Fine Gael TD for Dublin West, Leo Varadkar has called on the Minister for Finance to ‘come clean’ on METRO WEST and to say whether or not it will be built and when.  Metro West will run through the western suburbs of Dublin linking Blanchardtown, Liffey Valley and Tallaght.  It will interchange with Luas, Metro North and the existing suburban service in Dublin 15.  The project was included in the government’s Transport21 plan which was published before the last general election.  It was also included in the National Development Plan (NDP).  However, METRO WEST was left out of the €39 billion Capital Programme for 2010-2016 announced by the Taoiseach, Minister Lenihan and Minister Gormley last week.  The extension of the train line from Dunboyne to Navan and the Western Rail Corridor were also left out. 

By contrast, funding for METRO NORTH and DART UNDERGROUND was ring-fenced in the plan.  It seemed clear that METRO WEST was gone until Transport Minister Noel Dempsey went on radio to say that the Navan line would go ahead even though there was no budget for it and that planning and design work for Metro West would continue so that it could be built at some point in the future.

‘I think the Minister Lenihan really needs to come clean on Metro West.  Will it be built or won’t?  And if so, when and how much will it cost?’, asked Deputy Varadkar

‘I have always been a little skeptical about Metro West.  I think it would very expensive to build especially the new bridge across the Liffey Valley from Porterstown to Liffey Valley and I am not convinced that it would cover its own running costs.  It seems to me that projects like electrifying our existing train line and linking-up all the train and luas stations in town makes more sense.  However, nobody turns down a major piece of infrastructure in their own constituency.  But I would hate to see millions of euros and thousands of man hours wasted on a project that is never going to be built.  It’s time for Brian to come clean’, he added

Fine Gael TD for Dublin West, Leo Varadkar, has called on Fingal County Council review its pilot ‘Growing Places’ policy under which a large number of open spaces and green areas are being allowed to grow wild. The policy is supposed to encourage greater biodiversity by allowing weed and wild flower to grow which in turn attract birds and insects like butterflies and ladybirds.

‘I have received a large number of complaints from residents in recent days about the council’s decision not cut the grass on open space and woodland areas in Dublin 15. In some places like Delwood, residents are particularly aggrieved as they can no long use their local park to play to football or other ball games. In other areas, residents are concerned about vermin and find the uncut areas to be unsightly.’

‘I can see the case for trying this out around woodlands or on a relatively small part of a large open space but I do not think that whole parks should be allow to go wild in this way. I am calling on the council to review its policy and scale back the areas affected’

List of areas affected in Dublin 15:

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Fine Gael TD for Dublin West, Leo Varadkar, has given a guarded welcome to plans from Dublin Bus to re-organise the bus routes around Dublin 15. The changes are planned for implementation in July and form part of Dublin Bus’ cost-cutting and rationalisation plan.

Among the changes are:

• The 37 bus will now terminate at Wilton Terrace providing a direct bus service from Clonsilla, Carpenterstown and Castleknock through town to St Stephens Green and the Luas;
• The 70 bus will serve Dunboyne and Clonee and will travel straight down the N3 without going into Blanchardstown Centre and the Village;
• The various 39 bus routes will be merged in to two routes one will be more direct and other more frequent but more circuitous;
• The badly served area around Latchford and Manorfields will now be on the 39 bus route; and
• The 39 and 70 will cross town terminating at Wilton Terrace

All 38 buses will serve Castlecurragh (they won’t go through Mulhuddart Village anymore) and will run as far as UCD

There will be greater use of existing bus lanes and less routes and roads that have no bus lanes
Bus services will run seven days a week

‘The new bus route map and timetable will be welcomed by many commuters in Dublin 15 especially those who work in the southern part of the city around St Stephen’s Green, Merrion Square and the Grand Canal. . Residents of Clonee will welcome a more direct bus service to town but won’t be happy that they are being cut off from the Blanchardstown Centre. Some people are definitely going to have to work farther to catch the bus that they want.’

‘It seems that Dublin 15 is avoiding most of the cuts to services in other parts of the city but it is hard to see how a better service can be provided with ninety fewer buses in operation across the city. I believe the time has come to allow private operators to take over some of the routes currently controlled by Dublin Bus. This would allow Dublin Bus to provide a better and more frequent service on the routes they retain. It’s a shame to see so many buses, public and private, not been used. I would still like to see the 37 terminate at the Blanchardstown Centre in order provide a direct bus service to the Centre for residents of Castleknock and Carpenterstown’

On Monday, March 1st I will be hosting a public meeting in the Crowne Plaza Hotel, Blanchardstown at 8pm.

