Wheelchairs, illegal dumping and drones discussed at committee meeting

Local councillors raised a number of issues surrounding the likes of accessibility, poor postal services, and CCTV at dumping blackspots at a recent Area Committee meeting.

Councillors from Blanchardstown-Mulhuddart, Castleknock and Ongar met in early September to discuss any issues that arose over the summer break.

Fianna Fáil councillor JK Onwumereh has raised concerns over what he calls the “irregular” postal services in the Blanchardstown area.

Speaking at a recent committee meeting of local elected reps, Onwumereh said that the lack of regular postal services is impacting local communications and efficiency.

“We happen to live in an area where we want businesses to do well; if communication and correspondence are not arriving then it becomes a problem. They can’t deal with things in time.”

“This issue isn’t restricted to the Blanchardstown area, I know it is prevalent and it’s ongoing, but I think we are all in agreement that we need to look into the services An Post are providing, especially to our area.”

He said that every councillor in the meeting has probably received a letter from a constituent raising the area, and he said the onus was on Fingal County Council to agree on it.

Castleknock councillor John Walsh noted that he has also received complaints from residents in his constituency, as well as Carpenterstown and Blanchardstown about the sub-standard postal services.

“I think we should put some pressure on An Post to deliver a decent service.”

The Labour councillor raised the issue of accessibility at train stations in the local area, saying that during the election season he was approached by a local resident who felt that local train stations were not accessible to people with disabilities, such as wheelchair users.

“I was told that wheelchair users who were using the train services were to request 24 hours in advance and supply a list of details in advance of their journey. It is not feasible for those who want to commute on a daily basis and it leaves a number of vulnerable users avoiding the train and solely relying on the bus as their form of transport.”

He noted that the 37 bus route is not reliable for commuters.

In turn, Irish Rail has reduced the notice period to four hours and aims to reduce it further, but Walsh referred to the problem as “deeply problematic.”

“Commitments have been made by Irish Rail at the DART West oral hearing that the new reconstructed stations will be fully accessible at Coolmine and Ashtown and there will be lifts at a number of stations along the route; but DART West is at least four years away.”

“It won’t be ready until 2029 at the earliest, more likely 2030 and people with disabilities should not have to wait four or five years to access their train services. It shouldn’t have to be a major production in requesting a ramp or supplying details.”

Fine Gael councillor for Castleknock Ted Leddy said “for people with mobility issues or elderly people we are writing the train off for them.”

Independent councillor for Ongar Tania Doyle said “there are a number of stations that are just not wheelchair accessible. Clonsilla train station is a lot better than what it used to be but we should be using lifts,” noting that wheelchair users, people with buggies or people with mobility issues are disheartened when they see the signs that lifts are out of order

“Things have improved a little bit, but not to the standard they should be. If we want people to use public transport, these stations should be accessible to everybody.”

Sinn Féin councillor Angela Donnelly said “for me, it’s all about dignity. For people with limited mobility or sight, they should be able to access public transport without help from anybody else.”

“When we’re able-bodied – which the majority of the population is – it is easy to forget about the people who are not.”

Fellow Sinn Féin councillor Breda Hanaphy discussed the issue of illegal dumping in Tolka Valley, saying that local residents are “terrified” of rats heading into the winter.

She said that more CCTV was required to deter littering.

“The people in operations know it’s a black spot; they’re the ones who have to go in and clean it.”

She noted that furniture, white fridges as well as general rubbish is dumped in the area.

She said that CCTV would be able to identify certain dumpers, and that would serve as a deterrent.

“Sometimes there will be a vehicle at the side of the road, and they will go into an unlit laneway, and they’ll dump their rubbish.”

Fine Gael’s Kieran Dennison said that “lighting up” the area with a surveillance camera could also serve as a deterrent.

“Maybe that sort of surveillance would be a deterrent; it wouldn’t necessarily be useful for fining people for littering, but it would be a deterrent if they thought there was a fixed camera. If there was a notice up to say the area is now being covered by a camera, it could be a way of overcoming the problems associated with CCTV.”

Solidarity councillor Ruth Coppinger raised the issue of drone usage in the area by the private company Manna.

The company uses drones in the Dublin 15 area to deliver items, and is now expanding into the fast food sector.

“People have made the point that airport noise has increased, now you’ve got this on top of the other noise introduction. Are the skies going to become as busy as the roads?”

“I think people are just shocked how noisy and intrusive drones are in the area; a lot of people are worried about drones in general.

In March, it was reported that the company made 40,000 deliveries to Dublin 15 residents in their first week of operation.

Labour councillor Mary McCamley expressed concern about the number of licenses the IAA are granting drone operators.

“If the IAA can grant a licence to Manna, they can do the same to another company today and another company the day after that. How many companies could the IAA be allowed to fly over our homes?