Local Fine Gael Councillor Neale Richmond has called on Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council to involve Councillors in the Event Licensing process for concerts in Marlay Park.

Speaking at a meeting of the Dundrum Area Committee Councillor Richmond called on the Council to hold formal discussions with Councillors in advance of and following the Marlay Park concerts.

“As it stands local Councillors benefit from an excellent informal relationship of discussion with Council officials and local Gardai with regard to the large scale summer concerts in Marlay Park. However, the current situation is not sufficient and Councillors, as public representatives, should be allowed make formal contributions in relation to proposed performance dates, possible acts and audience profile.

“I remain 100% supportive of the Marlay Park concerts as a revenue generating & cultural exercise and I am grateful to Council officials for the manner in which they run the concerts but I feel we should define to a greater extent what type of concerts are suitable for performance in this largely residential area.

“Last year I think the choice of acts and the nature of the shows were wholly inappropriate. The day-long line up of acts on Saturday and Sunday brought back bad memories of the early disasters associated with the FM104 summer in the park series of some years ago.

“I am delighted that the only confirmed concert for this year will take place on a Wednesday as this will discourage many concert-goers from showing up early at the venue early, causing all manner of anti-social behaviour.

Meeting of Dundrum Area Committee

1 February 2010

Marlay Park Concerts

Motion: Councillor Neale Richmond

“That the Manager provides a full report into all discussion with MCD in relation to planned concerts for Marlay Park this summer, including what acts are scheduled to perform, what dates the concerts are to be held on and if any changes will be made to the security & traffic provisions compared to previous years.”

Report:

In October 2009 the promoter sought approval, as per condition of contract, for various acts to perform in marlay Park in 2010. Consent was given for a number of specific acts, however, to date, only one act – Green Day – has been confirmed for Wednesday June 23rd. The promoter has indicated that there may be one other date within this series and that it is unlikely that there will be any concerts later in the summer.

Issues surrounding security and traffic management will be discussed as part of the Event Licensing process. Arrangements vary depending on the act and audience profile and is generally determined by other Statutory Agencies.

“Becoming one of the top eleven entrants in the country is a huge reward for thr hours of hard work put in by Council officials, elected representative, residents, businesses and other interested stakeholders.

“This competition is an excellent opportunity for the Sandyford Business Park Area to further sell itself as a progressive place to do business.

“The final stage of the competition involves developing an innovative ambitious detailed plan on how the Sandyford Business Park Area can be developed as a model Sustainable Travel Area or a Green Commuter Travel Area by increasing trips to the area by walking, cycling and public transport.

”Among the measures being considered for the area are the development of an Area Wide Mobility Management Plan, development of improved pedestrian cycle and bus network and facilities, development of a transport interchange, improved traffic management and safety, introduction of a car share scheme and increasing awareness of travel options.”

Fine Gael Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Councillor, Neale Richmond, this evening (Friday) slammed Fianna Fáil and Green representatives in Dublin South and Dun Laoghaire for standing idly by and allowing Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council to be the worst hit Council in terms of Budget cuts for 2010.

“Figures released to day by the Department of Environment, Heritage & Local Government revealed that Dun Laoghaire Rathdown is the worst affected County Council in terms of Government Budget cuts, suffering almost twice the reduction in funding imposed on other Councils.

“In percentage terms, Dun Laoghaire Rathdown is being forced to take a cut of a staggering 7.34% to its funding. This far exceeds the average national cut of 4%.

“The total cut to Dun Laoghaire Rathdown in actual terms is €2,540,582. This compares to a cut of €702,717 to Wicklow County Council, €604,821to Fingal County Council and €386,656 to South Dublin County Council.

“It is difficult not to call into question the ability of the Government politicians in Dun Laoghaire & Dublin South to fight for those they are supposed to represent. As a result of these reductions services will be cuts, projects halted and the county will slip into further decline. In short, the Government has shafted the people of Dun Laoghaire Rathdown while local Fianna Fáil and Green Party representatives looked on idly.”

Local Fine Gael Cllr Neale Richmond welcomed the largely positive results of the Part VIII Planning Consultation for a new sports facilities in Stepaside that were presented before the Council last night (Monday). However, speaking at the meeting last night, he called on the Council to heed public calls for a playground to be included in the new development.

“The public response to this proposal was extremely positive, but the responses did highlight the dearth of recreational facilities, especially for young families, in Stepaisde.

“I very much welcome the Manager’s response that the Parks and Landscape Services Section have confirmed that they will favourably consider the suggestion that a children’s playground be provided at this location or during the development of the nearby Jamestown Park.

“However, I would like to see something concrete laid down for this facility as there is an immediate need for a playground in the area. The Manager also indicated that two further sites for playgrounds have been identified in the greater Stepaside Area, these will compliment the twenty playgrounds already operated by the Council across the County but there is a big difference between a playground on paper and one actually in use, it’s time the Council prioritised this rapidly developing area.

“The two proposed developments will provide a four-court badminton hall, a fitness equipment room and a dance studio, in addition to an enlarged car park, changing & lockers areas, and other administration and support spaces.”

The Government’s announcement comes 20 months after the publication Green Paper on Local Government Reform

“The people want action. They want better local government that provides better services. What they don’t want is another tax payer funded review group to spend another year writing a report that won’t get acted upon. The shelves in the Department of Environment are literally creaking under the weight of decades of review reports on local government.

“One of the main frustrations expressed by people during Fine Gael’s recent business forum tour was that local government doesn’t work effectively as it should. Regional development is all talk and no action because local communities are not given the power to make decisions for themselves. This is a situation that suits Minister Gormley and the Green Party perfectly. The Minister is obsessed with micro managing the affairs of local government. That is why he is establishing yet another review group to delay making any significant changes to local government.

“It is 20 months since the Green Paper on Local Government Reform was published. The only follow up action has been to establish another review group.

“Budget 2010 is a failure because it missed the perfect opportunity to reform the public sector. Now Minister Gormley is equally a failure by failing to use the budget to reform local government.”