The Southside News 10052023

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Gardaí’s new €40m ‘nerve centre’ opens

A new garda communication control centre for the Dublin Metropolitan Region has been officially

The €40m state-of-the art premises, which will house the operations of garda calltakers and dispatchers, is based at the national Train Control Centre in Heuston Station.

The Regional Control Room is one of four communication centres operated by An Garda Síochána on a 24/7 basis in Dublin, Cork, Galway and waterford.

It is from these control rooms that trained garda personnel

answer 999 or 112 emergency calls from members of the public.

The DMR centre was relocated last november from the former Harcourt Square Garda Complex to a highspec and modern space in the nTCC at Heuston Station.

The facility, which is described as the nerve centre to Garda operations in the Dublin Metropolitan Region is comprised of a staff of 100 Garda members and Garda staff.

The Dublin control room answers and dispatches

resources to around 800 to 1,000 999 calls every day and around 39,000 per month.

They include alarm system alerts and calls through agencies, such as Dublin Fire Brigade and the Ambulance Service.

Gardaí will co-occupy the building with other agencies including Irish Rail, Dublin Fire Brigade, the national Ambulance Service and Dublin City Council.

It has been funded by the national Transport Authority under the national Development Plan.

The new facility was opened this morning by the Minister for Justice Simon Harris, Garda Commissioner Drew Harris and Chief executive of Irish Rail Jim Meade.

Mr Harris said the location of other agencies in the national Train Control Centre will “foster greater communication and collaboration”.

He said what is unique about this particular regional Garda control room “is that we’ll be joined in the building by other agencies and organisations”.

Continued on next page

Charlie Bird and Stephanie Manahan, Chief Executive Officer, Pieta at Darkness Into Light in the Phoenix Park.

Photo: Ryan Byrne

New €40m garda control centre opens

Continued from previous page “Dublin City Council will host their control rooms here in time but we’re also very pleased to join in with the Irish rail operations control room and their emergency Strategic Command Centre.

“The move will provide for more efficient delivery of service and greater agency cooperation, particularly in the area of major event management and major emergency response, but also in respect of our day-to-day responsibilities in terms of supporting the public transport network throughout Dublin.”

Mr Harris said that “ultimately it is about providing a better service to the public, more responsive, more effective and more efficient”.

He also said that it is crucial that anyone who finds themselves in an emergency situation has the confidence to call 999 and know that their call will be responded to promptly.

Willow Wheelers set off on 100km cycle

THE Willow Wheelers Cycling Club, one of Ireland’s largest cycling clubs, set off on their 34th annual 100-mile charity cycle recently.

Hundreds of cyclists took part in the event to raise funds for water, health, and education projects in africa, South america, and Southeast asia.

Founded in 1989 by Christy McDaid, the Willow Wheelers comprises primarily of current and past students from Willow Park School and Blackrock College.

over the years, the club has raised over €2 million for worthy causes throughout the world. This year’s event began at Blackrock College at 8:45am.

Cyclists will travelled via Dublin city centre en route to Kinnegad, where they will took a short rest-stop before returning to Blackrock that evening. Unlike other similar

fundraising events, the money generated from the cycle does not go to a charitable organisation.

Instead, the club engages directly with charity groups working in deprived areas of the world who need funding for local projects.

Each year, members of the club visit areas where they are providing funding to ensure the

Summer festival to rock harbour

a NEW music festival will take place in Dun Laoghaire harbour this summer.

‘Live on the Harbour’ will run at the south county Dublin seaside town from July 27th - 29th, and will see Dizzee rascal, Tinie Tempah, Jax Jones, Bingo Loco and more ply their wares.

The festival will kick off on July 27th with ‘The Ibiza orchestra Experience’, which will see a 26-piece orchestra performing classic Ibiza club hits, with DJ sets from Mark McCabe, Todd Terry and Fergie.

July 28th sees a hip-hop and rap flavour to the bill, with a headline set by Dizzee rascal, supported by JME, Nealo, Jafaris, Sello, Sweetlemonade and yesunia.

July 29th sees Bingo Loco take over the bill for their ‘Summerjam!’ programme - which includes sets by Jax Jones, Tinie Tempah, Smash Hits, the Dustin the Turkey Boiler room and more. Dizzee rascal critically acclaimed artist, having won a BrIT award, a BET award, Mercury Prize, NME award, Urban Music award, to name a few.

