our area and also lack technical knowledge which makes for seriously unsatisfactory interaction. This is also the case with personnel in their regular clinics for Cllrs.
Currently Local Authorities have a SLA (Service Level Agreement) until 2025 with IW, but the City and County Managers’ Association under the direction of the Government is currently negotiating to terminate this SLA in the next few months. Unless a better system is developed this Council believes that the working co-operation agreement with DCC Waterworks Dept. should be maintained which currently is the only organisation with local knowledge of our areas e.g. if this SLA is terminated who will have knowledge of locations of valves in area?
1. Irish Water operates under a centralised structure who subcontract out their work, there no local knowledge and therefore no structure to maintain corporate memory of areas of the city.
2. As Cllrs. it is impossible to get satisfactory specific information on work plans for our area.
3. The response time to urgent issues of breakdown of supply of water is poor and when we get a response it is often only when DCC water Dept. are forwarded the query.
4. Irish Water don’t seem to understand their responsibilities e.g. communication with residents who are often affected by cessation of water supply and in fact they leave it to the contractor to inform residents without any oversight from Irish Water.
5. The Delor Principles of Subsidiarity Article 5(3) of the Treaty of the European Union requires that services should be delivered by Regional and Local Authorities which is the point of delivery closest to the citizen. While the EU is encouraging and operating devolution within its member states, Ireland is moving more and more services to a centralised model which lacks service delivery oversight or scrutiny. While Irish Water is subject to financial and environment oversight by regulators, there is no scrutiny of service to customers and co-operation with Local Authorities.
This meeting calls on the City and County Managers’ Association and the Minister responsible not to pursue their policy of terminating the SLA with Local Authorities until a better system of co-operation and oversight of service delivery is put in place.
Motion 12 from Councillor Deirdre Conroy
To ask the Manager and Councillors to request Dublin City Council to resolve the traffic congestion on Belmont Avenue. Though not in my area, I am contacted to bring this to Council by local resident.
Residents on Belmont Avenue reiterate the serious and increasing traffic issues they encounter every day on that road. It is not safe or functioning effectively as a modern road and is not fit for purpose for the traffic that currently tries to use it. Request for safety and access by local residents is to block one end, considered to be a viable solution.
Some of the key problems provided by local resident:
1. Belmont Avenue is congested between Morehampton Road and Sandford Road by a huge volume of cars and heavy goods vehicles. Cars routinely mount the pavements as a result and there have been a number of near misses with pedestrians including small children, needless to say there is a primary school on Belmont Avenue. In the 4th week of January 2022 a truck mounted the pavement smashed into and knocked over a lamp post. It is only a matter of time before something worse happens.
2. It is an old small, densely populated, residential road far too narrow to accommodate the modern traffic resulting in total gridlock and serious road rage incidents many times daily.
3. Most of the residents’ cars have been repeatedly damaged by vehicles crashing into their sides or wing mirrors as they speed through the avenue. Invariably the driver does not stop.
4. As traffic volumes increase the fundamental inconvenience to the local residents, along with a real and present danger to property and individuals, also increases.
I am advised that it is urgent that this small road is no longer used as a connecting road or ‘rat run’ between two major roads and that blocking one end is the only viable solution. A one way system would only increase the speed of the traffic and therefore the mounting danger.
Motion 13 from Councillor Mary Freehill
This committee reiterates this LAC’s long-term commitment to complete the Swan Leisure Centre Plaza as originally envisaged in the Rathmines Square Development now the Swan Leisure Centre. The proposal recommended a full town square in the curtilage of Swan Leisure. This committee agrees that the council actively pursues the necessary acquisitions to complete the plaza and which will be included in the upgrading of the square, furthermore agrees to put the upgrading of the plaza for public consultation.
Motion 14 from Councillors Carolyn Moore, Pat Dunne, Anne Feeney
In noting the intense level of private development planned for Drimnagh and along the Grand Canal, the South East Area Committee calls on DCC to ring-fence the levies from these developments in order to fund infrastructure, services and recreational facilities for the community.
Motion 15 from Councillor Claire Byrne
That this Area Committee calls on the Area Manager to immediately address the ongoing issue of inappropriate bin storage and waste collections by Weatherspoons Camden Street. There have been repeated complaints by the residents about the premises leaving their large bins out on the street on Grantham Place, with multiple collections taking place every day causing numerous bin collection trucks coming down this small street and causing serious obstruction and disturbance to the residents.
Motion 16 from Councillor Claire Byrne
That this Area Committee calls on the Area Manager to provide the following information:
Motion 17 from Councillor Claire Byrne
That this Area Committee calls on the Area Manager to accelerate the rolls out of the secure bin storage in housing complexes in the South East Area, and to provide an update and a timeline for completion of the roll out.
