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.

A proposal by the HSE to close D-DOC in Hartstown at midnight on Wednesdays and Coolock on Mondays will leave the GP out-of-hours services in North Dublin inadequate and dangerous according to Deputy Leo Varadkar. D DOC provides out-of-hour GP services to North Dublin city and county from three centres in Hartstown, Coolock and Swords.

‘This proposal is the thin edge of the wedge and if it goes ahead, we will soon find that only one centre will be open after midnight on any given night. This means that there will only one GP and driver covering the entire northside of the city including Dublin 15. This level of service will be grossly inadequate and dangerous. Reductions in services are an inevitable consequence of the budget crisis but we are entitled to equality of service in north Dublin. If this cutback goes ahead, GP out-of-hours services will be vastly inferior to those provided in Kildare and Louth/Meath where there are three doctors available in the medical centre or in mobile covering an area with many fewer people’

‘I will seek a debate on this matter in the Dail next week’

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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.