We help deliver 140,000 meals

Deliveroo customers in Dublin have helped provide over 140,000 meals to FoodCloud’s charity partners over the past six months as part of the company’s Full life campaign.

More than 20,000 generous Deliveroo customers in the city have contributed by rounding-up their in-app food orders by making a donation, with all proceeds going to FoodCloud helping to provide meals to their network of more than 600 charities and community groups.

money is being put to good use.

Christy McDaid, founder of the Willow Wheelers Cycling Club, commented, “We are proud of our long-standing tradition of giving back to communities in need across the globe.

“The dedication and support from our members and cyclists make it possible for us to make a meaningful difference in the

lives of those less fortunate.”

The Willow Wheelers is more than just a cycling club; it is a community that fosters the development of junior cyclists, with junior members joining from Willow Park Junior School, Willow Park First year, and Blackrock College. The club also maintains an active membership of students, parents, and other members.

Students set to compete in national final

THE stage is set for an exciting showdown at the National Final of the Student Enterprise Programme. out of over 25,000 entrants, 82 Finalists will compete across three categories on Friday, May 5th in Croke Park.

Each of the 31 Local Enterprise offices have one representative each in the Senior category with the remaining Finalists spread across the Junior and Intermediate categories. The Finalists span a whole range of sectors from agriculture and design to sustainability and healthcare.

South Dublin is proud to have three fantastic enterprises representing the region at this year National Final.

The Senior Finalist, Timeout Interactive Experiences from rockbrook Park School, offer a real-life immersive game that anyone can sign up to play in a live environment with the support of a .

The Intermediate Finalist is Daniel’s Cookies from Greenhills Community College, with his baked goods.

Finally, the Junior Finalist is The Simple Things May Not

Be So Simple from St Mark’s Community School, who have created children’s books supporting them in learning life skills.

These three outstanding businesses have proved their mettle by winning their respective categories at the South Dublin County Final last month.

Sandra Hickey, Local Enterprise office South South Dublin said, “our national finalists are excellent ambassadors for the programme and we wish them the very best of luck on Friday 5th May.

“These successful students have come through a very successful local student enterprise programmes in South Dublin which had over 620 students from 20 local schools competing to represent the county in the National Final”.

Michael Nevin, Chair of the Local Enterprise offices’ Enterprise Education Committee, said; “There is another fantastic selection of Finalists for this year’s programme.”

The nationwide partnership between Deliveroo and FoodCloud aims to tackle the twin issues of food waste and food insecurity by providing 500,000 meals for people facing food insecurity across the country. For every €1 raised, 3.2 meals will be provided to people facing food insecurity.

Through the partnership with FoodCloud, Deliveroo is aiming to save 210 million tonnes of food from going to waste.

Minister turns sod on rental scheme

Mayor of South Dublin, Cllr Emma Murphy, along with Darragh o’Brien, Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, officially turned the sod to commence a new development of 133 cost rental apartments at Belgard Square North in Tallaght town centre.

This South Dublin County Council project represents the first standalone cost rental development by a local authority in Ireland.

The development consists of three studio apartments, sixty-four one-bedroom apartments, sixty-three twobedroom apartments and three three-bedroom apartments to be delivered in three blocks, ranging from three to eight storeys together with community space and highquality communal and public open space.

The central location is ideal for the rental market with proximity to major employment, retail and education centres as well as excellent transport links and amenities, including the soon to be completed Work IQ Innovation Centre and the Innovation Square public plaza, both of which are also current Council projects.

Tom Hanks to appear at Dalkey Book Festival

On BlOOmsday, June 16, Hollywood legend, actor and author, Tom Hanks, will be coming to dalkey to talk about his début novel The making of another major motion Picture masterpiece and his path from film to fiction. Each ticketholder will receive a copy of The making of another motion Picture masterpiece.

To close the festival, Bono and Fintan O’Toole sit down together to talk about their very different but overlapping memoirs, surrender and We don’t Know Ourselves. Two dubliners, two lives, two books. Beg, borrow or steal to be at this one! and Brian Cox will join a second event at dalkey, talking to Ruth Freeman, head of science Foundation Ireland, on saturday 17th June. His event with The Edge on sunday has sold out.

