Southside News 19-08-2020

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LOCAL NEWSPAPER

The battle of Sandymount Radical plan will see new one-way traffic system A radical plan to reshape Strand Road in Sandymount could see traffic restricted to a single lane to make way for a two-way cycle track along Dublin Bay. Dublin City Council is set to turn the busy Dublin 4 road into a one-way street for just over 2.5km, from Sean Moore Road to the Merrion Gates, to make more road space for cyclists.

However, the plan is likely to face opposition from some local residents with one calling th e plan “disastrous”.

Similar moves to introduce segregated cycle paths on the Liffey Quays, and the creation of one-way traffic systems by Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council to facilitate

a cycle path from Blackrock to Sandycove were also made recently.

The move is part of having a continuous Dublin Bay cycle path from Sutton to Sandycove, which was announced in recent years.

“The preference might be for it to be one way heading out of town, but that might not be feasible for the full length.

What we might do is have a series of one-way sections in either direction,” City Council chief executive Owen Keegan told the Irish Times.

“There is a bus service on part of it that has to be taken into account. We will work it out in the detailed designs to make sure that what we choose makes sense.” The decision has been

welcomed by Dublin Cycling Campaign, who called the move “nothing short of seismic” and “exactly the type of ambition that’s needed if we’re going to meet the demands of Covid, short term, and climate change in the longer term.”

Lord Mayor of Dublin Hazel Chu said she was “thrilled to see this.

Thank you to Dublin City Coucil for having the ambition an looking forward to working with them, residents and all the other councillors on it.

As Lord Mayor, I plan to always work for safer & better cycling infrastructure across the city.”

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Nuala Carey, RTÉ Weather & National Lottery Presenter, and sisters Lois (6) and Maisie (11) Julian from Ballinteer at the launch of Our Lady’s Hospice & Care Services ‘Little Flower of Life’ appeal.

Pic: Conor McCabe Photography

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19.08.20

Pupils to be urged to walk and cycle WITH schools set to reopen soon, Dún LaoghaireRathdown Council has launched an initiative aimed at encouraging pupils to walk and cycle more.

The Active School Travel scheme aims to support and promote various alternative means for children to get to school in a safe and active way, in particular,

walking and cycling. This will reduce the impact on the public transport system of school reopening, avoid traffic congestion at school gates and encourage a continued move away from the use of the private car.

The initiative is also aligned to the council’s wider climate action agenda.

In the next week, the council

will launch an interactive web map, showing walking and cycling routes across the county, and other sustainable transport routes.

The council is also exploring a range of walking and cycling projects, to be developed and carried out in partnership with other stakeholders, including the Department of Transport, Tourism &

Sport, The National Transport Authority (NTA) and the An Taisce – Green Schools Travel programme.

Local schools are invited to identify local travel and transport issues, where the council can provide assistance and support. These include cycle parking, deteriorated footpaths, pinch points, and pedestrian crossing.

Councillor Úna Power Sarah Rock; Transport & Road Safety Group at the launch of the Active School Travel initiative

HSE staff to face parking fees at hospitals again HSE workers will again face charges for parking near hospitals from September, following a temporary reprieve during the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic.

In March, Dublin City Council had instructed Dublin Street Parking Services to exercise discretion when clamping cars parked in areas surrounding hospitals.

In a memo to the Lord Mayor and members, Dublin City Council (DCC) Chief Executive Owen Keegan said that, due to increasing traffic volumes and demand for on-street parking, residents with permits were currently unable to access onstreet parking near their homes.

Mr Keegan said the relaxed parking restrictions “cannot be sustained” and full enforcement would resume in September.

“The non-enforcement of paid parking restrictions in respect of vehicles owned by HSE staff, parked in the vicinity of hospitals was always intended to be a temporary measure.

“At the time it was introduced it was not a major issue in the various locations where it

Barry Francis, General Manager of The Wilder Townhouse and John Farrelly Deputy Manager at the launch of their “Wilder Bee Honey”.

Pic: Kieran Harnett

applied, as there was limited demand for on-street parking.

However, with the resumption in economic activity there has been a significant recovery in traffic volumes and in on-street parking demand,” he said.

“This has led to a situation where residents with Residents Parking Permits, living in the vicinity of major hospitals,

cannot access on-street parking at or close to their homes at certain times.

“A decision has now been made that the concession will end on 31 August, after which a full parking enforcement service will operate in the vicinity of hospitals.”

Sinn Féin Councillor Séamas McGrattan has called for

the council to reconsider its decision and extend free parking for health workers.

“Nurses and doctors will continue to put their lives on the line, continuing to carry the stress and isolation of being front line staff. Healthcare workers deserve the city’s support and solidarity. Free parking is the least that they

can expect at this time,” the councillor said.

