Time to crack down on illegal parking in disabled spots, councillors say
Increase fines for the offence, and boost parking enforcement so people begin to fear getting caught, they say.
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In Malahide, the Toots train rides again
After a break, the three-carriage road-train is back to doing its loop connecting the castle and the beach via the Dart station.
Time for Trinity College Dublin to build student accommodation on land in Santry Demesne, councillor says
“It’s effectively sitting on residentially zoned land, it just isn’t right.” A spokesperson for the college says it’s considering its options for this parcel.
An Bord Pleanála approves plans for 170 apartments in Clonsilla
The planned new homes are to be spread across seven blocks to the front and rear of the Clonsilla Inn.
Judicial review launched over Dirty Old Tower that provides access to Clongriffin train station
“It’s an enormous problem, the entire basis of the zoning in the area was about the provision of a new train station access.”
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In Balbriggan, council plans revival of boat house and bath house for use by water sports clubs
A design team is in place to oversee their refurbishment, with a completion date set for March 2026, a council official’s report says.
In Rush, residents campaign to keep Postman Dave
They’ve gathered 787 signatures so far on a petition to keep David Kelly from being moved to a new route after a decade in their community.
Fingal’s “flip-flop” on airport passenger-cap increase was in line with procedures, councillors say
A letter to the airport operator explained that an initial declaration that the application was valid was contingent on further examination by council planners.
Fingal exploring “bike libraries” to plug gap from retreat of bike-share services from north of county
“We haven’t abandoned the north county bike share,” said Stephen McGinn, the council’s walking and cycling officer.
The council finally has a plan to do up Clonsilla village
With a new community centre, playground, traffic plan, bike lanes, and more.
Council briefs: Rethinking community wardens, lighting up parks in evenings, and upgrading bus shelters
Why can’t a litter warden also give a parking fine? This, and other questions, were raised at Fingal County Council’s monthly meeting on Monday.
In Fingal, council plans roll-out of 14 EV-charging points this spring
They’ll mostly be up and down the coastal side of the county, with just four planned for spots inland.
In Swords, councillors attempt revolt against traffic lights outside supermarkets on Rathbeale Road
But in the face of stiff resistance from council managers, they backed down – for now, at least.
Council briefs: A new plan for Flemington, pushing for orchards, and more
Here’s some of what Fingal councillors have been proposing at recent council meetings.
More for housing, libraries, and events, in Fingal County Council’s budget for 2025
The new budget, approved by councillors at a meeting on 3 December, is up 7.5 percent from this year, to €389 million.
Time for measures to get drivers to slow down on the Porterstown Road, council says
The council is now looking to lower the speed limit and – eventually, maybe, install speed ramps.
In Portrane, residents of HSE-owned cottages fear for their future
The HSE isn’t maintaining them well, or doing necessary upgrades – maybe it’s time it hands them over to the council, tenants and local councillors say.
For years, a developer has kept a stretch of road closed off, clogging up traffic
And there’s no prospect of Gannon Properties taking down the fences that block off a stretch of Glen Ellan Road anytime soon.
Ryanair announces plans to fly tourists into occupied country against government in exile’s wishes
The move supports Morocco’s claim to Western Sahara, and will help finance its “illegal occupation”, a Polisario Front representative says.
In Fingal, the council plans to hike fees at recycling centres
At a meeting Thursday, councillors worried the fee increase would lead to an increase in illegal dumping.
Improving access to Barnageeragh Bay Beach could cost €1.35 million and take years, a consultant told councillors
It’ll mean upgrading bus stops, footpaths and crossings on the R127 to make it safe to get to the path to the beach, before upgrading that too, he said.
In Swords, protestors target company that’s helped ship US military gear to Israeli air force base
After digging by The Ditch, and pressure from protestors, ASL Ireland issued a statement Friday meant to appease. Protestors say it’s not good enough.
Council says no grounds to pursue developer over failure to replace Dirty Old Tower at Clongriffin train station
One councillor called the decision embarrassing. Another said it was “an utter failure to deliver for people”.
