“I have today written to Fine Gael Leader, Enda Kenny asking him to create a specific Front Bench portfolio for Dublin and to commit Fine Gael in Government to appointing a Minister with specific responsibility for the Dublin region. This is not a new proposal, Brian Hayes was previously Fine Gael Front Bench spokesperson for Dublin from 2002 – 2007 while it is an idea that has been raised by numerous academics such as Conor Skehan of DIT.

The figures released today to Leo Varadkar TD hint that Dublin may not be getting its fair share of public spending and investment. Parts of Dublin benefit from LUAS and the DART and Dublin is home to many of our national institutions, international facilities and universities.

“However, Dublin also suffers most from overcrowded school classrooms and choked up hospitals and A&E Departments. It is home to many of the most disadvantaged communities in the country and the highest levels of crime. Public spending in Ireland is incremental with existing services getting an increase (or decrease) every year based on the allocation they got the previous year. This system does not reflect shifts in population that have occurred in the last few decades.

“It is a bit rich that the Gaeltacht region with such a small population has its own Minister when Dublin is ignored by this Government. If we are to rebuild Ireland as a strong entity we must focus first on renewing Dublin. Dublin is the social and economic driving force for this country, it deserves recognition of this as opposed to a watered down, directly elected Mayor as is proposed by the Green Party.

“Put simply, it is time for a Minister for Dublin”

Supporting information includes:

The figures show the tax take broken down by county or ‘bailiwick’ for income-tax (PAYE and non-PAYE), VAT, Corporation Tax and Capital Gains for the year 2002 to 2008 inclusive. In total, the Government raised €31.76 billion from these taxes in 2008 with €16.769 or 52% of that coming from Dublin.

A breakdown of figures shows that:

Income Tax (PAYE):
• Dublin paid 50.6% of all PAYE in 2008 raising more than €5 billion for the Government. This works out at €4,441 per inhabitant.
• Cork came next providing 8% or €1,722 per person.
• Westmeath provided 5.4% or €7,025 per person, Galway 4.5% or €2,046 per person, followed by Kerry (3.5% or €2,571 per person), Limerick (3.3% or €1,881 per person) and Kildare (3% or €1,668 per person).
• All other counties provided less than 2% to the pot.
• The average is €2,449 per person.

Income Tax (Non-PAYE):
Dublin paid 38.8% followed by Cork at 11%, Galway 4.5%, Kildare 4%, Limerick 3.9%, Meath 3.5%, Wicklow 3.4% and Tipperary 3.0%

VAT:
Dublin contributed 55.6% of all VAT, followed by Cork at 8.8% and Kildare 3.4%. All other counties accounted for less than 3% of the VAT take individually.

Corporation Tax:
Dublin-based companies paid 62.4% of all Corporation Profit Tax yielding €3.2bn out of a total tax of €5.1bn in 2008. Cork provided 7.7% and Limerick 4.3%

Capital Gains Tax:
Dublin paid 41% of all Capital Gains Tax with Cork on 7.6%, Kildare on 5.1%, Galway on 4.6%, Wicklow on 4%, Meath 3.5% and Sligo 3%

Note: Of course, there are caveats to these figures. Income Tax is collected at the place where an employee is paid rather than where they live and Corporation Tax is collated based on the county address of the company’s office or relevant branch at which contact is established for tax purposes.

All the figures were received through parliamentary questions, tables showing a county-by-county breakdown of the total amount of tax taken, the amount taken per capita and the percentage of the over all take can be found here. http://is.gd/dtd3e
An explanatory memorandum can be found here: http://is.gd/dtcWL

This is affecting water supply in Pine Valley and Kingston in Ballinteer, as well as some surrounding areas.

Updates will be posted on the Council’s website and the blog.

Further queries can be directed to the DLR Water Services team on (01) 205 4800

Both the new playground and refurbished 9 – hole golf course in Marlay Park were officially opened at the end of May.

There will be one large concert in Marlay Park this summer. Green Day will play on Wednesday 23rd June, usual traffic restrictions and security provisions will be in place while gates open at 5pm.

Dublin Bus

From November next, as a result of reduced funding, Dublin Bus will introduce a new schedule of bus routes in this area.