Tickets to the new events with Tom Hanks, Brian Cox and Bono & Fintan O’Toole, will go on sale this at Wednesday 3rd may from 10am from dalkeybookfestival.org

This year’s festival, running since 2010, includes some of the world’s foremost writers and sharpest thinkers. The festival brings together thinkers from the worlds of literature, history, politics,

journalism, comedy and science including Brian Cox, Ruby Wax, The Edge, dylan moran, masha Gessen, Peter Frankopan, david Brooks, John Banville, Ramita navai, sebastian Barry, Jeff Goldberg, dan ariely, Richard Ford, linda yueh, liz nugent, Roddy doyle, lea ypi, Barry mcGovern, mariella Frostrup , Helen lewis, Jan Carson, sally

Hayden, Oliver Jeffers, Joseph O’Connor, simon Kuper, Robert shrimsley, deirdre O’Kane and many more.

From 15th to 18th June, one hundred of the world’s finest authors and sharpest intellects will descend on the beautiful, historic seaside town of dalkey, including writers from Turkey, america, syria,

Brazil, Iran, England, Russia, France, Germany, albania, Taiwan, China, Italy, France and of course Ireland, coming together in a spectacularly varied programme of 72 events. see the full programme at dalkeybookfestival.org

HIGHLIGHTS: Richard Ford, sebastian Barry,

Port gets to the art of the matter

Paul murray, Roddy doyle, Elaine Feeney, Jan Carson, Joseph O’Connor, liz nugent, John Banville, audrey magee, donal Ryan, merve Emre, John Connolly, Victoria Kennefick, nicole Flattery, sarah Gilmartin, alice Ryan – and more.

Brian Cox, physicist and superstar broadcaster, will be in conversation with dr Ruth Freeman, director of science for society.

The Edge sits down with Brian Cox to talk particle physics, dark matter, and guitar riffs.

Russian expert and exile, masha Gessen, will be in conversation with dylan moran. staff writer at The new yorker, leading lGBT rights activist and author of bestseller The man Without a Face, about the world’s most dangerous mind, this Russia specialist will be one not to be missed.

david Brooks of The new york Times, widely regarded as the most influential commentators in the Us, will suggest a remedy to the fragmentation and hostility so prevalent in society. and don’t miss Jeff Goldberg, editor of americas’ most prestigious literary, political, and cultural magazine, The atlantic as he discusses the state of america and predicts political and cultural trends.

dUBlIn Port Company has announced details of its art and Engagement programme 22/23 at the Pumphouse, alexandra Road.

The Pumphouse formerly housed the steam engine which powered the gates of Graving dock 1 but has been repurposed by dublin port into an artistic and cultural venue and is a key part of the Heritage Zone at dublin Port.

The theme for this year’s dublin Port art and Engagement programme is ‘Connections: The Port, the City, arts and Education’. dublin Port’s plans for the Heritage Zone at the Pumphouse include expanding its use for public exhibitions, events and performances creating a distinct and unique destination in the heart of the working port as part of integration plans up to 2040.

The art and Engagement programme has been underway since mid-2022. It includes completed art and design outputs, such as large-scale projections incorporating live and still imagery as well as workshops led by experienced artists with pupils from st. laurence O’Toole Primary school and second level art students from Ringsend College.

Pupils from Gaelscoil Lios na nÓg, Rathmines, which is one of Five Gaelscoils located in Dublin 2, 4, 6, and 8 school area, calling on the Minister of Education, Norma Foley, to establish a Gaelcholáiste in these areas. Pic: Conor McCabe Photography

Bloom 2023 hopes to be breath of fresh air

ImprovIng air quality, tackling food waste and highlighting how children benefit from outdoor play in the natural world are among the many themes which will be explored at Bord Bia Bloom 2023.

Ireland’s favourite festival of flowers, food and fun, returns to the phoenix park, Dublin, this June bank holiday weekend (June 1-5) with another vibrant mix of thought-provoking show gardens, delicious local food, and interactive entertainment for visitors of all ages.

Bord Bia expect to welcome more than 100,000 visitors to the show over five actionpacked days. Speaking at the launch of this year’s event, Jim o’Toole, CEo, Bord Bia said, “Bord Bia Bloom was created to offer a world-class, uplifting and engaging showcase for Irish horticulture, food and drink. now in its 17th year, the show provides an invaluable platform to highlight important societal issues such as climate change, sustainable production and health and wellbeing. We are proud to see how Bloom has evolved into a unique festival experience, with nature and sustainable living at its heart, while also continuing to offer

our horticulture, food and drink clients the opportunity to showcase their latest products and innovations.”

