Clonliffe / Ballybough, East Wall, North Wall, North Strand, Inner City.
DO YOU LIVE IN A HOME PRONE TO FLOODING?
The Revenue Commissioners have advised me that home-owners should take account of flooding risk when completing their property tax return. Residents should include this risk and an inability to get insurance cover when completing their self-assessment. The Chairperson of the Revenue Commissioners confirmed that this value should be used in calculating the amount of property tax you may be liable to. I have requested that the Revenue Commissioners communicate this in their information campaign. This confirmation follows my raising this issue repeatedly on behalf of local residents.
Too many homes in East Wall, Ballybough and the North Strand have been flooded. Insurance companies have since refused to provide insurance cover for some of these homes. This has caused huge hardship for many residents and I am constantly raising this issue with different agencies. I am also aware that the new property tax will cause further hardship for many. A major concern of mine has been that homeowners unable to get home insurance would face the same tax bill as properties with no flooding risk. This would be clearly unfair and I have raised this with the Minister for Finance, the Department of Finance and in the Dáil. I will continue to raise this vital matter.
NORTH INNER CITY LITTER ACTION GROUP
Local people continue to highlight their frustration and anger with myself and Councillor Ray McAdam over the continued illegal dumping of rubbish. As part of the City Council’s efforts to deal with the problem a Litter Action Group has been established to examine new measures that can be introduced to tackle the problem in the North Inner City. The Action Group’s first report published last week contained various recommendations including a review of the frequency of street cleaning across the North Inner City. Other measures being examined include:
- Stiffer penalties for those caught illegally dumping their rubbish
- Identifying landlords who fail to provide proper storage capacity for domestic waste in multi-unit privately rented properties
A pilot scheme has also been established to focus on a particular area in the North East Inner City. Twenty-five streets between North Wall Quay, Gardiner Street, Clonliffe Road and East Wall Road will see extra street cleaning and a greater focus on the removal of illegally dumped bags and other materials. The City Council will be working alongside community groups and Residents’ Associations in order to address the problem. Both Councillor Ray McAdam and I will continue to keep you updated of the progress being made by the Litter Action Group.
CITY COUNCIL HOUSING TRANSFER REVIEW
Prior to Christmas, the Housing Department began a review of the City Council’s Housing Transfer process which included writing to all those who had submitted a transfer request. The Council sought to ensure that tenancy arrangements and details for each transfer applicant was correct and that housing preferences were also in order. Less than half of all transfer applicants have responded to the 6500 letters sent out by the Housing Department. Both Councillor Ray McAdam and I would strongly advise anyone who has requested a housing transfer with Dublin City Council and received such a letter to respond back as quickly as possible. If you have any questions or queries arising from the information outlined above, please get in touch with either myself or Ray and we will do our best to help.
CONSTRUCTION UPDATE ON NEW PUMPING STATION – REDUCING FLOOD RISKS
Councillor Ray McAdam and I have been continuing to keep you updated of the importance of the new Pumping Station to the drainage network across the North Strand, East Wall and North Wall districts. Construction work on this new facility should be finished shortly with it becoming operational by the summer. The City Council is undertaking a tendering process presently for the installation of additional sewers that will connect the new pumping station in Spencer Dock with the existing facility that is over-stretched on East Road. When the new mains and sewers are fully connected, all foul drainage and surface water drainage will be discharged into the Spencer Dock pumping station thereby helping to reduce the risk of future flooding across East Wall, North Wall and the North Strand.
REMOVING GRAFFITI
Residents frequently speak to both myself and Councillor Ray McAdam about the amount of graffiti appearing on buildings, properties and sites across the North East Inner City. Dublin City Council employs a corporate contractor and liaises with the Probation Service in order to remove incidents of graffiti. In recent weeks, Ray and I have requested that graffiti be removed on North William Street, New Wapping Street, Shelmalier Road, O’Sullivan Avenue, Ballybough Road, North Strand Fire Station and Xavier Avenue. If there are instances of graffiti on your street which you would like removed, please contact myself or Ray and we will follow up on your behalf with the City Council.