This month’s replies include information on: the Gathering budget for Dublin South East, traffic on fade street and the dodder flood gates. For more click here

Parents of all children aged 0 to 12 years in 38 areas across Ireland are being asked by the Minister for Education and Skills what patrons they would like to see operating their local primary schools. Dublin 6 is one of the areas being surveyed.

Surveys are going live today and are an expansion of pilot surveys on primary school patronage which were conducted late last year in five towns.

The survey can be accessed on line via www.education.ie and parents have from now until the 8th of February to complete it.

To read the guide which contains information on taxation, social welfare, options for the unemployed and housing for 2013 click here.

Today the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, Phil Hogan announced details of the designation of the North Lotts and Grand Canal Dock areas of the Dublin Docklands as a Strategic Development Zone (SDZ). This will provide for continued fast-track planning in designated areas on the wind up of the Dublin Docklands Development Authority (DDDA) next year.

The SDZ designation, proposed by Dublin City Council as the development agency, has been made in the context of the Government’s decision last May to wind up the DDDA and Minister Hogan’s commitment to provide for continued availability of fast-track planning in order to maintain the attractiveness of the Dublin Docklands area as a prime location for inward investment.

For more information on this click here

This week the National Development Finance Agency (NDFA) appeared before the Public Accounts Committee to discuss their role in public private partnerships. In 2007, the NDFA was responsible for conducting a value for money audit (VFM) in relation to the proposed Poolbeg incinerator. I’ve consistently argued on the PAC that this VFM should no longer stand given the number of significant changes that have occurred in relation to the project and to the contract since then. At the PAC this week, the CEO of the NDFA confirmed that this VFM from 2007 is null. If Covanta manage to secure financing for their side of the deal, the project in its entirety will have to once again undergo a value for money audit.

We also learned that the cost benefit analysis for this project is conducted by Dublin City Council and only Dublin City Council. No other state body is responsible for assessing the cost/benefit analysis independently. This is unacceptable in my view given the number of mistakes with this project to date and given the conclusions of the internal audit of the project (which said financial management had been weak and also criticised management of the project), furthermore as partners in the process DCC are, at the very least, objectively conflicted.

To watch proceedings click here.

Tomorrow’s high tide is predicted to be high and above Dublin City Council’s Tide Alert levels. Following a meeting of the City Council’s Flooding Assessment Group the following precautionary actions are being taken:

• The car parks at Sandymount promenade and at Clontarf are being closed today.

• A limited number of large sandbags are being put in place in Clontarf.

• The flood gates on the River Dodder will be closed tomorrow for the weekend.

• The flood defences on the River Tolka are being put in place.

• The Liffey Boardwalk defences will be closed on Friday morning.

• Spencer Dock Flood gates have been closed.

Dublin City Council maintains a stock of sandbags at various locations for strategic purposes and will be deployed by Drainage staff, if required in both Sandymount and Clontarf.

Following an assessment, Marine Drive will be closing after rush hour tomorrow morning at its junction with Beach Road and Strand Road. It will be re-opened in the afternoon. The Gardai and the Roads & Traffic Department in Dublin City Council have been informed of this.

For further updates log on to www.dublincity.ie

A constituent recently got in touch with me in relation to dangerous cycling. I have come across this issue a lot since becoming a public rep. As a cyclist I understand the importance from a safety point of view of obeying all rules of the road. The constituent asked me to put a number of suggestions to the Minister for Transport in relation to the promotion of safe cycling.

To read the response I received on this from the Road Safety Authority click here

A special parking promotion it taking place in Ranelagh Village everyday for the month of December. Motorists paying for parking in a Payzone outlet in Ranelagh will only pay 60c per hour – a saving of up to €1.80 per hour. However people paying at the meters in Ranelagh will have to pay the normal rates.

Below is up to date information on how the flood defence works along the Dodder are progressing, as of 7th December 2012:

Landsdowne Road
The works on the left bank are still not completed – a section of wall is still to be finished and the haul road has to be removed. However, this will be done in the next few weeks with a possibility that it will be done before Christmas. If not though, it will be completed shortly afterwards.

Licenced Vintners Embankment
Mobilisation for works at the embankment is currently underway, with works to commence very soon and running into the first half of 2013. The planned works are greater than originally anticipated in this area.

Beatty’s Avenue
The emergency works at Beatty’s Avenue are still ongoing with quite a lot of the work already completed. However, as previously indicated, this is a substantial piece of work and is expected to be completed in Quarter 2, 2013.

Phases upstream of tidal section of Dodder
Part 8 planning for the works up to Ballsbridge is being handled by Dublin City Council. However the Dodder Catchment Flood Risk Assessment and Management Plan (CFRAMP) must be passed by the City Council before this Part 8 can be adopted. It is expected to go before the Council towards the end of Quarter 1 next year, following a two month consultation process

To watch video click here

Local audit report available here

This week the PAC received the details of the local government audit in to the Poolbeg incinerator project. The audit came to some serious conclusions regarding the financial management and the governance of the project since its inception – basically, it has been weak to non existent.

The tax payer’s bill for this incinerator to date, which still hasn’t been built, is in excess of €80 million euro.

Today the Secretary General of the Department of Environment, Community and Local Government was before the PAC and I took the opportunity to go through the various elements of the report with her in detail. You can watch the video below and the full transcript will be up soon.