In Tyrrelstown, councillors push to give more land to Powerstown Educate Together National School, for a while
The school’s expanding, and wants the site so its kids will have space outside during the construction process.
Council Briefs: A battle over rezoning ALSAA lands, a call for more refuges in Fingal, and giving owner-occupiers a shot at apartments
These were a few of the issues Fingal county councillors discussed at their November monthly meeting on Monday.
In Donabate, residents want developers to finally finish building their estates, and hand them over to the council
Until then, the council won’t maintain and improve the public areas, fixing roads, cutting the grass on the greens, and all that.
In Malahide, Mondays mean Dave McNally and Hair of the Dog at Fowlers
They bring a relaxed vibe, and sing-a-long-able renditions of “Country Roads”, “Sunny Afternoon” and more.
Timeline for Fingal section of Royal Canal Greenway drifts further again
The plan now is to apply for planning permission in the second quarter of 2025, councillors learnt recently.
As residents of Portrane and Donabate campaign for a cultural space, a beautiful hall nearby sits empty
The grand Victorian hall at St Ita’s used to host show bands, Christmas dances, and more, says Paschal Henchy, who worked at the hospital for 44 years.
In Balbriggan, a push to use the deposit-return scheme to fund a life-saving project
Aidan Whelan plans to put out orange bins, ask people to put in bottles and cans, return them, and use the money to buy defibrillators and train first responders.
Council Briefs: Setting the local property tax, access to Balbriggan Beach, and pressing for community childcare in Donabate
Here’s what Fingal councillors have been debating at their recent meetings.
Near Portmarnock Dart Station, growth of footpath parking forces residents to walk on the road
Ciarán Ó Baoighealláin has tried to get Fingal County Council to intervene, he says. But to no effect.
Why is one of Ireland’s biggest landlords evicting so many of its tenants?
Figures suggest that Luxembourg fund LRC RE-1 has been issuing eviction notices at a much higher rate than peers – and at a greater rate than in the sector overall.
Fingal councillors criticise planning officials for failing to make developer provide universal, reliable access to Clongriffin Dart station
“It’s totally unacceptable. Can you see that it’s unacceptable?”
In Porterstown, a proposal to demolish a 19th-century cottage fuels worries about the erosion of the village’s character
Keane’s cottage isn’t listed, and a developer wants to knock it to build 100 new homes. But some residents say they’d mourn its loss.
In Portmarnock, a call for the council to buy and open up an underused community hall
The Portmarnock Adventure Club Hall on the Strand Road is only used by the local boxing club, three days a week.
In Fingal, cycling lessons get kids with disabilities pedalling
“I want this one,” says Seoidín Hyland, spotting a hot pink bike. “It’s my favourite colour.”
Council Briefs: Letting media back into Fingal SPCs, removing parklets in Howth and Malahide, and swimming pool plans
These were some of the issues Fingal county councillors discussed at their September monthly meeting.
Council Briefs: Pushing for faster housing in Dunsink, pop-up CCTV, and interrogating delivery drones
Here’s a sample of what came up at a recent council meeting for the Blanchardstown-Mulhuddart, Castleknock and Ongar areas.
In Donabate, council okays more homes despite concerns about lack of accompanying services and amenities
“They just seem to be very much housing at all costs, and everything else later.”
Irish Soup Kitchen Centres refused charity status due to uncertainty over counting cash
“Absolutely everything was above board,” says Mark O’Neill, the founder of Irish Soup Kitchen Centres. But it has now closed, he said.
In Hartstown, a writer and musician imagines the eeriness of the Dublin suburbs of the near future
“Hub”, his latest album of stories told over ambient music, “casts a jaundiced eye on Ireland as a tech and financial services node”.
In Fingal, councillors call for more transparency in how council is tackling coastal erosion
No record of a Fingal Coastal Liaison Group meeting has been published publicly since 11 September 2019 – although there have been meetings since then.
In Fingal, a trio of councillors proposes reopening strategic policy committee meetings to media and the public
The county’s councillors voted through rules late last year that ended access.
