Election issues for North Fingal

Fingleberries

Hi All,

You know all sorts of Politicians will start to come out and promise the sun, moon and stars. However, I see this forum as an somewhere where we can organise ourselves: Create a list, or thread of issues that we see as important for our community.

Now, I wouldn't call myself a flag-waving leftie by any means or a right-wing captialist either for that matter. I see this as an excellent opportunity for the forthcoming barrage of Canvassers, Politicians and chancers that will be coming to your doorstep, train station and public spots over then next few months in the lead up to the General Election.

Then when any of them come to the door we can hit them with a list of these issues. If enough of us have this list, then they will think more seriously about the issues as they might see enough of us care about it ... and it could very well cost them a seat in the General Election if they don't listen up.

Some sample issues (just to get us started)
- The (lack of) planning for all new building projects
- Overcrowded / insufficient public transport in the area
- Lack of green space being preserved in the area.
- Insufficient Public Amenities (parks, swimming pools, etc.)
- Garda Resources
- Public safety

Please feel free to add your own ideas, experiences and issues to the list (or expand on the sample ones that I gave above).

I'm really looking forward to seeing what we can come up with. Normally I am not this serious, but the chance here is one we really shouldn't ignore.

Fingleberries

We can let them know that their responses could be reported on the internet, so any promises they make can be in the public domain for all to see - that it's not only going to to be a hollow promise they make to you on your doorstep.

Make them accountable for what they promise

blastman

Good idea. The election campaign hasn't even started officially and they were swarming (or maybe smarming) all over my house as I arrived home from work yesterday.

tbh

Good idea fingleberries (great name too!) I was thinking about this recently. I think my tack when they come to the door will be ask them what they think the biggest problems in the constituency are, and getting a feel for their principals.

I probably won't vote for Claire Daly - she's too far to the left, and too much black-and-white for me - I think in life there are grey areas which need compromise, and I don't think she could.

FG/FF - I don't know the candidates, I don't want more of the same so probably not FF, don't really know what FG are offering (and i used to be in young FG) so probably not for them, unless the candidates impress me on the doorstep.

PD - don't really like them, too right-wing for me. No point in cutting taxes if you can provide decent health care! I believe the PD guy is a hard worker tho, so again, depending on the literature I might give him a low preference.

I'll probably end up voting labour-green-any independent I like - FG (out of tradition in my house)

I guess this is the first time I'm really a floating voter!

Morpheus

Read the OP, Its not a debate about who you will vote for, its about the issues you will engage them in on your doorstep.

Mine is quite simply planning. rural and town planning issues around balbriggan.

Also am trying to get a Fingal Border Area set up whereby all those seeking asylum (see Blow In) will have to apply for a visa entry or green card. :P

catch--22

I think Garda levels in the area will be playing a major part in my rant (as i throw them off my porch)!

Living in Rush we have it bad enough...but some of the other growing areas are terrible for Garda coverage!

dcr22B

My main problem is this proposed McInerney 3,000 house development planned for near Rush/Lusk train station. Kilcoole didn't want it and I sure as hell don't want it, I already have to drive to Donabate station to get a parking spot so I can get on an overcrowded train!!!!!

sgarvan

has anyone had any Politicians knocking on their doors yet.
I have seen them walking around my estate on a few evenings but have yet to knock on my door.

The Hill Billy

catch--22 wrote:

I think Garda levels in the area will be playing a major part in my rant (as i throw them off my porch)!

Garda levels are a concern to me too. I was speaking with one of our local sargeants last week about the very same topic & he noted that at a local level there is not a lot that the politicos can do. Apparently, McDowell has provided the bucks for the extra Gardaí promised. Where those new Gardaí are assigned is down to the Garda Commissioner.

One of my main gripes will be about the health services.

