Fine Gael TD denies Rush is neglected by Government

A FINE Gael TD has rejected suggestions that the north county Dublin village of Rush is being “continually neglected” by the Government.

In a statement, Dublin Fingal TD Darragh O’Brien (FF) claimed there was a lack of progress on a number of key projects promised for the area.

“It may appear as though increased commitments are being made to Dublin projects but the reality is that there has been no progress achieved beyond the PR announcements and spin,” Deputy O’Brien said.

“A perfect example of this is the promise of a new school building for Gaelscoil Ros Eo. A commitment has been made to this project on four different occasions, yet we are no closer to its construction.

“Furthermore, plans for new school builds at St Joseph’s Secondary School and Rush National School appear to have been put on the backburner by this Government.”

Mr O’Brien also slammed the “unjust” closure of the local Garda station in 2012, which he believes has left the people of Rush “dangerously exposed”. 

He added: “While we continue to deal with a poor transport network across Fingal and the failure to deliver Metro North, there has been a major deterioration in the maintenance of roads throughout the area, including the road to the local GAA club.

“The closure of the only bank in the town has made it difficult for older people, especially those who rely heavily on community banking and may not have access to online banking. The post office lies at the heart of many communities, yet this too may be under threat.”

However, local Fine Gael TD, Alan Farrell, hit back at Darragh O’Brien’s comments and insisted that investment is being provided by the Government in communities across north county Dublin.

In relation to the Gaelscoil in Rush and the new building for St Joseph’s Secondary School, Deputy Farrell said officials are liaising with Fingal County Council regarding an educationally-zoned site in the area.

“Once technical issues surrounding the required infrastructure are wholly assessed, the site acquisition process will begin,” he said.

Deputy Farrell added: “With regard to Rush Garda station, the fact is that Fianna Fáil in Government closed the Garda Training College in Templemore in 2009 and left our economy in such a state that it was not feasible to re-open it or provide An Garda Síochána with the level of personnel to retain all Garda stations. Unfortunately, this resulted in the closure of Rush Garda station in 2012.

“In the coming months, the Garda Commissioner will recommend the re-opening of six Garda stations on a pilot basis which will allow for their impact on criminal activity to be determined. I certainly hope that Rush Garda station will be considered in future.”

Mr Farrell also pointed out that the Minister for Social Protection, Leo Varadkar, recently renewed his department’s contract with An Post to provide pension, child benefit and other social welfare payments through post offices.

“We have also re-affirmed this Government’s commitment to ensure all new claimants for social welfare payments will be advised of the option to receive cash payments at our local post offices,” he stated.

Deputy Farrell said it was disingenuous for Darragh O’Brien to suggest that the Government was not actively working on the delivery of Metro North.

“Deputy O’Brien should be aware, as was outlined when the project was announced, that the planning and design stages, as well as the Railway Procurement Order, must be progressed before construction can begin,” he added.

“The fact is that this project is progressing, with construction scheduled to begin in 2021 and Metro North to be operational by 2026/27.”