CABRA COMMUNITY UPDATE – January / February 2014

29th January, 2014

CABRA EAST DRAINAGE SURVEY REPORT
Engineers with the Drainage Division of the City Council have concluded survey works across the Christ The King area of Cabra East. The purpose of these surveys was to establish whether new piping can be installed along Leix Road, Dowth Avenue and the Cabra Road as a possible flood prevention or alleviation measure. Officials have now advised me that they are considering the findings of these surveys and a further presentation will be made to local Councillors in mid-February outlining what, if any, engineering solutions can be put in place to better protect homes in the area from the threat of further flooding. I continue to work on behalf of the local community to get a resolution to this issue. 

CABRA GULLY CLEANING REPORT 2013
Ensuring that the drainage network is clear of blockages and is fit to work to the maximum is something that I continue to raise with the Drainage Division of Dublin City Council. The Gully Cleaning Section of the Council provided me with a report into the frequency of gully and shore cleaning that took place across Cabra in 2013. The details supplied in this report should that a substantial amount of cleaning of the foul water network took place last year. For example, gullies and shores on Annaly Road were cleaned on fourteen occasions, Carnlough Road on eighteen separate occasions, Dingle Road twenty times, the most recent cleaning took place on October 22nd last. Fassaugh Avenue shores were cleaned twelve times, Leix Road on eight occasions throughout the year the most recent of which being December 3rd. Fertullagh Road nine times, Ventry Park on three occasions and St. Eithne Road, six times. If you would like to know how often your the foul water network on your street was cleaned in 2013 or if there are problems with blocked shores or gullies, please email me at paschal.donohoe@oir.ie and I’ll follow up on the matter with Dublin City Council.

CITY-WIDE POLICE BURGLARY OPERATION
Concern about the apparent increase in attempted burglaries has been raised with me at various residents’ meeting I’ve attended in recent weeks. This is a worrying development and it is one that I am liaising closely with senior Gardai about. The Chief Superintendent has advised me this week that local Gardai have been involved in a City-wide operation put in place by the Assistant Commissioner for Dublin to target the threat of burglaries. Targeted burglary patrols have now been introduced across the Division to combat the risk of homes being broken into and residents being burgled. This initiative comprises of mobile patrols that are directed and controlled by the Garda Command & Control Centre. Local Gardai are directed to carry out patrols in specified areas at specified times. I hope that the successful implementation of is initiative will mean that the homes of residents across Cabra are better protected from the risk of break-in.

BE SMART AS YOUR PHONE!
An increasing form of theft currently happening in the City is the theft of mobile phones. In many cases this theft is well planned and organised and is obviously a lucrative business for criminals in Ireland and abroad. The Gardai have asked me to outline some important pieces of information that better protect you or your phone from theft. Each smart phone has an individual serial number called the IMEI number which can be identified by the smart phone service providers’ network. It is a 15 digit number on the back of your handset under your battery and can be found by pressing *#06# on your phone keypad. The IMEI will appear on the screen. If your phone is lost or stolen, it can be identified by this IMEI number. Your smart phone network provider is able to block the use of lost or stolen smart phones and unblock smart phones on their network. If your smart phone is lost or stolen contact your phone service provider immediately to suspend your service and prevent unauthorised calls being made and billed to you. Report the loss or theft to the Gardai providing the identification numbers for your SIM card and IMEI number. This information may assist in the recovery of your mobile phone.

INTRODUCING DAVID ROUSE & JIMMY PRENDERGAST
Fine Gael has recently selected two candidates to contest the forthcoming Local Elections that will take place on May 23rd. They are David Rouse and Jimmy PrendergastDavid Rouse is originally from Co.Sligo, lives in Royal Canal Park and served as Chairman of the Royal Canal Residents’ Association for many years. He can be contacted at 086 355 0951 or by email at daverouse@gmail.comJimmy Prendergast is originally from Stoneybatter but has lived in Finglas since the early 1980’s. Jimmy has served as Chairman of Finglas Celtic FC for nine years and worked on Fassaugh Avenue for twelve years. He an be contacted at 087 663 4285 or by email at jimmyple14@gmail.com

POLICING PUBLIC MEETING
The Central Area Joint Policing Committee, of which I am a member, will hold a public meeting on WEDNESDAY 5th FEBRUARY at 7pm in the Deaf Village Ireland centre on the Ratoath Road. The purpose of this meeting is to provide a forum where local residents in conjunction with officials from Dublin City Council, local Gardai and local public representatives can discuss policing matters in Cabra and across Dublin Central and to put forward proposals that will assist in the policing of our communities

SIGN UP TO MY E-ZINE
Would you be interested in receiving bi-monthly email updates from me outlining some of my work as Minister for European Affairs and across the Cabra district? If you would, please subscribe to my e-zine by emailing me atpaschal.donohoe@oir.ie