Just one example:
We had an addition to the Billy family a few weeks ago. Mrs Billy had to take Hill Billy Jr II to a health center in feckin' Swords for him to get his BCG injection. Luckily, Mrs Billy has her own car & doesn't have to rely on getting public transport with another young child to the back-end of Swords & back from The Hills. Why in this day & age could a simple, but very necessary, jab for an infant not be made available in each local health center or a GP's surgery? What does a new Mum do if she lives off the beaten track in North County Dublin & has no public transport within easy access? Or has a gaggle of kids to pick up from school & has their appointment time totally disregarded & has to make a call between one child not getting essential drugs & another being stranded at school? FFS! <rant over>

Fingleberries

dcr22B wrote:

My main problem is this proposed McInerney 3,000 house development planned for near Rush/Lusk train station. Kilcoole didn't want it and I sure as hell don't want it, I already have to drive to Donabate station to get a parking spot so I can get on an overcrowded train!!!!!

I agree. The total lack of foresight and planning in the Building / planning permission area is leading to traffic and commuter chaos. Look at the Dunnes Stores in Legoland fiasco in Balbriggan, an undersized 'super'-market in the middle of loads of housing estates for which the Access routes were designed by a three-year-old with their crayons one afternoon with the benefit of some illicit drugs.

The Rush / Lusk development is another key example, trains that arrive in this area arleady jammed to the rafters with people. What will 3,000 new homes do to it?

Add to that the unending plethora of new houses popping up in Balbriggan, Skerries, Donabate, Gormanstown and Stamullen (among others). It will lead to either overcrowding on the Trains or on the Roads.

I'm sure we will be expected to be pacified by the news that the DART will be coming to Balbriggan and this will greatly relieve the congestion. (until we read the small print saying that it will be reaching Balbriggan by 2012 EPPT*)

Also ... Stop the Duplex / Townhouse madness! Why should we, who are already paying well over the odds for a home, be satisfied with a dinky box with a 40+ minute daily commute each way? The whole point in moving out of the expensive City Centre area is to move to somewhere that a nice home is affordable, not to buy the same sized shoebox you'd get in the city centre.

Greedy developers who get a friendly ear from planners and politicians are ruining the local feel to the area, and building monstrosities and eye-sores that do nothing to blend in with their surroundings. It's an absolute disgrace.

... *deep breath* ... [/end of rant, for now]

______________________________________
* EPPT: Estimated Political Promise Timeframe ... i.e. Plus or minus 10 years, and not so much on the minus.:rolleyes:

WindSock

I don't want more Garda, I want more facilities for idle young people to keep them from idling. Prevention better than cure, and all that. I also want all services available to the public to not be of third/developing world standard. Our taxes are streaming into the wrong locations.
Of course I said this to the FG that knocked on my door and all he said was 'yes, yes, yes i agree' it made for a fantastic discussion. I never had anyone agree with me so much.

catch--22

There is now a dedicated forum for the up-coming election.

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/forumdisplay.php?f=903

Maybe we can get this moved over there?

The Hill Billy

That thread is about who you will vote for, not what election issues are important to you.

I'd prefer if this thread stayed here as it is a good spot to discuss election issues directly related to North County Dublin.

catch--22

Maybe...but I think the new Election 2007 forum will evolve over the next week or two and there should be a section for each of the voting areas!

Chinafoot

I'm going to leave this thread here for now and we'll see how the other forum progresses.

catch--22

Alright...sounds good!

Jimoslimos

Mine is quite simply planning. rural and town planning issues around balbriggan.

My main problem is this proposed McInerney 3,000 house development planned for near Rush/Lusk train station.

Sorry to say but these are the kind of attitudes that has the country in the planning mess its in. FFS people elect TDs to change things on a national level, elect county councillors to implement these changes on a local level.

End result - a Dail full of grappling TDs trying to get a good deal for their own area (instead of looking after the politics of the country as a whole) in order to secure re-election. A situation ripe for exploitation by private property developers for example.

Quello Serio

I think that anyone living within smelling distance of Portrane should be very concerned about the proposed sewage treatment plant there. Malahide marina might look good, but won't smell pretty once the sewage from seven counties arrives upwind.

Most parties have policies against the plant for various reasons, but FF apparently don't have a policy (in other words they want it, but won't say so, presumeably until after the election?)

This is going to be the main election issue in the Donabate/Portrane area, so Malahide, Rush and Lusk residents should inform themselves too.