Local residents raise concerns about health impacts on asylum seekers of living under a busy airport flight path in tents at Thornton Hall
For some locals suffering in houses because of the noise, it’s a genuine concern. For others, is it a cover?
In Porterstown, a public garden offers a template for residents who want to attract more critters to the area
The Riverwood Biodiversity Group has shaped the patch to tempt solitary bees, hedgehogs, and others. They hope neighbours will take inspiration from it.
Council orders Clonsilla drone delivery service base removed
It issued the owner of the Clonsilla Inn with a planning enforcement notice on 19 June, giving two months to remove the landing pads.
In Clonsilla, residents say council should finish plan for the village before further development is okayed
Fingal County Council hasn’t said when it expects the vision it is working on to be done.
Flying drones are delivering food in Dublin, so where are companies allowed to build drone bases?
Neither the Fingal development plan, nor the Dublin city one, set out where drone bases are allowed and where they aren’t.
In Balbriggan, a weekly meet-up for artists that’s “like a warm hug”
Artist Alison O’Grady has been running Sketchbound on and off for 12 years now.
Dublin Airport might breach its passenger cap this year, and the blame game has already begun
Airport operator DAA is pointing the finger at the Irish Aviation Authority, but the IAA says the company that runs the airport is ultimately responsible.
In Fingal, the journey to the top of the social-housing list is painfully slow
Homeless since 2021, Michael Conway was granted medical priority last September and shot up the list. But nine months later he still hasn’t reached the top.
Council Briefs: Boycotting HP-branded products, quietening the M50, and pushing for more social housing
These were among the issues Fingal county councillors discussed at their July monthly meeting.
An artist coaxes music out of stone and metal in Balbriggan, building lithophones and metallophones
Darren Rogers “has an engineering mind, an architectural mind”, says local filmmaker Aidan Whelan.
With journalists and the public shut out of some Fingal council committee meetings, they’re left to rely on terse minutes
In the official record, 20 minutes of presentation and discussion can be reduced to just two short sentences.
Efforts continue to take the job of regulating Dublin Airport noise away from Fingal County Council
The council is too entangled with the airport to be independent, critics say. Labour TD Duncan Smith has introduced a bill to give the EPA the job instead.
In Fingal, a teenage aviation journalist leads the national media
But 17-year-old Shaun Dunne says he’s aiming for a career as a pilot, not in the media.
Post-election, a group of Fingal county councillors have formed a ruling alliance – but what are their policy goals?
Fine Gael, Fianna Fáil, Labour and the Green Party voted together to choose the lord mayor and divvy up committee chairs.
Time to reopen Balbriggan’s council help desk, councillors say
Now, residents must travel 18km to Swords, or 37km to Blanchardstown if they need to sign forms or speak with a council official face to face.
In Fingal, developers planning more homes often argue there’s no need to add community amenities to go with them
Of 18 recent social infrastructure audits, 13 concluded no more was needed in areas such as Howth, Donabate, and Swords.
New documentary looks at how Balbriggan has been shaped by artists
Aidan Whelan’s 68-minute film “A Destination for the Arts” is due to premiere this Friday, 21 June.
In Clonsilla, residents petition a developer to save the chimney stack of an old lodge
It was built for Captain Steeds, who lived nearby in Clonsilla House, and whose horses were the victims in the Clonsilla Poisoning of 1887.
Vacancy Watch: A row of six buildings lying derelict on Main Street in Rush
A director of the company that owns them says he’s been trying for years to build homes and an Aldi there.
Developer says it doesn’t need to build new community facilities along with housing at big Donabate scheme, as there’s already plenty
Like the indoor swimming pool at the community centre, the developer’s report says. Only problem: there isn’t one.
Fingal Briefs: Keeping tenants in-situ, affordable housing at St Ita’s, and battling coastal erosion
These were some of the issues councillors discussed at a recent meeting of the council’s Balbriggan/Rush-Lusk/Swords Area Committee.
In Skerries, flooding leaves much-needed GAA pitch unusable for much of the year
“And to watch a pitch like that lying idle is a travesty,” says Ronan Rasdale, an under-8s coach.