“Nurses and doctors will continue to put their lives on the line, continuing to carry the stress and isolation of being front line staff. Healthcare workers deserve the city’s support and solidarity. Free parking is the least that they can expect at this time.”

Council plan for one-way traffic Continued from previous page Residents on Strand Road or in Sandymount have not been consulted about the plan with one describing it as “ridiculous!”

Mr Keegan added that it was not considered feasible to reallocate part of the footpath or the park along Sandymount Strand for the cycleway instead of taking away a traffic lane.

“There are parts of the footpath that aren’t wide enough and the park is part of the designated protected area, so from a planning point of view it would be very complicated to intrude on that.”

The reallocation of the road space would be implemented under temporary Covid-19 mobility measures, so would not involve going through the planning process.

Preliminary designs will be circulated to councillors in the south-east area over the next two weeks together with an outline plan for its implementation.

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19.08.20

Co-living plan ‘totally wrong’ in time of Covid A PLANNED co-living development for Dublin’s Harold’s Cross has been described by a local representative as “totally incompatible” in the age of Covid-19.

AAI Kenilworth Ltd has submitted plans to redevelop the 0.23 hectare site formerly known as Kenilworth Motors into a 201 bed shared living space.

Trinity House Investments (THI), a Singapore-based group of investors, is behind the plans to develop the site.

THI bought the site in 2018 and says it intends to develop it for “student accommodation or residential uses”.

The planned five-storey building would house 147 single-occupancy bedrooms with 27 double rooms,

potentially providing accommodation for up to 201 people. Residents will share other areas, with shared kitchens, living and dining areas at each floor level. There will also be other communal spaces such as a function room, a café, reception and laundry room.

The potential for 201 people living in the building means the planning application can be made directly to An Bord Pleanála and not Dublin City Council. Under regulations brought in the previous Government, applications for developments of more than 100 houses or mixed-use/student accommodation with more than 200 beds can be made directly to the State’s planning authority.

Strongly criticising the

proposed development, Peter Dooley, Independent representative and co-founder of Dublin Renters Union, said: “In 2016 previous Minister for Housing Eoghan Murphy changed the planning regulations neglecting community democracy in the planning process to facilitate profit-driven developers.

Now, developers can directly apply for planning permission to An Bord Pleanala under strategic housing development if they are looking for 200+ co-civing bed spaces circumventing social housing responsibilities.

“I’ve consistently campaigned against co-living developments from the start as it is akin to tenement living. Co-living tenants have shared kitchen and living facilities and pay €1,300+

a month for their bed space with no tenant protections, while the owners make huge profits.”

Mr Dooley said: “Co-living was a really bad idea in the pre-Covid days but in the midst of a global health pandemic where physical distancing is impossible this is utterly incompatible with safeguarding public health.

“We are now organising together to put forward submissions and observations to An Bord Pleanala.

“This application should be refused and all co-living developments stopped now.”

The application states that Kenilworth Hall would be operated by CRM, a Londonbased student accommodation company that operates across the UK.

Sports clubs can apply for €1,500 grants ALL Sports clubs in Dun Laoghaire Rathdown can now apply for Covid-19 Club Small Grants of up to €1,500 through DLR Sports Partnership. Funding applications must be submitted before Wednesday, August 26th via www. dlrsportspartnership.ie.

The scheme is part of a series of Covid-19 related funding from Sport Ireland, following the announcement of €70 million in funds by the Government to support the sports sector in response to the Covid-19 crisis.

The scheme will be implemented by Sport Ireland’s network of Local Sports Partnerships and will provide assistance to local clubs with covering costs associated with the reopening of sports clubs.

This scheme is separate to

the Sports Club Resilience Fund, which will be delivered through National Governing Bodies.

It is designed to support sports clubs that do not have the finances to implement Covid-19 related hygiene and social distancing protocols.

The grants can be used to support Covid-19 related expenditure dating from May 2nd onwards. As the total fund available is limited, clubs which already have the finances to implement Covid-19 protocols should not apply.

There is a €1,500 limit a club.

However, applications will be means tested and only clubs with the most need will be eligible for the full amount.

Clubs should not feel that they have to apply for the full amount to be considered for support.

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19.08.20

Dublin can be heaven ... your city wants you!

By Adam Costello For Dublin can be heaven with coffee at eleven, and a stroll in Stephen’s Green ...

We all remember the classic song praising our great city and now tourist bosses are hoping that Dubs will ‘Make A Day Of It’ by enjoying what its cafes, restaurants, and shops have to offer while they’re in town.

The Dublin Place Brand, and Dublin.ie, have launched the new campaign aimed at encouraging Dubliners to safely start returning to the city.