One of the key priorities for Fine Gael in Dublin West, and for me since my election in 2007 has been the proper regulation of Residential Management Companies. I am one of the few TDs who lives in a Management Company development, so I have a personal interest in it too. Despite the explosion of the number of apartment complexes over the past decade, especially in Dublin 15, there is no proper legislation or regulations which govern these companies.

For more details on the Bill, I have set up a set on this site giving more details and seeking your feedback.

The 37 bus terminus on the Diswellstown road will be moved to Power City on the Blanchardstown Road South. The move will be welcomed by residents of the Luttrellstown and Riverwood areas who have been concerned for many years about the traffic hazard caused by parked buses on the Diswellstown Road terminus where there is no bus bay. It will also provide a better bus service between Castleknock and the Clonsilla and Moutview areas.

‘We have been calling for a new 37 bus terminus for years due to safety concerns about buses parked on Diswellstown Road. Responsibility for bus stops and terminuses rests with Dublin Bus and there have been many proposals to move the terminus in the past. By taking this initiative the council have responded to the local community and it’s hoped to have the terminus moved in time for Christmas subject to the co-operation of Dublin Bus.’

The current terminus is on the Diswellstown road where buses simply park along the road forcing traffic to overtake on a dangerous stretch of carriageway. A request in May 2008 by Dublin Bus to move the terminus to the Blanchardstown Centre failed to get approval from the Minister of Transport because of government policies which ban competition on bus routes. Dublin Bus was invited to apply again but no application was received.

The work on the Blanchardstown Road South will involve changing the road markings to allow a bus lane alongside Power City between the Ongar Road and the Clonsilla Road roundabouts with bus stops on either side of the road.

Fine Gael councilor for Castleknock, Eithne Loftus, has given a warm welcome to the decision of Fingal County Council to reject a planning application for a development of 538 high-density apartments and houses in Diswellstown, Castleknock. The council has asked the applicants, Park Developments, to submit revised plans for the development which must;

• Reduce the overall density of the development by replacing many of the apartments with detached and semi-detached houses
• Provision of a dedicated road access to the school
• Making the land between St Patrick’s National School and the access road available to the school for its use
• Changes to the design of the retail units and the terraced housing …[more]

Planning Department

Site Plan of Diswellstown Development

Fingal County Council
Ms Louise Murphy
Planning Department
Fingal County Council
Grove Road, Blanchardstown
Dublin 15
Monday, 19th January

Re: Diswellstown (F08A/1425)

Dear Ms Murphy

We are writing to make an observation on the above referenced planning application. It is noted that site is zoned for residential development and that the density proposed is broadly consistent with the current government guidelines. Nonetheless, we have a number of concerns and request that the development be refused if they cannot be addressed satisfactorily.

Local Area Plan

While an Area Action Plan (AAP) exists for this site, no Local Area Plan (LAP) has been drawn up. The AAP was agreed before LAPs were placed on a statutory footing. Given the size of the site, the many changes that have taken place in planning law and planning guidelines, we contend that the preparation of an LAP by local councillors would be appropriate prior to any planning permission being granted. This would also allow the community to have a say in the type of development that might be permitted.

Number of units

Documents included in the files suggest that the council has agreed to purchase 75 units for Part V housing. This is based on a total of 525 units being provided in the development. It is not clear why this application is for more than 525 units. …[more]

My colleague Cllr. Eithne Loftus has been distributing the attached ,leaflet throughout the Blanchardstown, Clonsilla and Castleknock area providing an update of our ongoing work. The leaflet deals with a number of important issues including;

1) The Porterstown/Kellystown Rezoning and our upcoming public meeting on the subject (Tuesday , May 13th 8pm @ Diswellstown Community Centre);

2) Traffic issues in the area;

3) Information on the €3m Fingal County Council works programme for Castleknock, Blanchardstown and Clonsilla;

4) The easing of the schools crisis, amongst other issues.

The document can be downloaded here.

Fine Gael  has arranged for a display on of the plans for the new road to link Diswellstown Road and Luttrellstown Road and the mini-pitch in Riverwood to be put on display in Diswellstown Community Centre (beside St Patrick’s School) on Thursday, 31st of January from 7:30 to 8:45pm. Both myself and Cllr. Eithne Loftus will be in attendance. Details of both are below.

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Fine Gael TD for Dublin West, Leo Varadkar has called on the Minister for Education and Science, Mary Hannifin, to clarify her plans to establish two new national schools in Dublin 15 which will pilot a new model of patronage under the auspices of the VEC.  Shortly before Christmas, the Minister announced that she would establish two VEC national schools in Dublin 15.  One on the site of the former Phoenix Park Racecourse close to Castleknock and the other in Phibblestown between Clonee and Ongar close to the Dublin/Meath border.  This represented a u-turn by the Minister who had previously announced that there would there would only be one pilot and that it would be located in the Diswellstown neighbourhood of Castleknock.

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