At the centrepiece of Bord Bia Bloom, a total of *22 small, medium, and large

show gardens and feature gardens will provide a colourful demonstration of the latest trends and innovations in garden design. one of the stand-out themes for 2023 is that many of the gardens focus

on spaces for children and young people. These include “The Know, Act, prevent garden” by The national poisons Information Centre (npIC) at Beaumont Hospital, in collaboration with the Health

Pyg’s pizzas named in top 50

and Safety Authority (HSA); the “First 5 garden of Wonder and Discovery” by the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth; the “rise garden” by oberstown Children Detention Campus; and the “The raising Amazing garden by Tusla Fostering”

The impact of climate change and making better use of the outdoors also feature as recurring themes in the 2023 show gardens including “A Breathing Space for Fingal” by Fingal County Council, the national Dairy Council’s “Embracing the Elements” garden; Citroën power of one alternative urban front garden by Citroën, and the green Cities Europe “greening our Cities” garden. many of this year’s showstopping gardens also feature reclaimed and upcycled materials and will be relocating after the festival as permanent gardens elsewhere.

Along with a dazzling display of show gardens, gardening enthusiasts will find plenty of inspiration in the ever-popular ‘postcard gardens’, which include nine small but perfectly formed pop-up gardens that are designed and built by community groups, schools, and training groups.

A DuBlIn restaurant has been named in a list of the 50 best pizzas in Europe. little pyg, in Dublin’s powerscourt Townhouse Centre has been voted as the 27th best pizza in Europe by 50 Top pizza, a food publication and guide that celebrates the highest culinary achievements in the competitive world of pizza. With the awards served up at a glamorous ceremony in Barcelona in Spain, little pyg was the only Irish spot to be named among other renowned pizzerias across the continent. A stylish restaurant and bar, little pyg is the sister restaurant to Dublin favourite pygmalion, and opened just before the outbreak of Covid-19. pizzas are one of their specialties, with each pizza chef sent to Italy for one year, to train under Enzo Coccia, a pizza expert. Sartoria panatieri, located in Barcelona, was voted into the top spot, headed up by rafa panatieri and Jorge Sastre. panatieri worked in Barcelona’s michelin-starred restaurant nectari before opening his own pizzeria. Coming in second place was Bæst in Copenhagen, Denmark, while 50 Kalò in london came in at number three.

Kylabelle McKinney and Carrie Linden (9) at the lauch of Bord Bia Bloom.

Photo: Chris Bellew

There’s no place like home ... if you can afford one

MICHAEL WOLSEY

AUSTRALIAN schools have been recruiting Irish teachers and Australian hospitals have been luring Irish doctors and nurses.

The recruits, or potential recruits, pop up regularly on television and radio to explain the attraction of life Down Under. Better weather, some say. Better pay, claim others. The one factor they nearly all agree on is housing.

Because, they say, nobody can afford to buy a house near Dublin and there are none to lease, even if you have enough money to meet the exorbitant rents. So sunny Sydney and balmy Brisbane seem very appealing. But before you take that big step, there is something you should consider.

If housing is the main issue that troubles your young, welleducated mind, you should read the 2022-2023 report of Australia’s National Housing Finance and Investment Corporation.

It warns that Australia’s “painful rental crisis “ is going to get worse. Why? Because of “a shortage in supply of new houses and units caused by costs and constraints in

construction.” Sound familiar? Housing is particularly hard to find in Sydney. “Rents are at record highs, buyers are seeing historically low listings, and increased migration is squeezing the market,” reports Australia’s national broadcaster, ABC. It says rents have increased by 20 per cent since January 2020.

So maybe Australia is not the land of milk and honey. How

about New Zealand? It is only a short(ish) hop to that nation of civilised constraint. Sadly, you’ll find it shares its neighbour’s problems.

“New Zealand has some of the least affordable housing in the developed world,” according to the housing charity, Habitat for Humanity.

“As a result of unaffordable housing, overcrowding issues and a poor housing stock,

300,000 New Zealand families are living in unacceptable housing conditions,” it reports. “Rents and house prices in New Zealand have increased over the past twenty years at a much faster rate than household incomes.”

