The Southside News 07062023

Residents demand €225,000 pay-off

Neighbours in a salubrious southside Dublin suburb demanded €225,000 each to not object to planning permission for a housing development.

The residents are protesting the development of new housing in their area. They wrote a letter to the developer, outlining their requests – but were refused, according to the irish independent.

The developer instead referred the incident to the garda fraud squad.

gardaí investigated claims that pay-offs have been made to

locals. No payment was made, and the incident was referred to the garda National economic Crime bureau.

irish independent journalist

Fionnán sheehan said some form of pay-off in exchange for compliance is not unheard of.

“Developers are admitting that in other cases, they have seen ‘go-away money’ being paid to people at the at the tail end of planning processes,” he said. “effectively what you regard as a settlement.”

however, he said this type of large settlement is rare.

“Developers and builders are saying that it’s quite common that contributions are given to things like community facilities... the footpaths, some sort of green space,” he said. “something like that something that will assuage people’s concerns.”

The group also proposed to bring an offer to other residents along the road, but this would not be for cash, merely for boundary changes.

The residents’ list of demands were to not take a legal challenge against the

development and to not support any other objection “whether by way of financial contribution, provision of information or otherwise”.

in the letter, the small group of residents wanted a signed agreement from the developers providing “€125k per house after tax (tax position to be clarified so that a gross figure can be included in the agreement) to be paid up front upon us signing the aforementioned agreements”.

Continued on page 23

Elise Cassidy Fox (age 3) at the launch of Bray Air Display which will take place over two days from July 29. Pic: Andres Poveda

Peers help to deter gum litter

PEER pressure has been identified as the number one deterrent of gum litter, according to the Gum litter Taskforce (GlT), the national awareness campaign which aims to make gum litter an issue of the past.

Research published recently to coincide with the National launch of the 2023 GlT Campaign revealed that negative perception by others was the primary reason that those surveyed no longer littered their gum waste (58%). Knowledge of the €150 fine was also a leading factor, followed by negative experience of chewing gum litter.

The findings highlight the continued impact of the GlT, a joint initiative of the Department of Environment, Climate and Communications, food Drink Ireland, and the chewing gum industry, which has played a key role in promoting proper gum litter disposal, since its launch in 2007. 87% of people now report proper gum disposal, versus 49% when the campaign began – an increase of 77.5%.

Now in its sixteenth year, the GlT campaign travels to local authorities and schools across the country hosting its Summer and ‘Bin It!’ interactive Roadshows, which promote responsible gum disposal by highlighting the environmental impacts of gum and general litter.

Private cars banned from College Green

A full ban on private cars entering Dublin’s College Green has begun to reduce traffic congestion in the city centre.

The move to expand it to a 24hour bus corridor will prohibit vehicles from driving through in all directions and alleviate “significant delays” for public transport.

The change will allow more space for pedestrians and bus services to move through the area.

The College Green bus corridor currently operates Monday to friday from 7am to 7pm and this will be made 24hour, seven days per week when the changes take effect.

“The concept of a bus gate is to have a section of roadway that only public transport and cyclists can use and in College Green, this is the wellestablished location outside Trinity College,” Dublin City Council said.

Taxi spaces will be reduced in foster Place and increased at the College Green taxi rank, while the disabled parking bay on foster Place will be retained. local access to Dame Street, the College Green area and foster Place will be maintained for general traffic.

However, vehicles cannot exit using the Bus Gate.Traffic travelling eastbound on Dame

Street, who previously used the College Green Bus Gate outside operational hours, must now use alternative routes.

The same applies to general traffic on College Street.

Each week, more than half a million pedestrians and two million passengers on public transport travel through the College Green bus gate.

This compares with just 27,000 private vehicles. A number of on-street enhancements will also be made at College Green and

foster Place under the new College Green Pathfinder Project. This will include more “inviting” public space with planters and public seating. footpaths will also be built out on Dame Street at foster Place for pedestrians.

The median on Church lane will also be increased, removing the right turn from Church lane to College Green.

Dublin Town CEO Richard Guiney said more consultation is needed with businesses to ensure future support for

Schools receive Green Flags

The population of Ireland is up by 8% since Census 2016 to 5,149,139. Pic: Jason Clarke.

pedestrianising this and other parts of the city.

“We had some issues around Capel Street with deliveries, for example when businesses were using private vehicles to make deliveries to small stores, waste companies saying they couldn’t access premises and then suspending that service.

“And we had things like plumbers and shop fit outs where they couldn’t access the premises so these are small things that can be resolved when you have dialogue.