The campaign invites people to visit some of Dublin’s bestknown visitor attractions and then ‘Make A Day Of It’ by enjoying what the city’s cafes, restaurants, and shops have to offer while they’re in town. The aim is to stimulate economic activity in the local

tourism, retail and hospitality sectors.

“It’s amazing how little most of us actually know about our own city,” said the Lord Mayor of Dublin Hazel Chu. “Dublin has so much to offer and yet all the tourists who come here get to see more of it than we do.

“So that’s why I’m backing this campaign. My message to all Dubliners is get out, enjoy your city, visit some of the great attractions you never get a chance to visit during normal times, and Make A Day Of It while you’re at it.”

Some of the attractions featured include the Hugh

Lane Gallery, GAA Museum, Dublin Castle, and the Little Museum of Dublin.

If you’re not sure where you would like to start, why not visit Dublin.ie to see some sample itineraries on how to spend the day? Check out www. dublin.ie/day The campaign will be run on bus shelters, Digi-panels, metropoles, big belly bins and online.

“Dublin has so much to offer and yet all the tourists who come here get to see more of it than we do,” Lord Mayor of Dublin Hazel Chu said.

“My message to all Dubliners is, ‘Get out, enjoy your city, visit some of the great attractions you never get a chance to visit during normal times, and Make A Day Of It while you’re at it’,” she said.

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19.08.20

Teddy’s bears brunt of rat droppings Fingal County Council has welcomed the allocation of €200,000 towards the Fingal Coastal Way, a 32km recreational walking and cycling route stretching from Newbridge Demesne in Donabate to the county boundary between Balbriggan and Drogheda.

Awarded under the Carbon Tax Fund 2020 by the new Department of Climate Change, Communications Networks and Transport, the funding was part of a total allocation of €4.5 million towards the feasibility, planning and design of 26 greenways around the country.

It’s envisaged Fingal Coastal Way “will provide a high quality, safe and environmentally sympathetic coastal walking and cycle route that will connect Newbridge Demesne, Donabate, Rush,

Loughshinny, Skerries and Balbriggan”. A non-statutory public consultation will take place before the end of this year, which will set out three to five route options over the entire route corridor Following a series of public consultations in late 2019 on the opportunities and constraints for the Fingal Coastal Way, the development of the route is under way.

A non-statutory public consultation will take place before the end of this year, which will set out three to five route options over the entire route corridor. This will inform the preparation of a planning application and environmental assessment through 2021 and submission of the application in early 2022.

The flagship project will ultimately connect to the €12m Broadmeadow Way, a 6km off-

road cycling and walking route linking Malahide and Donabate across the scenic Broadmeadow Estuary, which was granted planning permission by An Bord Pleanála in May. A third project under way is the Malahide-to-Sutton Greenway — part of which, the €2.5m Baldoyle-toPortmarnock section, was officially opened in June.

Design and planning work on the next phase of the project, linking the greenway to Sutton and Malahide, through Portmarnock village, is under way and public consultation is expected to take place later in 2020.

Mayor of Fingal Cllr David Healy said: ‘In a regional context, the Fingal Coastal Way will form part of the East Coast Trail between Dublin City, Fingal and Meath, and ultimately connecting Louth with Wicklow and Wexford.”

Search Tributes to on for teen who died mum of the year in reservoir WOMAN’S WAY magazine and Beko, the home appliance brand, have teamed up for the fifth year to celebrate the mothers of Dubln .

The competition, now in its 17th year, is the largest awards celebrating mothers.

Open to mums throughout Ireland, finalists – chosen from each province and from Dublin – will attend a special lunch in October where each will be presented with their awards and prizes. Áine Toner, Editor of Woman’s Way said: “The world has changed but the importance of being a mum hasn’t. The awards are a reminder that there are women, and families, out there who face challenges with strength and integrity.”

To nominate a mum that deserves recognition, complete the nomination form in the current issue of Woman’s Way or visit www. womansway.ie to nominate online. The closing date for entries is September 4.

THE teenager who tragically drowned in a Dublin reservoir on the recent Bank Holiday weekend has been named locally as Abdul Gafar.

His family now say they want to erect a memorial to his honour.

Abdul, 13, got into difficulty after going into the water at Bohernabreena near Dodder Park at around 5pm.

Gardai went to the scene after receiving reports that the boy was struggling in the water, and Abdul was pulledout a short time later.

The teenager was taken to Crumlin Children’s Hospital r but was later pronounced dead, despite the best efforts of paramedics and hospital workers.

A GoFundMe page has been set up to help his grieving family who want to erect a water well in honour of his memory.

The page says: “We are raising funds to purchase a water well for our young brother who

recently passed away on the 09/08/2020.

“The water well will benefit poor communities who are desperately in need of it and also it will benefit our brother as he begins his test in the grave.”

