PHIBSBOROUGH MATTERS – APRIL 2012

24th May, 2012

Update from Councillor Ray McAdam working with Paschal Donohoe TD

PLANNING APPLICATION (2313/12) LODGED WITH COUNCIL

An application has been lodged with the City Council for the construction of nearly 90 residential units on the 274 North Circular Road site. The application under consideration by the Planning Department contains proposals for 52 apartments and 33 houses. The apartments will be built in two separate blocks, which will be five and six storeys high. Ninety-three car parking spaces will also be provided across two levels with another fifty-two bicycle spaces also being provided. Some residents have expressed their concern to me about the details of this application. Consequently, I have organised a meeting with Planning Officials to discuss details of this application. If you are interested in attending such a meeting, please contact me. The deadline for submissions on this application is APRIL 19th next.

BIN COLLECTION SERVICE

In the immediate aftermath of the change-over from Dublin City Council to Greyhound. I received a huge amount of calls and emails from residents expressing their dismay, anger and frustration at how the situation was handled. Customers were badly let down by the City Council and Greyhound for their joint failure to adequately explain how the change-over would operate, whether people would have to pay upfront charges or when their rubbish would be collected.

So, why did the change-over occur? Since the mid-90’s, Dublin City Council has been competing against other companies in a privatised market to collect household waste. Unfortunately, the City Council has been experiencing a significant loss in customer numbers in recent years and accordingly was losing huge amounts of money per year. For example, in 2011, it cost the Council €39m to provide the service whilst it only generated €20m in revenue. If the Council remained in the business for 2012, that €19m deficit would have had to be made up from somewhere else within the Budget. Therefore, services like Public Lighting, Street Cleaning and Road Maintenance would have had to be either greatly reduced or cut altogether.

Sadly, too many residents are continuing to experience difficulties with the service being provided by Greyhound. Issues still remain with the non-collection of bins and bags on a number of streets. Unfortunately, Greyhound’s customer service does not provide much help or support to residents experiencing problems. However, I am continuing to liaise with Greyhound and Dublin City Council to ensure that missed collections are provided as quickly as possible and that customer complaints are efficiently responded to. It is also important to remember that there is nothing to stop residents from seeking an alternative provider. There are eleven other companies in the City Council area who are permitted to collect household waste. Please contact me if you wish to enquire about changing to another collector.

WEED SPRAYING PROGRAMME

Throughout the past number of weeks, I have been liaising with the Public Domain Office of Dublin City Council to ensure this year’s weed removal programme starts early, given how mild our winter has been. Officials have informed me that two complete sprays will be carried out across the Phibsborough area during the coming months. The first spray is due to commence next week with the second weed spraying expected to take place from around August 1st next. However, these dates are very much weather dependent. Dublin Central is scheduled to be the first of the five administration areas in the city to be sprayed.

AN TAISCE SPRING CLEAN – GRAB YOUR RUBBER GLOVES!

Phizzfest, Phibsborough Business Association and local residents are organising An Taisce Spring Clean across Phibsborough on SATURDAY APRIL 28th between 10am and 2pm. Many hands make light work and with your help, a big difference can be made. If you are free to lend a hand and want to get involved, please contact Angela at phibsboroughbusiness@gmail.com. Keep an eye out for more news on the Spring Clean over the coming weeks.

GULLY CLEANING

I continue to liaise with the Drainage Division of Dublin City Council to ensure there is a regular programme of shore and gully cleaning in the Phibsborough area. Recent streets that have had shores cleaned include:
• MONCK PLACE: cleaned on January 10th: 6 of 7 cleaned
• ROSEMOUNT ROAD: cleaned on January 10th: 3 of 4 cleaned
• ARRANMORE AVENUE: cleaned on March 8th: 2 of 3 cleaned
• MYRTLE STREET: cleaned on March 8th: 2 of 3 cleaned
• PRIMROSE AVENUE: cleaned on March 8th: 6 of 6 cleaned
• GREAT WESTERN SQUARE: cleaned on January 3rd: 23 of 24 cleaned
If you are not satisfied with the quality of shore and gully cleaning on your street, please let me know and I’ll arrange to have these shores cleaned.

DUBLIN CITY NEIGHBOURHOOD COMPETITION

The Dublin City Neighbourhoods Competition is an annual competition for communities, schools and businesses in the city organised by Dublin City Council. It is an Area based competition with categories judged initially before being selected to go forward to the citywide competition. The closing date for receipt of nominations is FRIDAY MAY 4TH. Should you be involved in a residents’ association or group and would be interested in taking part in the competition, application forms or further information can be got be contacting the City Council on 222 5315.

ILLEGAL DUMPING

The problem of illegal dumping of rubbish continues across the Phibsborough area and the wider Inner City. However, Dublin City Council has been working to address the problem. Litter Wardens have, since the start of the year, issued 152 fines as well as removing nearly 1500 dumped bags. Since the City Council’s exit from the Kerbside Bin Collection, 43 of the 110 former waste management staff have been transferred to street cleaning duties to assist with tackling the problem of illegal dumping.

PROBLEM OF DOG DIRT ON OUR STREETS

There has been a notable increase in the amount of dog dirt on streets across the city. Unfortunately, the problem is particularly acute on streets across the Phibsborough district. Dog owners are legally required under the Litter Pollution Act to pick up after their dog should it litter the street. Sadly, too many dog-owners are ignoring this responsibility leaving footpaths in an unacceptably dirty condition. In an effort to tackle the problem, Dublin City Council will be running an awareness programme to highlight the need for responsible behaviour on this issue. The City Council has also presented a number of proposed amendments to the Litter Pollution Act and I understand these measures are under active consideration by the Department of the Environment.

TRAFFIC RELATED ISSUES

Residents on more than six streets in the Phibsborough district were surveyed recently by Dublin City Council in respect of extending Pay & Display and Permit Parking hours. I have been informed by the Traffic Advisory Group of the City Council that plans to increase the period of time pay and display and permit parking are in operation on St. Ignatius Avenue, St. Ignatius Road, Valentia Parade, Derrynane Parade, Glengarriff Parade and Innisfallen Parade were overwhelmingly rejected. Should you wish to know the result of the ballot on your street, please get in touch with me.

FINE GAEL GOVERNMENT ACTS ON MORTGAGE INDEBTEDNESS

Many families are trying to cope with serious debt problems. In the Budget, Fine Gael fulfilled our election promise and increased Mortgage Interest Relief to 30% for First-Time Buyers who bought between 2004 and 2008. Other options are being developed for people in serious difficulty, including trade-down mortgages, split mortgages and sale by agreement as well as a mortgage to rent scheme. Where people face insolvency, the Minister for Justice has published proposals to rebalance the rights of the borrower and lender in a fairer manner. An Insolvency Service would help people come to agreements with financial institutions using three new instruments including Debt Relief Certificates, Debt Settlement Arrangement and a Personal Insolvency agreement. Minister Shatter is also examining plans to cut the length of time someone can be considered bankrupt from 12 years to 3. if you require any further information on these measures, please contact me.