Motion 18 from Councillor Claire Byrne
That this Area Committee calls on the Area Manager to take immediate action to introduce traffic calming measures on Grattan Street. There have been serious incidents recently with rat running and speeding through the street causing irreparable damage to residents' vehicles and it is a real safety issue for the people living and working here. Speed bumps and traffic lights at the junction of Mount Street should be considered as a matter of urgency.
Motion 19 from Councillor Claire Byrne
That this Area Committee calls on the Area Manager to install EV charging points on Brighton Square. The residents’ association and the Commissioners of Brighton Square are all supportive of this and it would be a great opportunity to support those who are willing to make the necessary shift towards low carbon cars.
Motion 20 from Councillor Mary Freehill
That the LAC agrees to write to the Chair of LCDC regarding South City Community Partnership’s absence from Rathmines (since it vacated this Rathmines Office) which is part of its area of responsibility. Furthermore to ask them to account for its failure to respond to this committee’s request to prepare a community development work plan for the Rathmines area.
Motion 21 from Councillors Pat Dunne, Anne Feeney and Carolyn Moore
That this area committee asks for an updated report on the progress for the expansion of public swimming facilities at Crumlin Swimming Pool.
Motion 22 from Councillor Anne Feeney
That this Committee welcomes the recent government announcement of significant additional funding for better infrastructure for safe cycling and walking and asks DCC to ring fence a significant proportion of the funding allocated to Dublin, to provide protected cycle lanes in the Harold’s Cross, Terenure, Kimmage, Rathgar, Rathmines and Crumlin areas, particularly on school routes.
Minutes:
Motion 1 from Councillor Sophie Nicoullaud taken with Motion 21
That the Director of Services recognises the major asset that Crumlin Swimming pool is for this wide part of the city which includes Drimnagh, Bluebell, Walkinstown and beyond and that the pool needs to be used to its full capacity for the maximum of people and clubs to be able to use it. To do so opening hours need to be extended for the public to be able to use on a daily basis at any time of the day and for clubs to be able to run classes on a daily basis also. That OAP be given extras slots on a daily basis.
Order: Report to Councillor.
Motion 2 from Councillor Dermot Lacey
This Committee request the Manager to respond positively to the request regarding trees in the Brookfield Estate as outlined below:
“If they were pruned back it would save the residents huge numbers of hours during the year cleaning up the roads and paths of leaves. It would make it much safer for us and our property too as the street lighting would be more effective if there was less foliage and height on the trees.”
Order: Report to Councillor.
Motion 3 from Councillors Dermot Lacey and Mary Freehill
In the interests of good planning and upholding the integrity of the City Development Plan in the minds of citizens, this committee agrees to write to the Minister for Housing and Local Government to withdraw the Specific Planning Policy Requirements provisions that enable ministerial guidelines to override such plans and lead to the probability of An Bord Pleanála continuing to ignore democratically agreed city and county development plans. The committee agrees to circulate this motion to all Councillors to encourage a united approach on this issue. Furthermore we call on the Lord Mayor to request an urgent meeting with the Minister for Housing on behalf of DCC to request the termination of the use of these powers.
Order: Agreed.
Motion 4 from Councillor Tara Deacy
That this committee agrees to trial the ‘Fix your street’ initiative in the Kimmage/Rathmines ward, similar to the model rolled out in South County Dublin. This process would allow the general public to lodge/report issues such as graffiti, leaks and drainage, litter and illegal dumping, road and path defects etc.
Order: Report to Councillor.
Motion 5 from Councillor James Geoghegan
That the Area Committee agrees;
Ø to request the relevant department in Dublin City Council to pilot the reassignment or creation of a parking space which could be marked with ‘Hidden Disability’ as a courtesy space for use by those with a sensory disability as done by Waterford Council in Dungarvan as per the image attached; and
Ø that the pilot parking space would be located adjacent to Tesco in Sandymount Village and that the Area Office would write to the Tesco Sandymount manager seeking its support for the initiative; and
Ø that where necessary, the relevant department in Dublin City Council would engage with ‘Neurodiversity Sandymount’ in the piloting of this parking space.
Order: Report to Councillor.
Motion 6 from Councillor James Geoghegan
That the Parks Department re-install clasps on the pedestrian entrances to Sandymount Green for safety to avoid children running out onto the road and in conjunction with same, that an estimate of cost is sought and obtained for the installation of a system that could motorise the gates for opening and closing with a button.
Order: Report to Councillor.
