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4th February 2014 • Volume 21, Issue 4 • Leader House, North Street, Swords, Co. Dublin. • Tel: 8•400•200 • www.northcountyleader.ie
Deirdre King, Marketing Manager of Swords Pavilions Shopping Centre who is a recent recipient of the Fingal Dublin Chamber of Commerce Marketing Excellence Award, saw the opportunity to promote the Pavilions on North County Leader’s innovative website. Deirdre was the first to book a full year on one of the Leaderboard positions on northcountyleader.ie. Deirdre is pictured here with Seán Fitzmaurice, IT Director, North County Leader.
Funding Available For Portrane Beach A high powered delegation, comprising two Government Ministers, local TD Alan Farrell and the acting County Manager, with Council engineers in tow, paid a visit to Portrane last week.
By Patrick Finnegan The purpose of the visit was to access, first hand, the damage caused by coastal erosion in recent years to the Burrow beach, and to listen to worried home owners, whose homes are in imminent danger from the sea. Also present were local councillors, Darragh Butler and Gerry McGuire, as well as election candidates, Di Sexton and Bob Dowling. The visit came on foot of a report, which recommends that there should be a short term, medium term and long term solution to the problem. The report also calls for a dune management programme, including engineering works and the planting of marin grass and staking out the area. The delegation included Minister of State, Brian Hayes, whose department includes the Office of Public Works (OPW), as well as local man,
Pictured at the Burrow Beach in Portrane last week, where Minister Brian Hayes took a look at the damage caused by coastal erosion are, Cllr Darragh Butler (FF), Alan Farrell TD (FG), Cllr Gerry McGuire (Lab), Di Sexton (FG), Minister James Reilly, Minister Brian Hayes, Ray Brett (Burrow Residents Association), Bob Dowling (FG), and locals Maurice Buckley, Henry Donovan and Michael Moynihan.
Minister for Health, Dr James Reilly. The meeting took place in the Brook pub in the village, after which, a walk along the battered beach, revealed the extent of the erosion. Minister Hayes recognised the problem facing the community and said, “I’ve seen the conclu-
sion of the report, which looks at the danger to homes. If we were to do some significant planting, it might be beneficial, but what I see here are homes and this is a unique situation. If I didn’t see homes in danger, the chance of funding would be minimal, because, while we
“The fact that homes are involved, changes the game” - Minister Brian Hayes
Guarded Welcome For New Bus Service A proposed new Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) scheme, including routes from Swords / Airport to Dublin City, has been given a guarded welcome by two local councillors. This new service would effectively cut the bus travel time from Swords to O’Connell Bridge to 35 minutes.
By Jennifer McShane A public consultation process on the proposal will commence on 17th February and if approved early next year and funding being available, it could be up and running by 2017 Whilst welcoming the planned new service for Swords, local councillors Darragh Butler (FF) and Tom Kelleher (Lab) see potential pitfalls for the new service, particularly in the area of the planned route through Swords. Butler, a tireless advocate for Metro North,
told the County Leader,. “My main fear would be that we get this BRT scheme instead of Metro North. We were told by the NTA that this is categorically not intended to be a replacement to Metro North. This is Cllr. Butler intended as an initial solution in advance of Metro North and that Metro North is still the long-term solution. Both Butler and Kelleher, spoke about their concerns to the County Leader. Butler said “Part of the proposed route through Swords will prove controversial and residents will get the opportunity to make a submission during the public consultation phase, and they will have my full support in this regard. It looks like they propose to open up the disused road at the front of Pinegrove as a
BRT only road, that would Castlegrange, Castlefarm, cut across the green Broadmeadows, Mooretown and space behind Mooretown Pinegrove will certainly have their and J.C.’s Supermarket, to say. “ come out at the “While the possibility of an Broadmeadow Road. It improved bus service will be then looks like the welcomed, there will most proposed route would cut certainly be opposition to the NTA across open space in a plan to construct a road across the straight line to come out park (singular and much loved) at Castlegrange next to and to continue along a the Fire Station, before road at Pinegrove that continuing on a straight was closed after a long line to the Estuary and bitter campaign,” he Roundabout and the continued. “If ever a plan Swords Bypass. called for genuine public Kelleher told the County consultation, this it it.” “The difficulty presented Leader, “Many questions at Drumcondra in trying remain to be answered Cllr. Kelleher for a dedicated Rapid-Bus regarding the details. Major challenges occur at both system into the existing infrastrucends. The proposed route from the ture will provide a very serious Estuary roundabout to the west of challenge, and it remains to be Swords is to say the least, contro- seen if a solution can be found,” versial. The residents of he concluded.
would love to protect beaches, we simply haven’t got the funding for this. The fact that homes are involved and the significant problem of isolation, that the advancing sea poses to the community, changes the game,” he said. Acting County Manager, Peter Caulfield suggested that there is no easy solution to the problem. He explained that this is a Special Area of Conservation, and the use of bulldozers was not an option. “We cannot assist with JCBs overnight, but I want to reassure the community here that Fingal County Council is fully supportive of Acting County them and we want to work Manager, Peter Caulfield with you to resolve this. We’re proposing a dune management programme in the areas most under threat. We must ensure that the defence system we put in place, is the correct one,” he said. At this point, robust exchanges filled the air and concerned residents called for drastic measures to save their homes. Ray Brett, Chairperson of Burrow Residents Association, suggested that the Spring Tide is yet to come and residents wanted sand pushed up, as a temporary measure, until a proper defence was put in place. “We need something to be done, as a matter of urgency, before the next high tide and Spring tides. We’ve had this problem for years,” he said. Minister James Reilly wanted the local community to be involved in any decision making that is to be done, and wondered why sand could not be used, as the residents suggested, and he cited an example outside his own home in Rush, where a similar problem arose. “I’m a little cheesed off with Europe being used as an excuse for not doing this, and the over-interpretation of the rules. We need to think outside the box. If they tell us to take it away, the sea will probably have done it already. Are we going to just look at each other, while the endangered homes are taken away?,” he said. The last piece in the jigsaw now lies with the County Council, who must now apply to Minister Hayes’s department for funding. Local election candidate, Bob Dowling (FG) told the County Leader, “The Minister is willing to release funds, but the County Manager must approach the Minister for matching funds, and if this happens, I know the Minister will be glad to match these funds to allow the remediation works to take place,” he said.
Grow Your Business See page 16