Oh dear, trouble in paradise. Would-be emigrants might look nearer home but they will find similar problems.

Le Monde reports that in Paris

land reserves are running out and the French capital is trying, without much success, to convert offices, empty schools and garages into social and affordable homes .

A study of 200 cities around the world found 90% of them unaffordable to live in, according to a Euronews report on the situation in Germany.

“Even in this painfully-pricey context, Berlin’s housing crisis is especially acute,” it says In recent years, Berlin has consistently registered some of the fastest-rising housing prices in the world, Euronews says. “Rents doubled from 2009 to 2019 and haven’t stopped climbing.”

Portugal gets a good press these days as a country that shrugged off poverty and embraced technology. But prosperity brings its own problems and the threat of homelessness is one of them.

A report from Lisbon by the Associated Press (AP) personalised the issue, focusing on the plight of Georgina Simoes, a 57-year-old nursing home worker who no longer earns enough money to afford a place to live.

She earns less than €800 a month, as do about a quarter of

the country’s workforce. For the last decade, she got by because she had been paying just €300 a month for her one-bedroom apartment in what AP calls “an undistinguished Lisbon neighbourhood”.

Now, with rents soaring in the capital, her landlord is evicting her.

AP says Simoes and many others, increasingly including the middle class, are being priced out of Portugal’s property market by rising rents, surging home prices and climbing mortgage rates, fueled by factors including an influx of foreign investors and tourists seeking short-term rentals.

Now where have you heard all that before?

In London maybe, where it is said that only the rich can afford housing and the exodus of working class families has led to the closure of primary schools in some areas.

Social commentator Janice Turner lamented the trend in her column in The Times. She wrote: “The city is filling up with young people who live in flat shares at astronomical rents which private landlords can jack up every year. “

The statistics everywhere paint a depressing picture and maybe not an entirely accurate one, for there are ordinary people with ordinary incomes renting and buying homes in all these cities as, indeed, there are in Dublin.

Our capital’s housing market isn’t working well, but we’re not the world’s worst.

You wouldn’t always think that, though, if you follow the media, social or traditional. The one thing we really excel at nowadays is moaning.

Sinn Fein Rebellion, 1916. Hotel Metropole and Post Office, Dublin.” Valentin’s Series. Printed in Scotland. This postcard comes from the collections of The Old Dublin Society. If you would like a free digital copy please send an email to olddublinsociety@gmail.com

Library to be renamed over links to slavery

TriniT y College Dublin is removing the name of slave owner Bishop George Berkeley from its main library.

The 18th Century philosopher’s fall from grace was endorsed by the Trinity board today because of his links to slavery, including his advocacy for the practice.

For generations, Berkeley has been memorialised at ireland’s oldest university including naming the library after him in 1978.

However, while the Berkeley name will be dropped from the library Trinity is adopting “a retain-and-explain” approach to a stained-glass window commemorating him.

Trinity also has several portraits depicting Berkeley, which will be assessed in the future by a new, overall college policy on artwork.

Meanwhile the academic gold medals memorialising Berkeley will be reviewed by the relevant academic department. The university will continue to hold George Berkeley’s philosophical works in the

library collections and continue to teach and to research his works.

Trinity said today that the name has been judged inconsistent with the university’s core values of human dignity, freedom, inclusivity, and equality.

The denaming “does not deny Berkeley’s importance as a writer, philosopher, and towering intellectual figure. His philosophical work will still be taught at Trinity and remains of significant contemporary relevance,” a spokesperson said.

The decisions represented “a nuanced approach and are the result of careful the consideration and detailed analysis,” the spokesperson added A separate process will determine what the new name for the library should be.

The board’s decisions follow several months of research, analysis and public consultation overseen by the Trinity Legacies review Working Group, which is considering legacy issues on a case-by-case basis.

Trinity’s Provost, Dr Linda Doyle, said the landscape of a university, especially one as old as Trinity, was not static.

“Each generation of students and staff deserves a chance to influence decisions. in this case, it was our students who called on us to address the issue.

“George Berkeley’s enormous contribution to philosophical thought is not in question. However, it is also clear that he was both an owner of enslaved people and a theorist of slavery and racial discrimination, which is in clear conflict with Trinity’s core values.”

Following a separate review, Trinity recently decided to return human remains to the island of inishbofin, off the west coast from where they were taken without the community’s consent more than a century ago.