An TA isce’s Greenschools Programme wrapped up its awards season recently with ceremonies in Dublin’s Helix and city north Hotel. Following three years of virtual award ceremonies the programme was delighted to return to in-person ceremonies in eight locations around ireland for schools in every county.

Guests at the ceremony in The Helix were treated to a special rendition of the Dermot Kennedy song, Outnumbered by students from Francis street national school, a song which they felt made them feel hopeful when faced with the climate crisis.

An Taisce is celebrating its 75th anniversary this year, while Green-schools is celebrating its 25th anniversary of delivering environmental education to schools around the country.

The 136 Dublin schools awarded this week were among 747 schools nationwide that received their flags throughout the month

Twins Mya and Zara Akinsowon at the publcation of the Census 2022 Summary Results.

Over

Deansgrange cycle lane row

NeW cycling facilities on Deansgrange Road in south Dublin will “destroy a small community” by “removing all parking” for residents, it has been claimed.

According to Independent. ie, those living in Grange Terrace, Blackrock, have been told parking spots outside their homes are to be converted into a cycle lane.

Breda Dowling, who has been living in the area for over 30 years, is concerned about this

transition. “It’s a lovely, small community that’s going to be destroyed,” she said.

“We’re not against the cycle lanes whatsoever. I’m all for looking after the climate and keeping people safe, but our safety is being ignored, we’re not being taken into consideration at all.

“Businesses won’t be able to get any deliveries and their customers won’t be able to get to them.

“We don’t know where we’re

going to park. We’re really stuck and we’re afraid of what’ll happen to us.

“What do you do with your shopping and your children?

In the depths of winter if you’re parked up the road or around the corner, we’re in a bad way, we don’t know what to do.

“We’ve no driveways so we rely on street parking because we have nothing else.

“They’re not giving us any alternative, there’s nowhere to park. They’re talking about

making a nearby green area into 14 parking spaces, but not for the residents, for graveyard users.”

According to Breda, there are 29 cottages and 11 businesses in the area, and nobody was told what the plans were.

“We were completely unaware that Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council were removing these parking spaces.

“It’s a disaster, we’ve so many older residents, we’ve ill residents, younger couples with

babies and toddlers and it’s not going to be safe for people.

“They had a meeting on March 13 where they voted not to go through the cemetery. There were a lot of people upset over that.

“They voted on a new motion to have two-way traffic and a two-way cycle track instead. There was no consultation, nothing. The residents knew absolutely nothing.

“A lot of councillors told us they didn’t realise it was

removing all parking, they thought it was a much, much smaller number, possibly six spaces.

“It’s actually the parking of the whole road,” Breda said.

A spokesperson for DLR County Council highlighted that for the past two and a half years they have been seeking to provide cycle facilities along Deansgrange Road to comply with their policy obligations and to complete the Active School Travel routes.

ISPCA appeals to pet owners to get their animals spayed

The ISPCA is appealing to pet owners to spay or neuter their pets as early as possible, emphasising the positive benefits and the most effective way to help control pet overpopulation. The charity is asking the public to talk to their vet as soon as possible.

ISPCA CeO, Dr Cyril Sullivan said: “In nearly every case, spaying and neutering has overwhelmingly positive benefits for pets, but it also prevents accidental litters of unwanted kittens or puppies, that places a significant drain on the charity’s resources, when trying to source responsible new homes.

“We have a serious canine overpopulation situation, as many people who got a dog or a puppy during the pandemic, now have found their circumstances have changed and sadly, are looking to surrender their pets for various reasons, but mostly due to the cost-of-living crisis”.

Cyril added, “one solution

to the dog over population is to ensure pets are spayed or neutered which will go a long way from unwanted litters of puppies and kittens from being born in the first place. If anyone is considering getting a dog or puppy, please consider adopting one”.

Dr Pete Wedderburn, ISPCA director, veterinary surgeon and journalist said: “It is so important we prevent family pets from having accidental litters of puppies and kittens and if young adult animals are spayed or neutered before they can breed, surprise pregnancies won’t happen. Generally, kittens should be neutered or spayed when they’re four months old and puppies before they’re six months old, but its important pet owners contact their vet for advice, to discuss dog breed specific recommendations and the positive impact this small operation will have on individual animal behaviour and health.”

Rosanna Davison with puppy Bud at the launch of the ISPCA SpayAware campaign.

Pic: Robbie Reynolds

Bright lights of city to get green revamp

Dublin City Council has begun work on upgrading the city’s over 40,000 public lights to make them more energy efficient – a project which will take around eight years to complete.

The work is being carried out in partnership with le Chéile lighting Specialists.

it’s described as one of the city council’s key efforts in realising its “energy reduction and climate action goals”.

