YOUR COMMUNITY UPDATE 

A chara,

This month’s newsletter is a little later than usual and provides an overview of some of the work that I’ve been focused on over the last while. As ever, please feel free to get in touch on any of the below matters, or feel free to follow my daily updates on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

I also want to mark the passing of Derek Keating who died earlier on this month. He was a committed public representative for people in Lucan and Palmerstown and he was held in high regard by those who knew him. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam.

Le gach dea-ghuí,

Shane

Chairperson of Joint Policing Committee for South Dublin

I was honoured to have been elected as Chairperson of South Dublin County Joint Policing Committee a few weeks ago. The JPC is an important committee that enables co-operation between South Dublin County Council and An Garda Siochána to deal with the public’s concerns around crime and anti-social behaviour to enable a safer community for us all. Leading this committee is an honour and I intend to use it as a platform to raise public concerns with senior Garda officers and Council management, building on my work with our Local Policing Forum and Community Safety Forum. I am looking forward to working alongside my colleagues, fellow elected members, Garda leadership and PPN members from civic society to work for a safer area. If there are particular issues you would like to raise, please get in touch.

Affordable Housing Portal for Kilcarbery Grange  open

South Dublin County Council are currently inviting applications for the second scheme of affordable houses at Kilcarbery Grange, Clondalkin. This scheme makes homes available at a reduced price for buyers who are seeking to purchase a newly built home but need to bridge the gap between their mortgage and deposit to cover the full price of the home. I have consistently advocated for schemes such as these in my meetings with the Minister for Housing. These homes are being delivered on Council owned land through advance purchases from Private Developers. The full process is laid out here, and applications close on 25 May. The portal for applications is open here.

Minster for Education announces free school books funding at St Thomas’ JNS

I was thrilled to join Minister for Education, Norma Foley TD at St Thomas’ JNS in Lucan recently for her announcement of the payment of grants to fund provision of free school books in all primary and special schools across the country today. This scheme is a welcome development for families with school-going children across our area and I am glad to see funding being made available for the coming school year. Well done to all members of the St Thomas’ school community on the enormous welcome they gave to the Minister!

Council provides update on Allotment Policy 

Councillors received an update on the Council’s allotment policy, waiting lists and a survey of allotment users. I am a great supporter of the provision of further space for allotments in our area as I am aware of the high demand for them. I was pleased to get confirmation from management that they are looking for newer spaces to make provision for allotments, but also clarity on the factors they take into account (accessibility, services, light etc). You can view the full report here.

Improving our public spaces

Thanks to the many local residents who get in touch with me on a regular basis about improvements to be made to our area. I am pleased to see real progress take place in Lucan, Palmerstown and North Clondalkin. I was particularly pleased to see the wall opposite St Mary’s schools in Rowlagh be painted – something I have been following up on for a while. I am also pleased to see repair works starting to take place in Hermitage Park playground, including the repair of footpaths and additional sand. Additionally, the landscaping work done on the Mount Andrew/Liffey Valley Park was very welcome. However, there is more to do and I will be following up on the resurfacing of pedestrian entrances to Collinstown Park, the finish on the Black Path near St Ronan’s and the upkeep of the entrance area to Wood Avens.

Barry Andrews MEP visits Divine Mercy SNS, Balgaddy

I’m always incredibly proud of the fact that I went to school in Balgaddy and I had the best time recently in Divine Mercy SNS, Balgaddy with Barry Andrews MEP when we visited as part of the school’s participation in the Blue Flag programme!
We had great chats with great students who are a credit to their teachers. Is fás agus foghlaim a bhíonn ar siúl cinnte! If you or your school or community group would like to organise a visit with Barry Andrews, please get in touch.

Footpath improvement works around our area

A priority for me since being elected has been to improve footpaths in housing estates in our area. I am particularly pleased to see repairs have taken place in Glenaulin Green, Oakcourt Avenue and Oakcourt Grove, and also Woodfarm Avenue. These are all areas for which I secured funding – I will continue to seek funding for repair for other estates. I am also pleased to have got a commitment to have the footpaths repaired on the ‘ramp road’ leading to Collinstown Park CC.

Making our roads and crossings safe for all

One of the issues raised with me when I visited homes in Foxborough last year was the need to resurface Foxborough Road and the Lucan – Newlands (Balgaddy) Road. I was pleased to see these works take place, following allocation of the funding for it after my representations last year, and I am pleased to see similar resurfacing take place in Oakcourt over the coming weeks. I was also pleased to see extensions to the public lights on Balgaddy Road through Foxborough installed which I requested last November in response to residents’ concerns. I was also pleased to see the Council doing a safety audit at the Woodies’ junction – I am pursuing a similar one for the R136/Foxborough junction. Finally, I am pursuing the ESB on the urgency of activating the pedestrian crossing on St Loman’s Road.

Updating signage in Palmerstown

I was delighted to see this new sign for Palmerstown village in place for traffic coming from the city! This was something Palmerstown Meitheal TT raised with me a good while ago, and after multiple follow-ups, I’m happy to see it in place! There are still further improvements to be made to signage in Palmerstown, including near Kennelsfort Road and I will continue to raise these.

What’s on over the next few weeks!

As we head into the summer, complete with wonderful weather, there are all sorts of community events taking place. Congratulations to all participants in the annual Finding Charlie’s Voice fundraiser for which I am proud to be a sponsor. The Garda Lae Nights League have kicked off again – you can find further information here. The Rhythm and Rock Gospel Choir are hosting a fundraiser concert on 9 June. As ever, it is also worthwhile to watch what’s going on in Ballyowen Castle Community Centre. If you or your group would like me to advertise events you’re hosting in my newsletter, please let me know!

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Would you like to join Shane’s team?

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WORKING WITH OUR DUBLIN MEP