I tabled a motion at the recent Area Committee Meeting of the Council to improve the traffic management system along the both Clonsilla Road and the Coolmine Road as well as the interface between both roads. The Senior Executive Traffic Engineer is going to examine this in the coming weeks with the Traffic Section of the Gardaí and I will keep you informed of any progress on this.

I was elected onto the Blanchardstown Community Policing Forum which covers the Dublin 15 Area. I recently attended a number of Resident’s Association Meetings and Neighbourhood Watch Scheme Meetings and I am anxious to improve the quality of community policing in our area. The Community Police in Blanchardstown run weekly clinics in the Laurel Lodge Community Centre at 7:30 PM every Wednesday if people want any advice/help regarding crime prevention or community policing. An appointment at this clinic can be arranged by contacting the Community Policing Section in Blanchardstown Garda Station on 01-6667020.

A number of residents have contacted me regarding inconsistent or intermittent grass cutting in their estate or surrounding area. I tabled a formal question at the Area Meeting of the County Council regarding this issue to increase the consistency and regularity of the grass cutting. If you have an issue with your grass cutting please do not hesitate to contact me or contact the Operations Department of Fingal County Council 01-870 4599.

I have written to Panda Waste to immediately introduce a chip and bin system which operates successfully in other areas. Many residents have reported to me that their bin tags are being stolen. This criminal practice has to be stopped.

I am honoured to receive such a strong mandate from the people of Castleknock, Blanchardstown, Carpenterstown, Mountview, Clonsilla and North Lucan and I am delighted to be elected. I look forward to providing the proactive and committed representation that the people in this constituency deserve. 

The promise that all local authorities would receive 80% of the property tax raised in 2014 has been broken and there is no direct link this year between the property taxes that are paid and the services received by householders. Fingal County Council has raised over 40 million euro in property taxes and not one red cent is being reinvested back into our communities. This is a shameful u-turn when basic local services in Blanchardstown and Castleknock are scarcely being provided.

I made a speech on Saturday the 22nd of March on the importance of rebuilding Community Policing and supporting Community Based Policing Initiatives. 

Resolution: That this Ard Fheis calls for a refocusing of resources into community based policing initiatives in order to reassure communities affected by crime and antisocial behaviour

I am delighted to announce that I will be opening a Local Office in the Laurel Lodge Shopping Centre in the New Year. I hope to run clinics from the office on a regular basis from January 2014 and to provide the active representation that the people in this constituency deserve.

I recently attended and spoke at a public meeting in St. Mochta’s National School and there is widespread anxiety, opposition and concern to this proposal in the Dublin 15 community. Irish Rail are trying to accelerate this on the grounds that they want to provide “electrification” to the Maynooth line. Electrification could still be progressed without permanent road closures as has been achieved with the DART line. There are already significant traffic problems and if the road is closed these problems will only worsen. Fingal have proposed to place a footbridge over the road but there would be no disability access. It was stated at the meeting that the closure could cost close to 500,000 euro which is a gross waste of finite funds when basic local services are scarcely being provided. 

From the 15th of July Iarnród Éireann/Irish Rail increased the car parking charges for commuters using the train by between 25 and 33 percent. This is a significant added cost that is a further barrier to the use of public transport. I have been in contact with a number of residents locally who have parking issues around the train stations and this regressive measure will unfortunately add to the traffic congestion and parking issues in many estates in Clonsilla, Coolmine and Castleknock. If you have any queries or concerns in relation to the Transport Network in Dublin West I would be happy to articulate and represent these issues on your behalf.