SeaSide

dcr22B wrote:

My main problem is this proposed McInerney 3,000 house development planned for near Rush/Lusk train station. Kilcoole didn't want it and I sure as hell don't want it, I already have to drive to Donabate station to get a parking spot so I can get on an overcrowded train!!!!!

I hate to say this but this is probably the best place for development. It is however pointless unless there are more trains and schools and hospitals and gardas.

I sum up my main issues as health, housing and transport.

Believer

I Like this idea of a forum to get these politicians up and running. Also agree that this is not the best way of running the country, but North County Dublin is being dreadfully ignored so we are left with no alternative. The important issues for me are listed below:

People in Rivervalley have been in contact with Swords Garda Station and were informed that only one patrol car was available for the whole of the region covered by Swords Gardai Station, including Donabate, Rollestown and South to Boroimhe. One patrol car! During the hours of 2 pm and 10 pm.

In an area of Rivervalley during the hours between 7 and 10 p.m., there were teenagers shouting and playing football in the streets, minibikes roaring around the area of Brookdale and in the Ward Rivervalley Park, as well as “boy racers” using the area as their own Mondello.

Garda foot patrols are unheard of in Rivervalley.

Burglary Statistics for 2006 from Eircom state that within Dublin, the Northside of the city accounts for 41.46% of burglaries, up on last year (2005 - 40%), while the Southside figure has shown a slight decrease to 58.34% (2005 - 60%) The postal district of North County Dublin (Swords, Malahide, Balbriggan) and South County Dublin are the two most burgled areas in the Dublin area.


January ’07. Figures released by the Dept of the Environment show that Fingal County Council is one of the most poorly funded local authorities in the country. €868m to county councils for 2007, but per head of population, Fingal County Council shows one of the poorest returns. It is ranked just 31 out of 34 local authorities.

On the subject of rezoning of the last remaining green areas in the district: following the loss of the green belt zoning on the glen Ellan, Rathbeale Road side, the result of Sinn Finn voting with FF & FG, the vote against rezoning the land at the rear of Brookdale barely made it through, with FF & FG again voting for rezoning. Felix Gallagher, Sinn Fein had to leave suddenly before the voting on an “urgent family matter”.

Moral issues effecting society such as, marriage of same sex couples. With the resultant effect on society, especially children.

Community is absent in many cases and this means that people are isolated in their own homes, often vulnerable and frightened. With proper planning this could have been avoided.

Children and young teenagers are allowed to roam the roads until midnight. This issue needs to be dealt with.

Lotto Money allocation to Swords is a fraction of other less populated areas.

We are all aware of the hospital situation in the area. People are afraid to be sick, we have had situations where there has been no GP available at weekends. As for schools, our schoolchildren have to be bussed out of the area to other schools because of overcrowding.

We need a minister in Government who will ensure we are looked after, because that is the way things are operated in Irish politics. TD’s have no clout.

Fingleberries

I've added a poll, based on some of the most common feedback to date.
There seem to be some common issues felt across all of Fingal.

Sizzler

One of the FG candidates was calling around Swords on saturday afternoon...FFS mate there was an Ireland game on ! (all be it a SHOITE game!). Crikey, pick your timing ! Im not voting for FG now due to that indiscretion

Fingleberries

They seem eager - I had a FG candidate around in Balbriggan on Thursday.

They Promised:
- a better planning system.
- independent reviews for the new water treatment plant in Portrane
- an independent review into the Dump for North Dublin.
- Respite care and in-home assistance for children with disabilities.

However; there was a lot by way of promising, little by way of details (i.e. how they plan to do these things. I'd really like the candidates to be open or frank about what they are going to do and how.

Anyone else had any encounters with candidates, or has the race not really begun yet?

Fingleberries

From another thread - this would be important for our area, too.
Why should Fingal / North county Dublin become the dumping ground for everyone elses problems?

1. The Large 'Water Treatment' (i.e. Sewerage) plant to service most of Dublin
2. The Prison - to replace Mountjoy
3. The Central Mental Hospital - To replace the current facility on the south side (near Dundrum).
4. The Super Dump between Ballyboughail and the Naul.