Meanwhile, brave volunteers from the south Dublin RNLI had a busy afternoon recently when both of their lifeboats being launched within minutes to help six people in difficulty.

The Dun Laoghaire branch of the rescue service sprung into action in response to calls that a yacht had suffered steering failure two miles north of Greystones in County Wicklow.

As the all-weather boat was returning, the station’s inshore vessel was forced into action to a separate incident just outside the entrance to Dun Laoghaire Harbour.

A 23ft yacht carrying five people had suffered engine failure but were located by the quick-thinking lifeboat crew within 10 minutes.

7

19.08.20

Are school days the best days of your life?

By Paul Hopkins John Dighton was a British playwright and screenwriter of minor note, among whose work was Kind Hearts And Coronets and Roman Holiday for the cinema and the stage play The Best Days Of Your Life. The 1947 production is based upon a boys’ school and girls’ one merging just after the war.

With schools opening up in September — will all be ready and able? — it begs the

question: are school days, in fact, the best days of your life, as Dighton’s play would have it?

My own memories are tinged with a mixture of trepidation and indifference as the (un) Christian Brothers beat the three Rs and the fear of God into me. I feigned illness often to avoid their wrath but, despite my indifference, was a grade A primary pupil, winning a scholarship to secondary school, long before there was free education.

With whizzing through primary level, I took my genius as given and effectively sat on my laurels through my secondary years, just about passing my final exams. (I sometimes think I ended up in this business that is newspapers because I was not much good at anything else).

Dee Laffin at the re-opening of the Roe&Co Distillery in The Liberties, Dublin 8 recently

All that aside, a recent survey by website One4All reveals some interesting anecdotes about memories we Irish have shared from our school days.

A total of 53% say their school days were the best of their life.

Hanging out with friends is our favourite memory (47%) from our school days, while pretending to be sick – or ‘mitching’ – and playing pranks on the teachers and not doing homework are some of the negative things we did during those halcyon days. In the mix, school tours as favourite memories (22%) and the teacher not giving homework

(16%). English tops our favourite subject while Maths is voted least favourite, while to believe in the impossible, always be honest and to work hard, are just some of the ways our teachers inspired us.

That said, a good education is much broader than mere schooling, as I mentioned her recently when commenting on home-schooling during lockdown. As Mark Twain put it: “I have never let my schooling interfere with my education.”

The dreaded PE provides the unhappiest memories of school days, another survey has found.

The misery of struggling up ropes in the gym and jogging through freezing fields in shorts and vests leaves its mark on many of us. A third of those polled cited PE as a “most horrible” experience.

Bullying was, sadly, another unhappy memory, cited by a quarter of those polled and rising to a third among 16 to 24-year-olds. One in five 55-year-olds chose bullying as their worst memory, showing it is not a modern phenomenon.

But here’s something to bear in mind, as you have watched your children in relative carefree mode the last months: in the developing world a staggering 130 million children — one in 15 — are not in school, with 70% of these being girls.

This is shocking, given that education improves lives, strengthens families and helps break the cycle of poverty in even the world’s most impoverished communities.

As Nelson Mandela once noted: “Education is the most powerful weapon that you can use to change the world.”

But even in his ‘new South Africa’ students must pay school fees and buy uniforms,

books, food, shoes and other items families living in poverty simply can’t afford. Similarly, there is a lack in funds in many sub-Saharan African countries to build and maintain schools to keep pace with population growth and provide a quality education to an increasing number of school-aged children.

Such mismanagement is another day’s debate but consider this: *Girls with eight years of education are four times less likely to be married as children.

(National Academies Press) *Educated mothers are twice as likely to send their children to school. (UNICEF) *A child born to a literate mother is 50% more likely to survive past the age of five.

(UNESCO) We should all remember Malala Yousafzai, the now 22-year-old Pakistani shot in the head by the Taliban because she campaigned for the right of girls to attend school, something forbidden by the madness of fundamental Sharia law.

She graduated from Oxford in June just gone.

She has proved an extraordinary, brave young woman who, when faced with certain death, refused to be silenced.

A virtue, innate and beyond the remit of most school learning.

8 Health

19.08.20

We must talk about mental health

By Brian Quigley Dundalk lost 2-1 to Bohemians at Dalymount Park on August 7.

In the immediate scheme of things the loss was a setback to their hopes of winning the league.

On another level though it was just a game of football that didn’t go their way.

A more significant loss the club has suffered recently – that of their much-loved groundsman and videographer Harry Taaffe – must be still very raw.

Harry was lost to suicide just as the SSE Airtricity League was about to resume.

I’m removed enough from the situation to not know what had caused Harry to lose hope, but I do know that he had taken the brave step of seeking help.