Motion 7 from Councillor James Geoghegan
That the Area Committee agrees to write to the Minister for Education to;
Ø request a full explanation as to the attempts that were made by her Department to purchase the site formerly owned by the Jesuit Order at Milltown Park;
Ø seek the rationale for requesting An Bord Pleanála to refuse to grant planning permission for the residential development on that site because it wished the site to be developed in line with its land zoning so as to enable a school to be built;
Ø ask whether the Minister is considering a judicial review of the decision of An Bord Pleanála to grant permission for the residential development on a site the Department had earmarked for a new school in Dublin 6; and
Ø explain what options remain available to the Department for the development of a new secondary school in the Milltown/Ranelagh area for Dublin 6 and its environs and if this is still being pursued.
Order: Agreed.
Motion 8 from Councillor Dermot Lacey
This Committee requests that an audit be carried out of public lighting need in Ringsend Park and that the results are acted on when the audit is completed.
Order: Agreed.
Motion 9 from Councillor Mary Freehill
In the event of Cathal Brugha Barracks Rathmines ceasing to be an Army Barracks; that the Planning Department carry out a survey of the site to assess what buildings should be placed on the Record of Protected Structures.
Order: Report to Councillor.
Motion 10 from Councillor Tara Deacy
That this committee agree to revisit the proposal to complete a feasibility study for the Kimmage area, bearing in mind the length of time Local Area Plans take, this would be a beneficial first step in terms of highlighting need and mobilising the wider community in this process.
Order: Report to Councillor.
Motion 11 from Councillor Mary Freehill
Since the establishment of Irish Water in 2013 as a Single Water Utility, services have been removed from Local Authorities and placed into a centralised administration. While we acknowledge the excellent work done by IW in updating much of our water supply infrastructure, unfortunately this is not matched by their responsibility to communicate with the elected members or affected citizens.
As elected members we have found when contacting Irish Water, we are usually put through to a generic answering service some place in Cork, staff have no local knowledge of our area and also lack technical knowledge which makes for seriously unsatisfactory interaction. This is also the case with personnel in their regular clinics for Cllrs.
Currently Local Authorities have a SLA (Service Level Agreement) until 2025 with IW, but the City and County Managers’ Association under the direction of the Government is currently negotiating to terminate this SLA in the next few months. Unless a better system is developed this Council believes that the working co-operation agreement with DCC Waterworks Dept. should be maintained which currently is the only organisation with local knowledge of our areas e.g. if this SLA is terminated who will have knowledge of locations of valves in area?
1. Irish Water operates under a centralised structure who subcontract out their work, there no local knowledge and therefore no structure to maintain corporate memory of areas of the city.
2. As Cllrs. it is impossible to get satisfactory specific information on work plans for our area.
3. The response time to urgent issues of breakdown of supply of water is poor and when we get a response it is often only when DCC water Dept. are forwarded the query.
4. Irish Water don’t seem to understand their responsibilities e.g. communication with residents who are often affected by cessation of water supply and in fact they leave it to the contractor to inform residents without any oversight from Irish Water.
5. The Delor Principles of Subsidiarity Article 5(3) of the Treaty of the European Union requires that services should be delivered by Regional and Local Authorities which is the point of delivery closest to the citizen. While the EU is encouraging and operating devolution within its member states, Ireland is moving more and more services to a centralised model which lacks service delivery oversight or scrutiny. While Irish Water is subject to financial and environment oversight by regulators, there is no scrutiny of service to customers and co-operation with Local Authorities.
This meeting calls on the City and County Managers’ Association and the Minister responsible not to pursue their policy of terminating the SLA with Local Authorities until a better system of co-operation and oversight of service delivery is put in place.
Order: Motion amended to
include: “Furthermore Irish Water has
reneged in their responsibility to comply with the 1% for art
scheme for all public works contracts carried out above and below
ground. This was a very hard won battle 20 over years ago and
covered by Ministerial Directive. Since Irish Water took over
water works they have decided to suspend their responsibility in
regard to the % for art. This committee agreed to ask the
Minister for Culture to take action to ensure that Irish Water
comply with their responsibilities” and Agreed.
Motion 12 from Councillor Deirdre Conroy
To ask the Manager and Councillors to request Dublin City Council to resolve the traffic congestion on Belmont Avenue. Though not in my area, I am contacted to bring this to Council by local resident.
Residents on Belmont Avenue reiterate the serious and increasing traffic issues they encounter every day on that road. It is not safe or functioning effectively as a modern road and is not fit for purpose for the traffic that currently tries to use it. Request for safety and access by local residents is to block one end, considered to be a viable solution.