The completed project will achieve a 50% energy reduction from the baseline, resulting in a saving of 2,500 tonnes in CO2 annually.

Once completed, the city’s 47,000 public lighting lanterns will use lED technology and be monitored, managed, and controlled by a computerised system known as a central management system.

The Public lighting upgrade Project will see the replacement of 40,000 lightbulbs with energy efficient lED equivalents, as well as replacing up to 4,000 lighting columns.

A spokesperson added that “significant amounts of public lighting legacy cabling, including ducting” will also

Dublin is 51st on world’s ex-pat cost list

The Lord Mayor of Dublin, Caroline Conroy, with Noel O’Rourke, Le Chéile Lighting Specialists preparing to change a street light on Molesworth Street as Dublin City Council announce that they have begun work on upgrading the city’s public lighting infrastructure. Pic: Damien Eagers

Dublin has been ranked the 51st most expensive city in the world for expatriates working on an international assignment.

The finding, contained in the 2023 Mercer Cost of living report, is an improvement on last year when ireland was found to be the 49th most expensive city

The irish capital is also less expensive than many European counterparts, including Zurich in third place, Geneva in fourth, basel in fifth, bern in seventh, Copenhagen in ninth place, london in 17th, Amsterdam in 28th and Paris in 35th.

be replaced. The project will involve works on functional, heritage and contemporary lighting installations across a wide range of lighting infrastructure in different areas of Dublin City. This includes lighting on City Council and ESb network assets, as well as lighting on bridges, City Council housing complexes, parks, villages, masts, and lighting along the canals.

However, it is more expensive than other European cities including luxembourg in 58th, Rome, Oslo in 60th and Hamburg in 62nd place.

“The weakened Euro against the dollar has again influenced Dublin’s ranking in 2023,” said noel O’Connor, Senior Consultant, Mercer ireland.

“High demand in the private rental market, often the biggest cost for companies placing employees on assignment, along with utility costs, present challenges for employers of international assignees.”

Extra €100 child benefit payment paid

A once-off additional €100 in child Benefit is being paid this month to help 650,000 families with the cost of living. The extra support means that €240 per child will be paid this month in respect of more than 1.2 million children.

An additional €100 payment is also being made from this month for each child for whom the Back to School clothing and footwear Allowance is paid. for a child aged 4-11, the payment will be €260 and €385 for those aged 12-22.

The measures were announced by the Government in february as part of a €410m social welfare package to support families, pensioners, carers and people with disabilities.

They also included a lump sum of €200 to people in receipt of long-term social welfare payments and a €200 payment for some Working family Payment recipients.

Both of these were made in April.

Minister for Social Protection

Heather Humphreys described child Benefit as “an extremely important income support” that reach “hundreds of thousands of hardworking families”.

She said she is “deeply conscious of the difficulties families are facing right now in meeting their bills”.

The increase is welcome for people struggling to cope with inflation, according to Social Justice Ireland, but it said the measure should have been targeted at lower income families.

“I’m very concerned that a lot of families would have gone into this cost-of-living crisis with either depleted or no reserves ... and a one-off payment isn’t enough,” the advocacy organisation’s research and policy analyst Suzanne Rogers said.

Speaking on RTÉ’s Drivetime, Ms Rogers highlighted that families with young children will need to buy new summer clothes as they would have grown out of last year’s clothing.

“If you go around a supermarket buying things like nappies, wipes and maybe a baby grow or two and a bit of formula it isn’t going to go very far.”

Ms Rogers said that lower income families have felt the increased cost of living more than others as they spend a higher percentage of their income on food and fuel.

“every single household in the country has seen their costs increase, no matter what.

“I appreciate that Government will say that to tackle the problem quickly a universal approach is key, but I’m conscious these are families that have gone without for a long time,” she added.

Hounding holiday landlords won’t help the housing crisis

MICHAEL WOLSEY

WE all know the root cause of the housing crisis - too many people are chasing too few homes. It’s a simple problem but it does not have a simple solution, so we look for villains we can blame: the Government, vulture funds, the banks and, as the holiday season looms, people who rent their properties through Airbnb. They’ve been under fire before and, a couple of years back, the criticism prompted Housing Minister Darragh O’Brien to propose a legal curb on their activities. His idea was that people renting their homes for short terms would need ‘change of business’ planning permission .

The plan ran into problems from the outset and, as things stand, only applies in Rent Pressure Zones. It is not enforced and is widely ignored. I don’t like the idea of people ignoring a law because it doesn’t suit them. But in this case it makes no difference. Extending and strengthening the rule, which is Mr O’Brien’s declared intention, won’t change anything either. It may hurt our tourist trade by restricting accomodation at a time when hotel rooms are hard to find. But it won’t put any serious

number of homes onto the housing market.