I’m not here to criticise the mental health services in this country. As a sufferer of depressive illness myself, I have always been grateful for and appreciative of the care I have received from my GP and any counselling I have engaged with.

I do know that medication for depression and the various things it pulls into the mental mix – anxiety, stress, panic attacks, thought process disorder, excessive worry and various others – is not enough

The late Harry Taaffe

in itself.

Even where it is it takes weeks if not months to kick in.

The first medication you are prescribed may not be the right one for you, or even if it is it

may not be the appropriate dosage.

Counselling and other help tools need to accompany medication.

Looking back we know now

that Harry should have been classed as a suicide risk and admitted for care.

The benefit of hindsight though is no use when it comes to bringing back someone who felt so low that they had entered the departure lounge in their own mind and taken that final, lonely and painful one-way journey through its door.

The tributes to Harry paint a wonderful picture of a man who loved his club and everything about it.

He would do anything for the club, its players, fans and people.

All League of Ireland clubs have people like Harry. Brian Murray comes to mind at Bray Wanderers, a club stalwart who was also a firefighter and sadly died (along with his colleague Mark O’Shaughnessy) when bravely tackling a blaze in Bray in 2007.

When a loss like Harry’s – or Brian’s - happens, the whole club community feels it. A part of the club has died. It’s a deep wound and it takes a long time to heal.

This year has been a brutal year thanks to Covid-19.

For many people it has been the worst year in their living memory.

Personal, professional and family challenges have been forced upon us that we never thought we would have to face.

For some people many of these strands of problems have overlapped and dovetailed

in a way that has been overwhelming.

The worst thing is that the worst is yet to come.

When the dust settles on Covid-19, whether it is through a vaccine, antibody testing or herd immunity, we will see a surge in mental health issues.

Are we equipped to deal with them? Harry’s case would suggest the answer is no.

If we are to learn anything from Harry’s passing then we need to petition for the provision of the volume of service in the mental health area that will be required.

Forget how much it will cost – think about the awful cost to families, business, industry and society of people being lost to suicide.

In the meantime we can look out for each other.

If it is somebody in your club, your neighbourhood or your workplace that you are concerned for, don’t be afraid to reach out.

If you are correct and they are struggling then you have done the right thing. If they are fine then you have also done the right thing by verifying that.

There are some excellent services there that can be reached out to. The Samaritans.

Pieta House. Aware. SOSAD. Don’t be afraid to engage with them if you are in a dark place and feel you have nobody or nowhere else to turn.

Stay safe. Stay strong. Take care of each other.

Rubber duck invasion marks donor games

The Irish Kidney Association (IKA) came up up with a unique way of marking the final day of what should have been the largest international organ donor awareness event this year - a rubber Duck Race!.

More than 500 participants, including heart, lung, liver, kidney transplant recipients as well as dialysis patients and supporters, from 30 nations sould have been saying farewell to the 11th European Transplant & Dialysis Sports Championships 2020 in Dublin between August 2-9 August which were cancelled due to the pandemic.

To mark the event, two grateful Irish transplant recipients and members of Transplant Team Ireland were joined by a kidney donor father and his transplant son who enjoyed the fun and frolics of the virtual Duck Race.

The race, involving 30 green ducks, each with their nation’s

Transplant Team Ireland Captain Harry Ward from Baldoyle. Picture Conor McCabe Photography

flag colours on their plastic plumage, was held at a water feature beside the IKA’s head office at Donor House in Dublin’s Park West.

A Slovenian duck won convincingly followed by Germany in second place and Cyprus third while Ireland’s duck bobbed along behind.

Team Ireland Captain Harry Ward from Baldoyle underwent a kidney transplant 13 years ago while newcomer to the team

Simon Keegan from Dublin 1, who was on life support before undergoing a heart transplant two years ago observed with father and son Ivan and Sam Kinahan (5) from Baldoyle.

Ivan who had returned to work since donating a kidney to Sam last June had taken this week off work for the Games and had planned to take part in a Donor Race for families of organ donors.

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19.08.20

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10 Education

Employers will be entitled to a financial incentive of €3,000 to take on apprentices under a new scheme announced recently.

Minister for Higher Education and Innovation Simon Harris wants to expand the model to include more sectors of the economy as it recovers from the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Over 18,000 people are currently undertaking an apprenticeship across a wide range of occupations from electrical, construction and engineering roles to healthcare, information technology and financial services,” he s aid.

“Our ambition is to see that number grow and the Government provided funding for this new incentive for employers in the July stimulus package.”

Minister Harris said it was an exciting option for people of different ages and backgrounds and for career changers, as well as school leavers.

The minister wants to see the numbers grow and the Government provided funding in the July stimulus package for this purpose.

He will announce a €3,000 financial incentive for employers who take on new apprentices between March and the end of the year.