Co Kilkenny-born Berkeley, who went on to become Dean of Derry in the Church of ireland, was once a student at the university and later held the academic honour of a Trinity ‘fellow’.

Over 400 groups joined the National Spring Clean

The National Spring Clean is Ireland’s official anti-litter campaign and over the past 24 years, the initiative has been highlighted the collective responsibility we share in tackling and preventing our national litter problem.

National Spring Clean is operated by the environmental education Unit of An Taisce in partnership with Local Authorities and supported by the Department of Communications, Climate Action and environment and Mars Wrigley Ireland.

Throughout the month of April, the National Spring Clean encouraged communities from across Ireland to tackle the problem of litter in local areas and to see the benefits of a litter-free environment.

This year over 400 Dublin groups registered to carry out clean-ups throughout the county making Spring Clean 23 one of Ireland’s largest antilitter campaign to date.

Over 15,000 volunteers joined Spring Clean 23 in County Dublin removing an estimated 85 tonnes of litter.

Furthermore, National Spring Clean has been a starting point for a large number of groups

to organise regular clean-up events all year long! A mong the groups who joined the National Spring Clean this year, Tallaght Community Council hosted several cleanups throughout the months of March and April, collecting an average of 10 bags of litter for each clean-up. Among the common litter items found, the group noticed an increase in smocking related litter, particularly vape waste materials.

Balbriggan Tidy Towns hosted their National Spring Clean event at the start of April, and since then they have been out every Saturday at 11am and are asking the local community to join them.

Among the most common litter items found by this group there were drinking cans, that the group cleaned and recycled, in line with this year’s National Spring Clean focus on circular economy.

Finally, volunteers from Stoneybatter Pride of Place also hosted a clean-up on March 26th as part of the National Spring Clean, removing a considerable amount of litter from the area. Moreover, the group planted pollinators in the

area, to help with biodiversity. In addition to cleanups that had already been organised, over 80 groups and communities all across Dublin joined forces Dublin’s Four Local Authorities, Clean Coasts, National Spring Clean, Local Authority Waters Programme, Waterways Ireland, Dublin City Canals, Dodder Action, residents, volunteers, and community groups county-wide for the Dublin Community Cleanup on 22nd April.

National Spring Clean 2023 has been an amazing opportunity for communities in Dublin and nationwide to come together and do their bit for their local environment, contribute to creating a more sustainable community, be with like-minded people and make a difference.

This year, the aim for National Spring Clean was also to raised awareness about how the adoption of a circular economy model, will reduce our litter, and climate impact, meaning that as we transition to a more circular economy, we’ll see less waste, less litter, and lower emissions, and thus, cleaner planet.

82% support cull of Park deer

A public consultation on the future management of the population of deer in ireland and the phoenix park has found widespread support for culling. in the 12 months to February 2022, more than 55,000 deer were culled in ireland. The consultation was conducted as part of the development of a national deer management strategy.

The consultation on the future management of the deer population in ireland

found that a large majority of respondents agree that wild deer are impacting biodiversity, land management and road safety, and culling was deemed the most important action to address the problems.

The consultation was carried out from December to last February on behalf of the Deer Management Strategy Group that was established to look at the issue by the Government in 2022. Respondents were asked their views on the impact of

Five charities to receive fund boost

bANk of ireland has announced the next recipients of grants from its cost of living Fund.

in Dublin, the recipients include Hill Street Family Resource centre, care Alliance ireland, Quarryvale community Resource centre clG, Friends of the Elderly, and Doras bui.

The donations are targeted at groups including children and families at risk, older persons, domestic abuse charities, those with disabilities, lone parents and migrant communities amongst others.

The bank has committed €1 million overall to organisations supporting those most at risk from cost of living pressures, with the funding divided into

two tranches.

“The first part of the €1 million fund was allocated in January with €500,000 fasttracked to 13 organisations working with vulnerable groups across the island of ireland with grants from €25,000 up to €100,000.

This second round of donations will provide up to 50 smaller non-profit organisations with vital financial support in the form of grants of up to €10,000.

“The rising cost of living is a significant challenge for many families across ireland and that is why we committed €1 million in funding towards our cost of living response fund,” Myles O’Grady, bank of ireland Group cEO, said.

deer on a range of issues.