Some of the key problems provided by local resident:
1. Belmont Avenue is congested between Morehampton Road and Sandford Road by a huge volume of cars and heavy goods vehicles. Cars routinely mount the pavements as a result and there have been a number of near misses with pedestrians including small children, needless to say there is a primary school on Belmont Avenue. In the 4th week of January 2022 a truck mounted the pavement smashed into and knocked over a lamp post. It is only a matter of time before something worse happens.
2. It is an old small, densely populated, residential road far too narrow to accommodate the modern traffic resulting in total gridlock and serious road rage incidents many times daily.
3. Most of the residents’ cars have been repeatedly damaged by vehicles crashing into their sides or wing mirrors as they speed through the avenue. Invariably the driver does not stop.
4. As traffic volumes increase the fundamental inconvenience to the local residents, along with a real and present danger to property and individuals, also increases.
I am advised that it is urgent that this small road is no longer used as a connecting road or ‘rat run’ between two major roads and that blocking one end is the only viable solution. A one way system would only increase the speed of the traffic and therefore the mounting danger.
Order: Report to Councillor.
Motion 13 from Councillor Mary Freehill
This committee reiterates this LAC’s long-term commitment to complete the Swan Leisure Centre Plaza as originally envisaged in the Rathmines Square Development now the Swan Leisure Centre. The proposal recommended a full town square in the curtilage of Swan Leisure. This committee agrees that the council actively pursues the necessary acquisitions to complete the plaza and which will be included in the upgrading of the square, furthermore agrees to put the upgrading of the plaza for public consultation.
Order: Report to Councillor.
Motion 14 from Councillors Carolyn Moore, Pat Dunne, Anne Feeney
In noting the intense level of private development planned for Drimnagh and along the Grand Canal, the South East Area Committee calls on DCC to ring-fence the levies from these developments in order to fund infrastructure, services and recreational facilities for the community.
Order: Agreed.
Motion 15 from Councillor Claire Byrne
That this Area Committee calls on the Area Manager to immediately address the ongoing issue of inappropriate bin storage and waste collections by Weatherspoons, Camden Street. There have been repeated complaints by the residents about the premises leaving their large bins out on the street on Grantham Place, with multiple collections taking place every day causing numerous bin collection trucks coming down this small street and causing serious obstruction and disturbance to the residents.
Order: Report to Councillor.
Motion 16 from Councillor Claire Byrne
That this Area Committee calls on the Area Manager to provide the following information:
Order: Report to Councillor.
Motion 17 from Councillor Claire Byrne
That this Area Committee calls on the Area Manager to accelerate the rolls out of the secure bin storage in housing complexes in the South East Area, and to provide an update and a timeline for completion of the roll out.
Order: Report to Councillor.
Motion 18 from Councillor Claire Byrne
That this Area Committee calls on the Area Manager to take immediate action to introduce traffic calming measures on Grattan Street. There have been serious incidents recently with rat running and speeding through the street causing irreparable damage to residents' vehicles and it is a real safety issue for the people living and working here. Speed bumps and traffic lights at the junction of Mount Street should be considered as a matter of urgency.
Order: Report to Councillor.
Motion 19 from Councillor Claire Byrne
That this Area Committee calls on the Area Manager to install EV charging points on Brighton Square. The residents’ association and the Commissioners of Brighton Square are all supportive of this and it would be a great opportunity to support those who are willing to make the necessary shift towards low carbon cars.
Order: Report to Councillor.
Motion 20 from Councillor Mary Freehill
That the LAC agrees to write to the Chair of LCDC regarding South City Community Partnership’s absence from Rathmines (since it vacated this Rathmines Office) which is part of its area of responsibility. Furthermore to ask them to account for its failure to respond to this committee’s request to prepare a community development work plan for the Rathmines area.
Order: Agreed.
Motion 21 from Councillors Pat Dunne, Anne Feeney and Carolyn Moore taken with Motion 1.
That this area committee asks for an updated report on the progress for the expansion of public swimming facilities at Crumlin Swimming Pool.
Order: Report to Councillor.
Motion 22 from Councillor Anne Feeney
That this Committee welcomes the recent government announcement of significant additional funding for better infrastructure for safe cycling and walking and asks DCC to ring fence a significant proportion of the funding allocated to Dublin, to provide protected cycle lanes in the Harold’s Cross, Terenure, Kimmage, Rathgar, Rathmines and Crumlin areas, particularly on school routes.
Order: Report to Councillor.
Emergency Motion from Councillors Claire Byrne, Danny Byrne and Mannix Flynn
This Area Committee calls on the Area Manager to agree to replace the surface on Castle Market with a surface that is complementary to the original surface that was removed last week, in order to retain the unique character of this City Centre Street.
Order: Report to Councillor.