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’

The budget for Connolly Hospital Blanchardstown will be by cut from €103m to €90m in 2010 according to figures seen by Fine Gael TD for Dublin West, Dr Leo Varadkar.  This represents a cut of €13 million or 12.6% and is the most savage cutback in funding for this HSE controlled hospital since the early 1980’s when outright closure of the hospital was considered.  Approximately, €5.5 million of this is a reflection of the pay cuts in Budget.  But the hospital is now expected to find another €7.5 million in savings on top of this.

‘These cuts are savage and will impact on hospital services and patient care.  Everyone understands that the country is broke and that efficiencies and savings have to be made.  But a cut back of 12.6% cannot be delivered through efficiencies or reforms in one year.  It is too much, too quickly and will result in chaos and suffering for patients and their families.  It must be reversed’

‘I will be seeking an adjournment debate in Dail Eireann to raise this issue with the Minister for Health.  I cannot see how she and Brian Lenihan can support cutbacks of this scale and brutality.  I am also calling on the government to abandon the failed HSE project and adopt Fine Gael’s FairCare policy under which money will follow the patient and hospital’s will paid more for doing more work rather than being forced to reduce the work they in order to meet budgetary targets.’

Fine Gael representatives Leo Varadkar and Eithne Loftus have welcomed a major change of heart by council officials on their draft plan for the future development Blanchardstown Village, the Blanchardstown Urban Design Framework Plan. The plan will be submitted to councillors next Monday for approval but council officials will propose major amendments to the draft on the night following a Fine Gael campaign and intensive lobbying from local residents.

Among the changes being proposed by the council official are the following:

 

• The council has abandoned its proposal for a pedestrian access through Summerfield and Springlawn estates due to ‘residents objections which render it non-viable’.
• Retention of the Tennis Courts at Hazel Lawn as an amenity even if Supequinn is re-developed.
• Abandonment of a proposal for a 5-6 storey ‘landmark’ building on the site of the Bell.
• A professional traffic management study to be done prior to the provision of new bus lanes or elimination of on-street parking.

‘The Urban Design Framework plan for Blanchardstown is a good idea. We have had too much piecemeal and developer-led planning in Blanchardstown. But it is important to get the plan right. With this in mind, Fine Gael was very active on the issue. We organised a leaflet drop to inform residents of the plans, hosted a public meeting and Cllr Loftus and Cllr Dennison succeeded in getting the deadline for observations extended to give residents more time to make their views known. While the officials in the council have not taken on board all of the changes we proposed, they have responded favourably to most of the main changes that residents asked for’, said Deputy Varadkar

‘Over 130 residents made a submission to the council on the Blanchardstown Urban Design Framework. It was a genuine exercise in local democracy. I will be seeking more changes to the draft but I very much welcome the council’s change of heart on the proposals for high-rise at the Bell and pedestrian access through Summerfield and Springlawn which have been cul-de-sac estates since they were built’ added Cllr Loftus.

Related Document: Council Document responding to the submission made by members of the public

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.

Fingal County Council has agreed to extend the deadline for submissions on the Blanchardstown Village Masterplan to January 15th from Thursday, December 17th. The request to extend the deadline was made by residents who attended a public meeting organized by Fine Gael to discuss the contents of the draft masterplan for the village. Meeting was held on Monday and was attended by over forty residents. The masterplan is not a planning application, it is a blueprint for how the village should develop over time.

‘The idea of a masterplan for future development in Blanchardstown has been broadly welcomed by residents. However, there were strong objections at the meeting to proposals for five storey buildings at prominent sites in the village. Residents want to maintain the low to medium rise aspect of the historic village. There were also very strong objections to the council’s proposals to create more pedestrian linkages between the Blanchardstown Centre and the Village by providing a pedestrian bridge linking the centre to the village and by creating walkways through Summerfield and Springlawn’, said Deputy Varadkar.

Cllr Eithne Loftus and Cllr Kieran Dennison will push these changes when the council considers the masterplan in the New Year.

Fine Gael will hold a public meeting on Monday, December 7th to consult residents on the recently published Draft Masterplan for Blanchardstown Village. The meeting will be held in the Crowne Plaza at 8pm and will be co-hosted by Leo Varadkar TD and Cllr Eithne Loftus.

‘I hope that there will be a good turnout. If approved, the Masterplan will be the blueprint for the re-development and re-generation of the village over the next twenty years. I want to ensure that residents have their input into the plan. Blanchardstown has developed in a haphazard and piecemeal way over the past few decade and is not the attractive urban village that it should be’, said Deputy Varadkar

The Urban Design Framework Plan for Blanchardstown Village is a sort of blueprint showing how the village might be developed over the next twenty years or so. The plan proposes:

• A new village square as part of the redevelopment of Superquinn & The Greyhound;
• A landmark pedestrian bridge linking the village to the Centre;
• Envisages how certain sites might be developed in the long-term including the Bell, Ryan’s Garage, Justin’s, the lands behind Springlawn, the JCDecaux site, the Blanchardstown 4×4 site and some other backland sites;
• A pedestrian connection through Summerfield rears its head again;
• Improved signage in the village, access to the Tolka Valley, parking; and
• Bus bays and cycle lanes

The plan can be viewed on-line at http://www.fingalcoco.ie/Planning/PlanningItemsOnDisplay/ Residents can make a written submission to council outlining your views on the plan Senior Executive Officer, Planning Department, Fingal County Council, County Hall, Swords, Fingal, Co. Dublin, or they can be e-mailed to devplan@fingalcoco.ie on or before 5.00pm, Thursday 17th December.

Fine Gael TD Leo Varadkar has welcomed confirmation from An Post that will review their decision to remove the post box in Castleknock Village.  The post box was removed over the summer period without any consultation with local residents or public representatives.  It was relocated at the entrance to Park Avenue near the new post box.  This follows representations made to An Post by Leo Varadkar TD and Cllr Eithne Loftus.

It realise that is not possible to have a post box on every corner.  Post Boxes should be located in area that people congregate such as shopping centres, village and large train stations.   I welcome the decision on An Post to review their decision to relocate the post box.’

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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