Fresh hope for Finglas Village

REPORTS that Finglas Village Centre has been sold for an estimated e2 million have been welcomed.

The sale could bring to an end a decade-long saga of hope followed by despair for the area which was initially earmarked for a multi-million euro revamp back in 2003.

The Finglas Village Regeneration Project was due to be carried out by Dublin City Council and private developers but was delayed a number of times before the plan eventually fell victim to the property market crash.

The reported sale is believed to include Raven House, a large empty office block previously occupied by the HSE, Poppintree Mall and the Finglas Main Centre, including the building that houses Finglas Library.

Reports of a sale have been welcomed by local councillor Paul McAuliffe (FF), who said he was pleased that that the village would at last have a new owner.

Illegal dumping is now escalating throughout several Northside areas and radical measures are being considered to deal with the issue. A local area council meeting last week for Dublin Central, which includes the litter-strewn North Inner City, discussed proposals to leave untagged rubbish bags on the streets in certain areas.

“Concerns were expressed in relation to the proposal to leave untagged rubbish bags on the streets or in areas deemed litter black spots in the North Inner City,

? a council spokesperson told Northside People.

“This issue will be the subject of another report to councillors at their area committee meeting in May.

?

Minister for Trade and Development, Joe Costello, who is also a local TD for Dublin Central, said he was totally opposed to leaving rubbish bags on city streets.

“While illegal dumping is a serious problem that urgently needs to be addressed, Dublin City Council’s proposal to simply let rubbish pile up is at best deeply misguided,

? he said.

“To leave large quantities of rubbish on the street is potentially a health hazard.

?

Cllr Mary Fitzpatrick (FF), who attended last week’s area committee meeting, said cleaning up dumped rubbish was now costing the council hundreds of thousands of euro.

She pointed the finger of blame at Labour and Fine Gael politicians for voting to privatise bin collections in Dublin.

“The decision was always going to end in disaster because there is no regulator for waste collections and the Government has failed to introduce a national bin waiver scheme,

? she said.

“Since privatising the bin service Dublin City Council spent more than e20 million in 2012 to collect rubbish, has written-off more than e2 million in bad debts and has bad debts in excess of e9 million.

?

Dublin City Council says it’s currently carrying out a survey to establish the exact number of bags and weight of waste being dumped around the city.

“Results will be made available as soon as the survey is complete,

? a spokesperson said.

“Removal and disposal costs will also be established when the survey results are known.

?

In the first three months of the year the council issued almost 400 litter fines in the Dublin Central area alone. Another 35 were issued in Dublin North West.

“Dumped bags will continue to be removed and examined by litter wardens,

? the council spokesperson continued.

“Where evidence is found that assists in identifying the offenders, litter fines will be issued and proceedings initiated in the event of non-payment.

?

New waste bye-laws are currently in the process of being adopted by the council. The bye-laws will place obligations on holders of waste to manage it in an environmentally friendly manner and breaches will result in the issue of on-the-spot fines.