As the government blocks funding for major social-housing projects, FF and FG councillors point fingers at ministers
As many as 1,325 social homes in Dublin city are at an advanced stage, with planning granted – but now with no clear funding.
In 2017, the council issued 1,001 fines for littering. In 2022, the number was 443. So far this year? Well under 100.
The council met local residents Monday to talk about options. Previous ideas have included housing, sports facilities, and a Traveller resource centre.
“I was lying in my hospital bed and I just kept thinking, ‘God, please don’t let me die. I want to live to see the dump gone,’” says resident Annette Flanagan.
“I would have some concerns that the waste-to-energy incinerator plans really just lock us into kind of unsustainable systems.”
Concerns have been raised about data protection, but an expert says the council can collate this data if it shows that it is necessary and proportionate.
“We can then follow that up with cold calling, calling at houses, calling at properties and then we can then prosecute.”
For years, an operator has paid to collect used clothes. Going forward, the council will have to pay for the service, a spokesperson said.
In response, the Department of Environment is planning a study of the pros and cons of councils contracting out the bin service in their area to a single company.
They’ve waited for a code on how they can be used and, at a meeting on Tuesday, got the details – and didn’t like what they learned.
“The more we do, the more is asked of us,” wrote Ruth Law.
It’s the councillors’ latest move in a years-long campaign to stop council managers from reducing services at the centre.
“The fires are constantly being lit,” says local resident Annette Flanagan, who forwarded a photo taken at night showing smoke and flames.