Anyone else notice that pattern?

All this and we get to pay over the odds with our Tax money for the benefit?

Spectator#1 wrote:

Donabate-Portrane Sewage Plant
I was at a protest in Donabate earlier today. Minister for the Environment, Dick Roche, was visiting to meet with local representatives regarding the opposition to the proposal of installing a massive sewage plant in the area to deal with a disproportionate amount of the east coast's waste, roughly (800,000 to 1,000,000).

It seems to have been all for show really, he seems to have been on some kind of a photo-op and wasn't expecting a crowd there to disrupt it. There were even be a few supporters there equipped with their kid's shoulders for him to place his hand on in a caring manner while he talked.

It was kind of funny actually. The whole thing was ruined for them by a large group of irate residents from the area following him around and firing questions at him. I heard somebody shout "sh!t on me Dicky!" quite loudly at him (his constituency is one of the ones to be served by the plant). He got out of there quite quickly but RTE got a good bit of footage. It was on the RTE news tonight and it cast a rather bad light on the way FF have handled the whole thing.

They keep trying to use it as an election carrot but that's not effective because they're in a position to do something about it right now and they haven't. I really do think that they've damaged their voting clout in North Co. Dublin as a result.

Here's a link to the story anyway, if you're interested!

http://www.rte.ie/news/9news/

Fingalian

The site of the Superdump is actually in the parish of Lusk in the Tooman area, so this is the second superdump for Lusk. The proposed dump is part of the Dublin Region Waste Management Plan which has a two pronged approach , Superdump in Lusk, Incinerator in Ringsend, but it will be a cold day in hell before Herr McDowell will allow the latter.
In my opinion the current government view Fingal as a dumping ground for unpopular projects and I hope they get slaughtered at the polls.Bertie Ahearns interest in North County Dublin stops at the end of the airport runway.

Wishbone Ash

Fingalian wrote:

Incinerator in Ringsend, but it will be a cold day in hell before Herr McDowell will allow the latter

He was questioned about it on 'Saturday View' today and says his opposition has nothing to do with the fact that it's in his constituency. :rolleyes:

Fingleberries

With the madness officially under way now, it looks like Transport, Poor town planning / rezoning and Public safety are currently the top issues in the area at the moment.

Lack of Amenities, Health care cover and school places coming in close behind.

I hope the politicians can take note and come around (at the very least) with their empty Election promisies tailored to this message.

Better, of course, would be if they came around with a genuine desire to correct or change this problem areas ... (a little blind optimism never hurt, did it? :rolleyes: )

Fingleberries

And the winner is ... Tom Morrissey (of all people).

Yep - He's the first of the Politicians who seems to have trawled this list and come out with some Propaganda about how he's running for these issues (as highlighted in the Poll on this thread).

Not that the Senator has ever been backwards in coming forwards with his own press... :rolleyes:

Buck Mulligan

Fingleberries wrote:

With the madness officially under way now, it looks like Transport, Poor town planning / rezoning and Public safety are currently the top issues in the area at the moment.

Planning & Transport are the responsibility of fingal county council planning and transport departments. The unelected officials running these departments have the real decision making power. Councillers simply rubber stamp their proposals of if they don't agree, the county manager overrides the elected repersentatives. Local democracy - me arse !. I suggest constant writing to fingal and moaning about planning and transport whilst copying all elected repersentatives. I've tried this and at least it brings issues to the fore.

The Hill Billy

At Skerries train station this morning I saw an A4 sheet pasted to the top of the litter bin. I was a rant (by someone who is quite literate, but is obviously quite disturbed when it comes to the PDs) about why McDowell, Harney & Co should not be in office. Has anyone seen these around?

catch--22

Hill Billy wrote:

At Skerries train station this morning I saw an A4 sheet pasted to the top of the litter bin. I was a rant (by someone who is quite literate, but is obviously quite disturbed when it comes to the PDs) about why McDowell, Harney & Co should not be in office. Has anyone seen these around?

Oh, I'd love to see this! Someone should take a photo if you see one around and post it up! I'll keep my eyes peeled!