I have rented Airbnb properties eight or nine times over the past decade, in different parts of Ireland and in France and Spain. All but one - an apartment in Paris - were homes where the owners lived for at least part of the year and which they would not let on a

longterm lease.

The owners of the house we recently rented in Galway spend their summers with friends in the Canaries. They also vacate their house at other holiday periods, often at Easter and sometimes at Christmas. They might rent it through Airbnb at other times if they get a good offer, but

they expect to spend at least 30 weeks of the year in their home. They would not dream of leasing it for residential accommodation. If they could not rent it to tourists they would leave it empty or maybe, they thought, sell it and buy somewhere cheaper. Either way, nothing Mr O’Brien does will put this house on the

residential rental market. The minister has modeled his plan on one introduced three years ago in the Portuguese capital, Lisbon, which he says has been a success.

“It has had an effect in making sure properties are let out for appropriate periods,” he told a Sunday newspaper..

I have no doubt he is right,

for I have read several reports about the Lisbon scheme which make the same point.

But Mr O’Brien did not claim that the scheme had resulted in any increase in residential renting in Lisbon and nor did any of the reports.

A study of the project, presented to the annual conference of Royal Economic Society in London, suggested that the main effect had been to reduce the number of properties for sale in tourist areas of Lisbon.

People were unwilling to spend on properties if they could not recoup some of the money by short-term letting;. Prices fell but so did demand; there has been no significant increase in accommodation available for residential renting and no reduction in the rents paid by tenants.

This does not bother the Lisbon authorities because they weren’t trying to increase residential renting when they imposed the restrictions. T hey feared the tourist areas of their city were being overwhelmed by visitors and wanted to stem the tide. Other cities, such as Paris and Barcelona, take the same view and are considering similar rules.

Do we want to curb tourism in Dublin? I don’t think so. It remains a very important industry. And there is certainly no case for a curb anywhere else in Ireland.

So Mr O’Brien should beware of unintended consequences. Hounding holiday landlords will do nothing to ease the housing problem but it could deal a serious blow to our tourist trade.

Students from Rathdown School celebrate at Graduation Day 2023. Pic: Jason Clarke

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Man’s body left on plane and flown to Greece

An “urgent investigation” has been launched after a coffin containing a man’s body was inadvertently left on a plane at Dublin airport and flown to greece.

The Sunday Independent reported the incident involving an Irish citizen who died in greece. His body was returned to Ireland but his coffin was not removed from the plane, as intended.

The aircraft then returned to greece.

Swissport, the ground handling firm at Dublin Airport, said: “We are deeply sorry for the family’s experience at such a difficult time and did everything we could to ensure things were resolved quickly.”

The firm said an investigation was underway to “make sure lessons are learned”.

It was reported that the man’s remains were repatriated the following day by another airline but the funeral had to be rearranged.

His family were waiting with a hearse at the airport, but a “misload” resulted in the coffin not being spotted and removed as planned, and it went back on the plane to greece. After being informed of the mistake, the dead man’s family had no choice but to return home and re-arrange his funeral.

The company said in a statement: “We are deeply sorry for the family’s experience at such a difficult time and did everything we could to ensure things were resolved as quickly as possible.

“We are now conducting an urgent investigation to make sure lessons are learned.”

The man’s body was originally flown to Dublin on an Aegean Airlines flight from greece. Attempts were made to contact Aegean Airlines for comment, but without success.

It is understood that a different airline successfully repatriated the remains the following day.

A source said the family had been left “devastated” by what had happened.

Dublin Airport Authority was contacted, but declined to comment on the incident. Meanwhile, ryanair has called for a competing independent third terminal at Dublin Airport amid fresh criticism of the DAA.

Both the airline and the DAA (Dublin Airport Authority) have refused to rule out speculation that they are eyeing up 261 acres of land worth €200m put up for sale last week by a group who have long sought to build a rival independent terminal on the site.

One of those sellers, businessman ulick Mcevaddy has slammed the DAA’s 27-year blockade of his attempts to build an independent terminal on lands ad jacent to the airport campus. “The DAA have held us up for 27 years, they have refused to countenance an independent terminal, other than one run by them,.

Residents demand €225,000

Continued from front page

A stone wall “precise height and stone to be clarified” and changes to the boundary between the existing houses and the site for the new housing and landscaping “type of trees to be clarified/agreed with input from both sides” was also included.

“If you cannot give this... then we would accept (€50k after tax) to each house on top of the payment referred to ... above.”

