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.

Fine Gael TD for Dublin West, Leo Varadkar secured a special ‘adjournment debate’ in Dail last night to discuss the lack of progress in securing a permanent school site for Mulhuddart National School and Tyrrelstown Educate Together.  A six acre site to the north of the existing village centre in Tyrrelstown has been identified and the landowner has offer to sell it to the authorities for a nominal €1. 

However, progress on securing the site has been painfully slow with the Department of Education, Fingal County Council and the developer all blaming each other for the delay.  Tyrrelstown Educate Together has already confirmed that it will only be able to accept one new class in September 2010 if progress is not made.  The debate was also addressed by Joan Burton TD of the Labour Party and Martin Mansergh TD, the Minister for the Office of Public Works, responded for the government.

Speaking in the Chamber, Leo Varadkar TD said:

‘Tyrrelstown is a case study is disintegrated planning.  The estate is almost ten years old.  There are 2,500 houses and it is home to 8,000 people, mostly young people with young families and large mortgages.  They shouldn’t have to worry about whether their child will have a place in school in next year …. The site for the school has been identified, the owner has already sought and received planning permission for two schools and a community centre but the site has not been acquired …. There is a triangle of denial and irresponsible among the council, government and developer who are all blaming each other for the delay.  The Minister for Finance promised that a school would be delivered in the run up to the last General Election and the recent Local Election.  His promise has not been kept.  This situation is a disgrace, it is an indictment of the government and an embarrassment to us all.’

The Minister was unable offer any good news and refused to comment on the legal negotiations between the developer and council.  He went on to indicate that the Department of Education had asked the council for more land to extend the temporary school complex.

The full debate including the Minister’s reply is below.
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Fine Gael TD for Dublin West, Leo Varadkar has predicted that there will be a school places crisis in Tyrrelstown in September 2010 if the designated site for the long-promised permanent school buildings is not acquired immediately. This comes in the wake of a decision by the board of Tyrrelstown Educate Together National School to accept only one junior infant class in September 2010. The school currently takes three classes per year.

‘Tyrrelstown and the greater Mulhuddart parish area are home to over four thousand people. The area has developed rapidly over the past ten years and has two primary schools which must operate from temporary buildings on a temporary site. These schools are Tyrrelstown Educate and Mulhuddart National School. Noting that the Board of Tyrrelstown Educate Together now only intends to accept one class of junior infants in 2010 that there will be a school places crisis in the area next year. The Minister for Finance, Brian Lenihan made a commitment to the community in the run up to both the General and Local Elections but these have not been honoured. There have been lots of promises but very little real progress.’

‘When I made enquires with Fingal County Council which is handling the acquisition of the site on behalf of the Department of Education, I was told that the matter is currently being held up due to legal problems with the contract provided to the council by the landowner. However, this has been going on for months now. There does not seem to be any sense of urgency. I hope that the decision of the school board will inject a much greater sense of urgency’

Today (Monday), I asked the Ceann Comhairle for permission for an adjournment debate in the Dail on this issue. The text of my motion is as follows:

That the Minister for Education, noting the fact that Tyrrelstown and Mulhuddart parish area is home to over four thousand people, has developed rapidly in the past ten years has two primary schools which must operate from temporary buildings on a temporary site. These schools are Tyrrelstown Educate and Mulhuddart National School. Noting that the Board of Tyrrelstown Educate Together now only intends to accept one class of junior infants in 2010 that there will be a school places crisis in the area next year. Noting the many commitments made by the Minister for Finance to the community in the run up to the General and Local Elections, Dail Eireann calls on the Minister for Education and Science to report to the Dail on the progress that has been made in acquiring the identified permanent site for the two school and to assure the house that the new schools will commence construction in 2010.

Department Admits Twelve Local Schools in ‘‘critical need of repair or urgent attention’

Eight Schools Spending more than €50,000 a year on Prefabs

Local Dublin West TD, Leo Varadkar has revealed Department of Education information which contains the list of all schools in Dublin 15 which require building works.

“The scale of the building problems facing Dublin 15 is chronic. Currently there are 12 separate schools being described by the Department as being in ‘critical need of repair or urgent attention’. In addition, there are three new schools projects in the pipeline, yet only one of these – the Hansfield NS school project is at the advanced Architectural Planning Stage. The other two projects, Tyrellstown Educate Together and Hansfield Community College are still stranded at the pre-architectural planning stage.”

Leo Varadkar continued “while these twelve schools are in urgent need of investment, the Department of Education is pouring hundreds of thousands of Euros each year down the drain by the renting of prefabs. Currently in Dublin 15, there are eight schools which making extensive use of prefabs – in each case at an annual cost of more than €50,000. In three cases, St. Mochta’s NS, St Brigid’s GNS, and Scoil Bhride BNS. This is dead money and could be put to much better use by providing permanent buildings for our children.”

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Kieran Dennison, one of the two Fine Gael candidates running in the Mulhuddart Ward later this year has launched his own website at kierandennison.com.

Adeola Ogunsina, who is one of the two Fine Gael candidates in the Mulhuddart Ward (along with Kieran Dennison) has launched his own website.

Mulhuddart now has more people than Howth and Malahide combined

A statistical analysis of the 2006 Census carried out by Leo Varadkar TD shows that Mulhuddart is now the 5th most under-represented council ward in Ireland. The ward which is made up of Ongar, Clonee, Hartstown, Huntstown, Corduff, Mountview, Blakestown, Mulhuddart, Tyrrellstown, Hollystown and most of Clonsilla now has a population of 53,306. With four council seats, this means that Mulhuddart has one councillor per 13,327 people. Only Carrigaline (Co Cork), Ennis (Co Clare), Blarney (Co Cork) and Waterford No 2 (Waterford City) fare worse. …[more]