19.08.20

Companies to get €3,000 if they take on apprentices Mr Harris said these apprentices will play a key part in Ireland’s recovery and the country’s future.

“I am pleased to be launching this incentive at the announcement of the winners of the Generation Apprenticeship competition.

“These winning teams demonstrate all that is good about apprenticeship and the key part it is going to play in Ireland’s recovery and our country’s future.

“It is a really exciting option for people of different ages, genders and backgrounds, career changers and school leavers, to forge brilliant careers for themselves.

“I congratulate all the teams and thank them for being part of the campaign to promote this new Apprenticeship Incentivisation Scheme.

“These teams showcase the talent available to Ireland’s

Six Dunboyne College of Further Education Students, including two from Co Dublin, were worthy recipients of scholarship awards from local four businesses in a new programme initiated by the college. The four companies involved were Alltec Ireland, Dunboyne, Lyons Financial, Dunboyne, KBC Bank, Maynooth and Sean Henry

employers, who can receive a €3,000 incentive payment for each new apprentice registered between March and the end of the year.

“I encourage all employers to visit www.apprenticeship.ie and consider this. It’s a win-win - help develop an apprentice’s potential while you develop your company.”

Sponsored by the ESB and CIF, the Generation Apprenticeship Competition promotes and celebrates the best teamwork, leadership, creativity and problem-solving skills of Ireland’s apprentices.

The competition has two categories to showcase skills across the full spectrum of apprenticeship programmes.

Now in its third year, the Generation Apprenticeship Competition challenges teams of apprentices to design and produce a 6-foot, 3-dimensional letter A (based on the Generation Apprenticeship brand) using the materials/ equipment/tools of their industry.

The competition was judged

by Noreen O’Hare, senior executive in Microsoft and a member of the Apprenticeship Council, Charlie Dolan of Charlie Dolan Consulting and Róisín Murphy, the highly renowned architect and broadcaster.

11

19.08.20

Childline ready as students go back to school ISPCC Childline has welcomed the announcement of plans for children’s return to school later this month in County Dublin and outlined details of support for parents, carers, children and young people preparing for the transition back to the classroom.

The organisation, which provides a range of services directly to children, young people and families in Ireland, including the Childline listening service, experienced a surge in demand for support when schools across the country first closed in March as a result of restrictions associated with the Covid-19 pandemic.

Childline answered over 72,000 online contacts, calls and texts from children and young people in Wicklow and across Ireland between the week in which schools closed in March and the last week in June. Many of those who contacted the service did so

Vincents is there for you

Getting children back to school or college can put households under financial strain, but did you know relief may be available through your local branch of the Society of St Vincent De Paul?

All help comes with an assurance of confidentiality.

This year has been exceptionally difficult for many, with budgets under considerable additional pressure.

Seeking assistance is very easy: simply call 01 8550022 or email the society via its website svp.ie. Volunteers in the local area will then make contact and do their best to help.

to talk about how they were anxious to return to school, missed their friends and daily routines and worried about exams and related issues.

Themes which will be of key importance to families preparing for the return to primary school next month, Childline stated, include building resilience, communicating clearly, seeking and accepting support and enhancing capacity to cope.

The development of these personal resources will be central to free ‘Transition Back to School’ webinars, which the service is set to deliver to parents, carers, children and young people on August 17 and August 18.

The organisation will also extend the hours of its Support Line service for three weeks from August 17 to September 4, making the service available to parents, carers and members of the public from 9am to 5pm each day.

12 House & Home

19.08.20

Tips for find a good build

House & Home 13

19.08.20

ding der

Looking for a good builder is a time-consuming task.

Whatever is the type of the house you are going for, you must ensure that it is a good quality one from a reputable builder. Here are some tips to help you choose a builder.

Start with a list of potential builders.

Make use of the property section of your local newspapers to search for builders and projects.

Check with friends and relatives for recommendations and opinions.

If they recently had the same work done, ask them about the builders they were associated with and how was their experience with them.

Do not be fooled by fake builders. Some builders fraudulently claim membership of trade associations, so verify if one is a bona fide member or not.

It’s time for homework!

Once you have prepared a list of potential builders, now it is time to start enquiring about the potential builders and people who have bought homes from them. Visit the builders personally and ask your queries. Check with them if they are insured or not. They should have insurance to protect themselves and to deal their liability to you in the case of property damage or an injury or accident. It would also be good to visit a few recently built

homes by the builder.

Try to meet several home owners and collect a few random opinions. Ask them if they are happy with their homes, do they face any issues, was the builder prompt in addressing their issues, etc. This step helps you to get a genuine review in most cases.

If you are meeting a number of homeowners who have bought homes from various builders, it would be wise to note down the information you collect so that you can make an elaborate comparison later.