The residents also sought changes to part of the development near their houses or a second option along with “€50k (after tax) to each house on top of the payment referred to...above”.

The agreement would be confidential: “There will be no disclosure from any party of any of the provisions of this agreement.”

A deal concerning landscaping and boundaries was to be brought to other neighbours – without any cash payment.

“We would also agree to put an offer from you to [other residents]. For such an offer to significantly reduce any residual risk of support for [an objection], we think this offer would need to include […] at the very minimum, but obviously the more you can give here, the more any such risk reduces.”

Plaque unveiled to Irish language writer

DublIN City Council has unveiled a commemorative plaque to the Irish language writer Seosamh Mac Grianna, at the site of his home in St Anne’s Park, Raheny.

born in Donegal in 1901, Mac Grianna came from a storytelling background, and his brother Séamus Ó Grianna was also an Irish-language author. trained as a national school teacher in St Pat’s, Drumcondra, Mac Grianna was a staunch republican, took the anti-treaty side in the Civil War, and was interned in Newbridge camp.

In 1924 he began writing as Gaeilge and during 1924–5 he contributed many of his early short stories, including ‘ teampall Chonchubhair’, ‘ teacht Cheallaigh Mhóir’, and ‘leas ná Aimhleas’, to the newly founded An tultach. These later formed the basis of his first book, ‘Dochartach Dhuibhlionna & sgéalta eile’ (1925).

He also contributed numerous articles to a range of publications, including the Irish Press. Although his active literary career only lasted around 11 years, he made a significant contribution to the development of literature in the Irish language, publishing

ten original works, translating twelve books into Irish, and also publishing a substantial number of reviews and letters. Four particular books stand out within his body of work: An Grádh agus an Ghruaim (1929), An Druma Mór (1935/1969),

Mo bhealach Féin (1940), and Dá mbíodh Ruball ar an Éan (1940).

In the main, he ceased writing after 1935; in his own words “Thráigh an tobar” - the well dried up. Around this time, be began to suffer from psychiatric

€300m spent on Metro to date

A totAl of €300m has been spent on Dublin’s various metro projects to date with construction work yet to take place.

These figures were provided by secretary general of the Deptaremnt of transport Ken Spratt who has said the spend on the Metrolink project to the end of March of this year was €115.3m, according to reports in the Irish times.

Mr Spratt said this is in addition to the €166m spent on the Metro North project with the last expenditure taking place in 2014.

Mr Spratt added that €67m of the €166m spent on Metro North “could be considered as lasting value expenditure that is still required for Metrolink”.

“of the residual €99m, approximately 28% of this amount, or €28m, was related to Railway Procurement Agency staff and associated expense costs.”

In his letter in response to a request for additional information by the Public Accounts Committee, Mr Spratt said an additional €18.6m was spent on the suspended Metro West to the end of 2012.

College football classic sells out

Ticke T s for the 2023 Aer Lingus college Football classic in the Aviva stadium are fully sold out, organisers say.

The American football game, between Notre Dame and Navy, is scheduled to take place in Dublin on saturday, August 26.

40,354 international fans will travel for the match, including 39,176 travelling direct from the Us – a number described as “a new world record for the largest number of Americans to travel internationally for a single sporting event”.

The demand for tickets “proves that ireland is the home of college Football outside of the Us”, said Padriac O’kane, co-founder and director of the classic.

illness, which afflicted him for the rest of his life. Mac Grianna lived in Dublin through the 40s and 50s, moving from place to place. Sometime around the early 1950s, he settled in a house on the coast road near Watermill Road.

The college Football classic is promoted and organised by irish American events Ltd, a joint venture between irish hospitality and events specialists corporate.ie and its Us partner, On Location.

‘Techno Yoga’ all the rage at Darndale NS

‘

teCHNo Yoga’ was all the rage at our lady Immaculate Senior National School, Darndale, last week.

It was one of six schools in Dublin 17 which took park in Community Wellbeing Week.

The range of activities included ‘Walk a Mile with a Smile’ at Darndale Park.

And both parents and pupils

took park in a techno Yoga session at Darndale Hall. our lady Immaculate Junior National School, Darndale, St Francis Junior and Senior National Schools Priorswood and St Joseph’s National School, bonnybrook, were among the other schools which also took part in events at venues including Priorswood Park.

Cllr Donna Cooney and Councillor Micheal Mac Donncha at the unveiling. Pic: Fennell Photography

Cole McMahon at the Techno Yoga session in Darndale Hall, part of Community Wellbeing Week. Pic: Siobhan Taylor.

We take a look back at extracts from old newspapers to see what was in the news this month in years gone by