No final decisions have yet been made and Dublin Bus intends to consult with the public before finalising routes. However, the main changes proposed are:

The abolition of the 14A, 16A, & 48A routes.

The 14 will now terminate in Malahide.

The 16 will now rune every 8 minutes from Kingston to the airport via the Grange Road.

A new orbital service, the 175, will run from Tallaght to Dun Laoghaire along what is referred to as the Green Route, including stops at Taylor’s Lane, Grange Road, Ballinteer, Wyckham Bypass (Dundrum Centre and LUAS) and Sandyford. This service will run approximately every 15 minutes at peak time. The existing orbital route, the 75, will omit the diversion to Ballinteer and will instead serve Churchtown Road, Dundrum, Sandyford Road and the Industrial Estate.

Council Matters

Grangefield Estate will now also be cleaned with a mini-sweeper as the Council’s road sweeper was too large to clean certain parts of the estate.

A yellow box will soon be painted at the entrance of Kingston, Ballinteer.

Over the next month the Council will be repairing the damaged street signs at the end of Kingston Lawn and Kingston Heights.

The signage for the new housing scheme known as Brehon Grove has been ordered and should be put in place in the next couple of weeks.

A safety barrier will be erected on Brehon Field Road opposite the new pedestrian entrance from Brehon Grove.

In the interests of health and safety the footpath at The Glade, Ballinteer will be reinstated.

Following the erection of a 4m high Environmental noise barrier to the rear of College Park, the Council have instructed m50 concessions to clear out the space in between the noise barrier and rear walls, removing litter, excess water, graffiti and also to plant trees to replace those previously uprooted through the course of drainage works.

Arrivals & Departures

Cllr. Jim O’Leary (Dundrum Ward) has resigned from the Council due to work commitments. His replacement will be selected by Fine Gael on the 24th June. Cllr. Gearoid O’Keefe (Stillorgan Ward) has joined Fine Gael; he had been elected as an Independent Councillor in 2004 and 2009.

If you are, you may be eligible for a grant towards the cost of the project. Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council wish to invite submissions from community groups, schools, Tidy Towns Committees or other organizations who are interested in receiving funding to co-fund public education and awareness initiatives on the subject of litter or graffiti.

Completed submissions should be made to the Environmental Awareness Officer of Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council not later than Wednesday 30th June, 2010.

Application forms are available from

Kate Hynes
Environmental Awareness Officer
Environment, Culture and Community Department
Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council
County Hall,
Marine Road,
Dun Laoghaire,
Co. Dublin.

01 2054817 or email: environ@dlrcoco.ie

“The Government has been in hiding for the last three weeks, instead of trying to deal at a national level with this crisis facing the country. Despite repeated calls from myself and others, Fianna Fáil and the Greens have failed abysmally to get on top of this issue and show direction.

“Under sustained pressure from Fine Gael, Government Ministers have finally started to surface but nothing tangible has been forthcoming. I believe it is vital that the following three measures must be implemented urgently:

1. I believe that Noel Dempsey and John Gormley should immediately take control of a co-ordinated response to this crisis. The absence of both Ministers throughout this crisis has been a disgrace. Both Ministers receive large salaries for their jobs, and the least you would expect is for them to be available.
2. The Defence Forces should be deployed immediately. Fine Gael. Highly trained Defence Forces personnel, their transport equipment and their experience of extreme weather conditions can play a vital role in tackling the crisis. There are more than 10,000 trained personnel within the Defence Forces.
3. Finally, with grit and salt supplies critically low, we need to find some alternative. No new supplies are arriving for another five days while Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council only has enough stocks to maintain main roads. Taoiseach Brian Cowen has been unable to provide any alternative strategy to source grit and salt. Beach sand is already being extracted in the UK, and in Ireland could at least be used on footpaths. A number of private quarries here have also offered material, which should immediately be examined for suitability.

“This crisis is hitting everyone in our area with many schools closing and local businesses taking a pounding, nationally it is estimated this cold spell will cost the economy in the region of €1oo million. It takes 18 inches of snow to bring New York to a halt. In Ireland, it takes just an inch. This is a disgrace. It’s time for someone in the Government to take action.”