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:

…[more]

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.

Fine Gael TD for Dublin West has welcomed confirmation that Fingal County Council and Castlethorn Construction have agreed terms for the sale of a secondary school site at Kellystown near Porterstown between Castleknock and Clonsilla. The site will be the permanent home for Luttrellstown Community College which is currently operating from temporary premises adjacent to Blanchardstown Hospital. The school will open to residents of Porterstown area.

Contracts are expected to be signed in the coming months. A planning application will follow and it is hoped that new state-of-art school buildings and community facilities will be on site for September 2011, once the issue of road access is addressed.

‘The rezoning of the Kellystown area was controversial. Fine Gael supported it as it was the only way to secure school sites and additional recreational facilities and open space for the area and strictly on the proviso that this would be provided before any new housing. I am pleased that progress is now being made.’

Luttrellstown Community College is now up and running in temporary premises adjacent to Connolly Hospital. They have approx 60 children in First Year and will take 90 more in September. The school secured an entry in the Young Scientists Exhibition in the first year of its existence. This is a wonderful achievement.

As you know a site for the new school has been identified in the Kellystown/Porterstown area and we are delighted to advise you that terms have been agreed for sale of the land to the council. We are optimistic that contracts will be signed soon and this will allow for a new state-of-the-art secondary school to be built for the area.

The rezoning of the Kellystown area was controversial. Fine Gael supported it as it was the only way to secure school sites and additional open space for the area and strictly on the proviso that this would be provided before any new housing.

Over the weekend, I made a submission to Fingal County Council on the proposed Kellystown Variation. The submission is set out in full below.

Background
The Kellystown variation proposal refers to 59.5 hectares of greenbelt zoned land between Carpenterstown and Clonsilla. It is proposed to rezone 32.2 hectares for open space, 24.4 hectares for residential development and 2.8 hectares for suburban centre (mixed use) development. …[more]

Just a reminder about the public information meeting on the proposed rezoning of Kellystown / Porterstown for residential development, new schools, parkland and pitches and a burial ground. The meeting will take place tonight (Tuesday 13th) at Diswellstown Community Centre from 8 pm.

Myself and Cllr Eithne Loftus invite you to a public information meeting on the proposed rezoning of Kellystown / Porterstown for residential development, new schools, parkland and pitches and a burial ground. The meeting will take place at Diswellstown Community Centre, Tuesday May 13th from 8 pm.

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.