THE GALLOPS UPDATE Sports facilities
Dublin Rathdown
I received a lengthy petition from local residents in July looking for a pull up bar to be installed in the new MUGA. The Council have informed me that there will be a budget for small scale improvements to the open space at The Gallops, and they are in the process of putting together a 'wish' list of improvements in consultation with the residents association. By the end of summer they should be able to confirm whether or not a budget is available. A pull bar will be included on the list.
The Constituency Commission Report was published in July; it will be adopted by the Dáil this coming autumn and it will provide for the breakup of the old Dublin South Constituency.
The children's playground is due to be extended later this year to include a piece of equipment for older children, a toddler seat on one of the swings, and replacement of the rubber posts with an item of multiplay for young children.
This will leave what is left of the old Dublin South Constituency to become Dublin Rathdown, a 3 seat Dáil Constituency that will stretch from the Dodder to the Dublin mountains and from Divine Word church in Marley Grange to the N11 being cut off at Leopardstown Road.
The Council also received a request for the provision of a pitch adjacent to Orby Park, and they are exploring the feasibility of this in conjunction with other improvements if a budget is available.
Tree Pruning I have asked the County Council to carry out an audit of all the trees in Glenbourne, Glencairn and Orby to see what trees are in need of attention during the pruning season especially those blocking lights and close to overhead wires. The pruning season runs from November to March.
The Rathfarnham Ward of South Dublin County Council will transfer over to Dublin South West while the areas which joined Dublin South for the 2011 General Election from Dún Laoghaire Constituency will revert back to Dún Laoghaire.
Road Safety Through the course of my recent canvass of The Gallops, a number of residents raised concerns about cars parking for the LUAS close to junctions and corners. I have asked the Council to look at the affected areas and in the interests of safety to install parking controls if necessary. To keep up to date with all my Council work, please visit: www.nealerichmond.ie
New schools A new secondary school for the Dublin South area will come under the patronage of An Foras Pátrúnachta. The Minister announced in July his decisions on the patronage of 14 new post-primary schools to be established in 2013 and 2014. For the Dublin South area, it has been decided that the new school will be a Gaelcholáiste providing instruction through the medium of Irish. The exact location of the school has yet to be determined but it could possibly be in Dundrum which is readily accessible by public transport from across Dublin South. There has been a lengthy campaign by local parents to bring a Gaelcholáiste to our area to complement the existing Gaelscoileanna and to provide a greater level of choice. Last year the Minister announced that two new primary schools would open in the greater Ballinteer & Stepaside areas to cater for the increased population, it was later decided that these two schools would come under the patronage of Educate Together. Both these schools will open in temporary accommodation this September. The first school, catering for the wider Ballinteer area will initially be housed in Saint Tiernans Community School, Parkvale. It will be located in a self-contained part of existing school with separate entrance and play area. The second school, catering for the wider Stepaside area will be housed on the grounds of De La Salle Palmerstown Rugby Club in Kilternan. This site was previously home to Gaelscoil Thaobh na Coille before they relocated to their new, permanent school in Stepaside adjacent to Belarmine. The site has existing pre fabs and a fenced play area.
Sports Volunteer Development Programme This programme is an initiative of the UCD Athletic Union Council, Dún LaoghaireRathdown Sports Partnership and the UCD Centre for Sports Studies. The aim is to equip volunteers with the skills to effectively contribute to the management and development of their club. The programme will be delivered between September and December 2012 with all sessions taking place in UCD. Participants will be required to attend all ten workshops and seminars over three evenings and two Saturdays totalling 20 hours. For further information, www.dlrsportspartnership.ie
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Sports Capital Programme There has been huge demand from clubs across Dublin for the latest round of the Sports Capital Programme. In the current round of the Sports Capital Programme €30 million is available for distribution. In Dublin alone there has been 275 applications requesting funding of more than €33 million for projects with a total value of almost €55 million. Nationally, when the 2012 Sports Capital Programme closed for applications on Friday June 1st, over 2,150 sports clubs and organisations had applied for funding. These organisations are seeking more than €224 million in funding for projects with a total value of almost €370 million. Your Fine Gael team: Cllr Neale Richmond, Cllr Tom Joyce, Peter Mathews TD, Olivia Mitchell TD, Minister Alan Shatter TD and Gay Mitchell MEP.