1,512 submissions were received from farmers, foresters, ecologists, academics, NGOs and public bodies.

The results seen by RTÉ News found that 82% of people said that deer are negatively impacting biodiversity.

81% said the animals are damaging agricultural land and the same percentage of respondents agreed that they are a road safety concern.

A majority of the respondents

also felt that deer are damaging forestry and they expressed a concern that the animals are a Tb threat to bovines.

Asked to rank management options in order of importance, 86% chose deer culling, 78% also supported allowing landowners to manage deer. A majority of people supported contracting hunters to enable effective population management, developing a market for wild venison and extending the hunting season.

residents call for port review

SANDyMOuNT and Merrion Residents’ Association (SAMRA) has called on Minister Eamon Ryan to commission an independent review by international experts to determine the most up to date options for the development of Dublin port. Speaking at its AGM recent;y, chairman of SAMRA David Turner said: “Given the widespread opposition (local and political) to the Dublin port company’s plan to significantly expand its footprint and to build ireland’s largest container storage facility

beside Sandymount’s uNEScO protected beach its 3FM plan is at a dead end.

“Dublin port needs to go back to the drawing board and consider all options to minimise its impact and maximise the benefits of its unique position for the whole community and not just for the convenience of businesses that use the port” he said.

“We believe the best way to identify the full range of options is to commission international experts who are completely independent and can draw on the most up to date

intelligence and what other city based ports have successfully achieved.

“Dublin port’s 3FM plan is also not future proofed. The port will have reached capacity by the time it’s finished. What is the point in spending hundreds of millions of euro on a project that will be out of date by the time it’s complete?”

Major redevelopment plans for Dublin port, including a new bridge across the river liffey to carry lorries, cyclists and potentially a luas line, were published recently.

The bridge and a new 2km

road built over the sea on the southside of the river are central to Dublin port company’s plans to develop its lands on the poolbeg peninsula and take port traffic, particularly heavy goods vehicles, off the Tom clarke/ Eastlink bridge.

The aim is to remove heavy goods vehicles off the local roads in the area.

Other parts of the plan include the largest container terminal in ireland, located in front of the ESb’s poolbeg power Station, that will have a 650m deep water berth.

Shauna Davitt and Ryan Mar

Naomi Shofoluwe and Scott Carroll at the preview screening of Guardians of the Galaxy volume 3 in Cineworld. Pix: Andres Poveda

Caitriona O’Connor and Lilly Grant

Morah Ryan and Bonnie Ryan

Harrison (10) and Kevin Lavery

TOP UP YOUR PROTECTION WITH YOUR SPRING BOOSTER

If you’re 70 or over, or have a weak immune system, then it’s time for your spring COVID-19 booster vaccine.

Your spring booster will top-up your immunity against COVID-19 for the months ahead, protecting you from serious illness or needing to go to hospital.

You will be invited for another booster in the autumn, to top-up your protection for the winter months.

Spring boosters are available until the end of May, so don’t delay.

Book an appointment today at:

Participating GPs or Pharmacies

HSELive 1800 700 700 hse.ie

COVID-19 Vaccines

Third of firms now ready to go cashless

Just under 1 in 3 Dublin businesses are now ready to go fully cashless, a survey by BOI Payment Acceptance has found. As well as offering quicker and more seamless transactions in-store, 67% of Dublin businesses also said accepting more card payments at the expense of cash is more cost effective, safer and more secure than handling cash and helps with administrative tasks.

This sentiment was strongest in fellow Leinster counties Laois (85%), Westmeath and Kildare (73%). 2 in 5 businesses nationally felt the general increase in card over cash transaction had made no material change to how they run their business.

Over 4 in 10 businesses nationally are unaware that there is no contactless limit on mobile wallet transactions. Merchants in The Pale scored better with 78% aware that there was no limit.

64% of Dublin businesses expect to grow this year despite the cost of living crisis and running costs dominating as key concerns

Over 6 in 10 Dublin businesses are confident their business will grow over the next 12 months despite global economic uncertainty and the the cost of living crisis.

Thousands walk for Darkness Into Light

tEns of thousands of people have taken part in Darkness Into Light events to raise funds for the suicide and self-harm prevention charity Pieta. Walks, runs and swims were held at dawn across Ireland and around the world, raising millions of euro to support its services.

Events got under way at 4.15am, when it was still dark.

