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 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.

Fine Gael TD for Dublin West Leo Varadkar has called for an independent investigation into the floods which affected parts of Dublin West including the Strawberry Beds, Lower Lucan Road and Luttrellstown Road this weekend. Deputy Varadkar outlined several measures proposed by Fine Gael that will aid those affected by the flooding crisis, warn of future floods, reduce their severity and aid in flood prediction.

“My heart goes out to the families, homeowners and business affected by the floods. They deserve our help and support. Governments have had to deal with flooding before. After the 1995 floods, the Fine Gael/Labour Government amended the Arterial Drainage Acts and introduced a flood relief programme. Fine Gael wants to see this sort of action now”, said Deputy Varadkar.

Fine Gael proposals:

• Financing: The first thing that must be done is to aid those who have endured so much pain this week and help them get back on their feet and into their house as soon as possible. Over the longer term, EU Solidarity Funds should be accessed but immediate financing is needed. The €12 million in compensation is nowhere near enough..

• Independent investigation followed by full audit of nationwide flood defences: We must know what happened and what is likely to happen again. Fine Gael has called for a full independent investigation and this should be carried out without delay. It is clear that despite the severity of the weather, the flood defences failed. A full audit of nationwide flood defences needs to be carried out. Other countries also use computer modelling to predict the effects of floods based on different variables (storm strength, flood defence failure, expected level of drainage etc). The same should be developed here.

• Early Warning System: Fine Gael was the first Party to propose an early warning system and we are pleased the Government acceded to our plan. It may not always be possible to stop the waters but people need to know what is coming in order to prevent as much damage as possible. The UK operate an advanced monitoring system for flooding and communicate directly to potentially affected people through a variety of mediums such as telephone messaging, media alerts to action and through other methods such as loudhailer and siren systems. Our system should be based on the UK Model.

• Flood defences upgraded: The physical flood defence infrastructure is insufficient. After a full audit of our defences, it is clear that upgrades will be necessary. Funding from EU Structural Funds should be set aside for this.

• Drainage: As pointed out across the country, inadequate drainage was a factor in the severity of the flooding. The full audit of flood defences will look at this and a programme of drainage improvement through dredging, streams etc should be carried out. As capital expenditure, funding should be set aside through EU Structural funds to pay for this. The Government must also restore the money for drainage by local authorities that was abolished two years ago by the OPW.