Short list and quotation Based on your meeting with the builders and the reviews you have collected, short list the builders and ask for quotations.

The quotation should cover details like clearance, site maintenance, material supplies, etc.

Ask for complete details in writing. Also, enquire if any approvals or permissions are required.

Choose quality and value!

While making a decision based on the collected quotation, make it a point to pay attention to the quality of the construction features.

Make sure about the quality of the carpeting, cabinetry, paint, etc.

Do not hesitate to ask questions and confirm things before making the final contract so that you do not have to regret later!

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14 Property

19.08.20

Mary Cosgrave, the daughter of Liam Cosgrave who was born in Castleknock, at the launch of a commemorative stamp featuring the former Taoiseach at Government Buildings. Pic: Maxwells

New home numbers sees fall of 31.9% The housing crisis in Dublin is set to come under fresh pressure following the release of figures from the Central Statistics Office shows that the number of homes built between April and June fell dramatically.

Over the three months, the number of new dwelling completions was 3,290, a fall of 31.9% on the same period last year.

The biggest drop was in April, when just 402 homes were finished, a fall of 72.7% on the 1,764 units completed in April 2019.

Activity began to pick up in May, during which 1,234 units were completed, which was down 23% compared to a year ago.

By June, the number of new dwellings completed had recovered to lag June 2019 by 5.9%.

Taken together, Dublin and

the Mid East region accounted for 54.1% of all completions.

Across Dublin, 46.4% of completions were apartments, rising to to 83% in Dublin City.

The post code with the highest level of completions was Drogheda, followed by Dublin 13 and Naas.

Meanwhile, a report by economist Ronan Lyons for industry representative group, Irish Institutional Property (IIP), has concluded that demand for homes in the coming years will likely be almost twice official targets for housing output.

In the years up to 2025, demand for housing is likely to be 47,000 units per year, the report author says.

That compares to a target of 25,000 per year in Ireland 2040, the Government’s long-term strategy on infrastructure.

About 21,000 units were built last year.

The report also calls for the introduction of cost rental schemes, where costs are shared with the taxpayer for households on low incomes.

There are also recommendations that sharedequity and share-ownership schemes be introduced to help thousands of aspiring homeowners who are locked out of the housing market because of affordability issues.

The schemes would help to bridge that gap, the report says.

Meanwhile, more than 40% of the first-time homebuyers who have availed of the Government’s help-to-buy scheme already had the necessary deposit to secure a mortgage, figures from the Revenue Commissioners show.

The figures show that 7,928 of the 19,478 approved claims to date were made by households that had a loan-to-value ratio of less than 85%.

19.08.20

15

16 Food

19.08.20

Dough!

Search for brown bread champion is back!

The pandemic may have caused the National Ploughing Championships to be cancelled this year but Wicklow’s bakers will find crumbs of comfort in the news that the national brown bread competition will still go ahead.

Aldi will once again, sponsor The National Brown Bread Baking Competition, in association with the National Ploughing Association (NPA) and the Irish Countrywomen’s Association (ICA).

While still open to all

members of the public, all entrants will be asked to drop their freshly baked bread to one of the following Aldi stores on the prescribed date: Wednesday, August 26 10:3013:00: Aldi Head Office Naas, Newbridge Road, Naas, Co. Kildare, W91 VE40.

Aldi Swords, 10 Seatown Rd, Townparks, Swords, Co. Dublin, K67 V2N7.

All successful entrants will be contacted on September 11 to attend the finals, due to take

Barry Keoghan pictured at the launch of the 2020 Coca-Cola Thank You Fund in Dublin earlier this year. €50,000 is now available in grants to youth-orientated non-profit groups seeking support for initiatives targeted at young people. Pic: PhotoLeon Farrell / Photocall Ireland

place in Dublin on September 14 with the winners announced on the September 17.

If you think you have the recipe for success, log onto www.aldi.ie/brown-breadcompetition or www.ica.ie for information on how to enter, full terms and conditions and competition rules.

The winner’s brown bread will also be stocked in all Aldi Stores in Ireland for twelve months and they will receive a minimum prize fund of €15,000.

Salad linked to crypto outbreak

Officials are investigating an outbreak of cryptosporidium linked to a salad that has affected more than 40 people.

The HSE Department of Public Health East was notified of an outbreak of cryptosporidiosis in the Dublin and Wicklow area.

To date, 42 cases have been notified; with the onset of symptoms occurring over a 14 day period from July 15.

A food alert was issued by the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) and certain batches of mixed salad leaves were withdrawn.

Earlier this month, all batches and dates of Gold River Quality Mixed Salad Leaves (Seasonal Salad Box) 1kg were withdrawn from sale due to the possible presence of Cryptosporidium.