One of the biggest was held in the Phoenix Park in Dublin, where up to 10,000 people turned out to complete the 5km route as the sun rose.

Darkness Into Light first began in 2009, when 400 people took part in a walk in the Phoenix Park to raise money for Pieta.

This year, more than 100,000 participants attended events in 200 locations in Ireland and 14 other countries, spanning five continents.

The organisers say DIL provides an opportunity for communities to come together and to bring hope to people who have been impacted by suicide.

It said the now global movement is dedicated to ending suicide and supporting those who engage in self-harm.

The charity said by taking part in Darkness Into Light, participants also play an

important role in removing the stigma around suicide and self-harm.

Last year, €4.5m was raised through events, which helped to fund 156 helpline hours, 10,956 crisis counselling sessions and

6,123 therapy sessions.

The money is used by Pieta to support people in suicidal distress and those bereaved through suicide. Pieta said the funds enables it to continue providing free

Vietnam Buddhists open new temple

of charge suicide prevention, intervention and bereavement support to people of all ages across Ireland. In 2022 alone, the charity said it delivered over 50,000 hours of free, one-to-one therapy.

98,026 people living with Asthma

There are approximately 98,026 people living with asthma in Dublin.

The survey, undertaken as part of Asthma Awareness Week 2023, revealed the stark realities of the impact of the cost of living crisis for those living with asthma in Ireland.

96% of those surveyed have been prescribed asthma medications.

Despite that, 45% of asthma patients have had to forego asthma medications for themselves, or their children, due to financial constraints.

48% of households with asthma have been in arrears on mortgage or rental payments; utility bills; hire purchase instalments or other loan payments in the past 12 months.

76% also said that their own or their child’s daily activity was limited or severely limited by the disease 25% of survey participants described their asthma as bad or very bad.

This survey was undertaken by the Asthma Society.

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thE first Vietnamese Buddhist temple in Ireland has officially been opened in Dublin. named the Minh tâm Pagoda, it is located in the Malahide Road Industrial Park in Coolock.

senior monks from the international Buddhist community were present for the ceremony, which was also attended by the Minister of state for transport and for the Environment, Climate and Communications Jack Chambers.

It is estimated that there are up to 4,000 Vietnamese Buddhists out of a Vietnamese population of 10,000 in Ireland.

In August 1979, the Government agreed to take just over 200 Vietnamese “Boat People” who were fleeing the communist regime in Vietnam. At first, they were accommodated in Red Cross centres in Blanchardstown and swords before they moved on to rented local authority housing in Dublin and other parts of the country.

The ceremony was led by the Director of the temple, Venerable Monk, Thích Phước huệ. The Minh tâm Pagoda can accommodate five hundred people.

DuBLIn is one of Europe’s most expensive and complicated capital cities to buy public transport tickets, according to a new study from environmental group Greenpeace.

The new research looks at the cost and ease of purchasing public transport tickets, while also ranking countries on their public transport costs.

Dublin scored last in the capital city rankings, with 36 out of 100 points.

The rankings were based on the simplicity of the ticketing system, the price and availability of long-term tickets, discounts provided for socially disadvantaged groups - such as students, the elderly, and the unemployed - and the VAt rate applied to tickets.

According to the study, Dublin is “the only city analysed which does not have a fixed-price long-term ticket for all means of transport and available for all passengers”, which it says is unlike all other cities studied as part of the study.

It adds that a monthly ticket is “only available for employees, when the employer is joining

the ‘tax saver programme’”.

“All other passengers can only buy monthly subscriptions for buses, trams and trains in Dublin separately,” it states.

The study notes that Dublin has an electronic ticketing system and that for the last few months, weekly payments have been capped at €32.

As part of the study, Greenpeace took this price as the basis for the ranking, in the absence of a monthly ticket.

It said the regular price is the second-highest out of all cities analysed, with London being the highest.

Although Dublin came last of the city rankings - while tallinn in Estonia, Luxembourg city and Valletta in Malta claimed the top spots – Ireland came 13th in the list of 30 countries.

Ireland received points for the travel card for people aged over 66 years, people with disabilities and carers, which, it says, “allows holders to use all public transport in the country for free”, and points for the VAt rate of 0%.

“Apart from this, there are no best practice elements in the ticketing system,” the study says.

Participants at Darkness Into Light in the Phoenix Park. Pic: Ryan Byrne

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