As cryptosporidium infection is usually waterborne or via food from contaminated water, it is recommended that the public and those involved in food preparation always follow correct hand and food hygiene procedures.

19.08.20

17

18 Motors

19.08.20

Is your car ready for a lockdown staycation?

Following the long months of Covid19 lockdown, there has been a universal welcome for the lifting of travel restrictions within Ireland as many families plan their summer get away on home soil. However, premium German tyre maker, Continental, is advising that because many cars were parked up for long periods during the lockdown, staycation-makers need to be mindful that their car will need some care before they head off on that much needed break.

According to Tom Dennigan of Continental Tyres Ireland: “Motorists intending to head off on a staycation should carry out these simple car checks in order to ensure their trip goes off without a hitch.

These five simple vehicle safety checks are ones that any driver can do to help keep families safe during their staycation roadtrip”.

Give the car’s interior a clean This is even more important given the fact that many cars will have been parked up for long periods over the past

Win a €1,000 staycation voucher with BestDrive Continental Tyres’ network of car service and tyre outlets BestDrive (formerly Advance Pitstop) are offering Irish drivers the chance of winning one of 10 x €1,000 staycation vouchers.

Any customer who purchases a Continental Tyre over the summer will be added into the draw. Visit any BestDrive outlet or click bestdrive.ie for more details (terms and conditions apply). few months. Let’s face it, the majority of motorists are not particularly careful about keeping their cars very clean inside or out.

A recent Continental Tyres survey of 2,000 motorists showed that one in five claimed to tidy the inside of their car just once a year, generally when it is facing an NCT or garage visit.

Check the car’s tyres Over time, air can escape from a car’s tyres which is why drivers really need to regularly check their tyre pressures. Studies show that the highest number of tyrerelated incidents occur during the summer months. Families heading off on holiday in cars more heavily laden than usual are especially vulnerable.

A seriously under-inflated

tyre is more likely to fail when carrying a heavier load on a much longer trip than usual.

Check the car’s windscreen wipers One thing you can be sure to encounter at least once during a staycation in Ireland is rain.

So staycationers need to be ready for those sudden, heavy summer downpours.

Make sure to check the

Year Make

condition of your car’s wiper blades. Lift the front and rear windscreen wipers away from the glass and check that their rubber blade isn’t worn down or peeling away from its base.

If they are not totally clearing the water, see about replacing them before you set off.

Check the car’s lights Driving with defective lights is both illegal and dangerous for you and for other road users.

So, take a couple of minutes to ask a family member or friend to walk around your car as you switch on the side lights, the headlights, operate the main beam and then check the indicators and brake lights.

And don’t forget the fog lamps and reversing lights.

Check the car’s service schedule Occasionally checking the level of oil in the engine is not enough to keep your car in good health. It should be serviced according to the vehicle manufacturer’s recommended service schedule, which can be found in the car’s handbook.

Model

Free cash!

Taxis can get new €1k grant Dublin’s taxi drivers and self-employed who had to avail of the Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP) but have since signed off it and gone back to work can now avail of a €1,000 government grant.

The grant which is being offered as part of the revised Enterprise Support Grant is designed to help Dublin’s sole-traders who do not pay commercial rates, get their business started again.

Is it expected the grant will greatly assist workers such as taxi drivers, plumbers, painters, electricians, carpenters, hair dressers, beauticians and more.

The scheme has been revamped to specifically provide once-off supports for the self-employed who have been severely impacted and have had to cease operations as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Minister for Social Protection Heather Humphreys said the grant is crucial in assisting an important part of the state’s economy.

Odometer

Price

Colour

2019 Renault Captur 1.0 Play

34,000km

€17,750

Blue

2018 Ford

Fiesta 1.0 Zetec Style Pack

42,000km

€14,500

Black

2017 Skoda

Superb 2.0 TDI Audi

61,000m

€22,950

Silver

2017 Audi

A4 1.4 TSI Sport Saloon

36,000m

€21,500

White

2016 VW

Golf 1.4 TSI HiLine Sat Nav

85,000km

€18,250

Blue

2015 Nissan

Qashqui 1.2 DIG-T Accenta

59,000km

€15,950

White

2014 Ford

Mondeo 1.6 TDCI Graphite

139,000km

€9,750

Grey

2012 Nissan

Qashqai 1.5 DCI Tekna

100,000m

€9,750

Silver

19

19.08.20

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20 Classifeds

19.08.20

19.08.20

Classifieds 21

22

19.08.20

Dublin In The Rare Old Times 23

19.08.20

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

Irish Ind 15/08/1929

Freemans Jrn 01/08/1870

Irish Ind 16/08/1940

Freemans Jrn 01/08/1827

Irish Ind 01/08/1940

24

NORTHSIDE NEWS 19.08.20