The Parks & Landscape Services Division reported that the assessment of tenders to upgrade the playground at Palmerston Park, Dartry, Dublin 6 has been completed.

The contract to upgrade the playground has now been awarded, it is anticipated that work will commence on site in early March with a 6 to 8 week build period.

Local schools will be advised of this proposal over the coming week.

To see a copy of the winning design, click here.

Household Charge Registration Forms can be downloaded from here – Forms can be found under the “FAQ’s” tab in the top right corner.

Household Charge Registration Forms can also be picked up from my office –

54a Ranelagh Triangle

Dublin 6.

Alternatively, if you would like to phone or email my office, I can post a form to you. Forms may also be collected from Public Libraries and Civic Offices.

There are a number of situations where waivers or exemptions may be granted:

The exemptions are as follows:

• Residential properties that are part of the trading stock of a business and have not been sold or been the source of any income since construction,
• Residential property vested in a Minister of the Government or the Health Service Executive,
• Residential property vested in a housing authority, including property where households are purchasing their homes under the Shared Ownership Scheme and where the local authority still retains an ownership stake,
• Voluntary and co-operative housing,
• Residential property to which commercial rates apply,
• Residential property owned by a charity or comprised in a discretionary trust, and
• Residential property where a person has to leave their house due to long-term mental or physical infirmity (e.g. a person that has moved into a nursing home). “Long term mental or physical infirmity” is defined in the legislation as an infirmity requiring the person to vacate the property in which he/she had been dwelling for a continuous period of more than 12 months and that is certified as such by a registered practitioner.

The waivers from payment of the household charge are as follows:

• Owners of residential property entitled to mortgage interest supplement
• Owners of residential property located in prescribed unfinished housing estates (see Unfinished Housing Estates section in FAQ for more detail).

Please note that all waiver claims will be validated.  Persons who make false or misleading declarations in making a claim for a waiver will be liable to penalties under the legislation.

A full list of Frequently Asked Questions is available by clicking here.

Dublin City Council will officially transfer its waste collection service to Greyhound Recycling on Monday, 16th January 2012. Greyhound Recycling and Recovery will collect your household waste from this date. Pricing for lifts remain the same for Residential Bin Customers. You will be notified of your collection day directly by Greyhound Recycling.

Those who were entitled to a waiver of the Standing Charge in 2011, will not be required to pay the Annual Charge for 2012.

Black and Brown Bins are presented for collection together, while Green Bins are presented on the same day the following week; bins should be presented for collection before 7am. Bin collections will rotate like this on a fortnightly basis.

Lift price, per bin:

Black 240 litre – €6

Black 140 litre – €3.60

Brown  140 litre – €2

The Annual Service Charge will be maintained for 2012 and this Charge must be paid, in full, within 30 days from Monday 16^th January. Once you have paid your Annual Charge, you will receive a barcode sticker. Simply place this sticker on your Green Bin and it will be collected free of charge.

Annual Charge:

Black 240 litre – €100

Black 140 Litre- € 80

Please note that Greyhound operates a prepay system. You are required to make sure that your Greyhound account has sufficient funds for each Black and Brown bin lift. If you do not have sufficient credit in your account for the cost of a Black or Brown bin, your bin will not be collected.

So, in effect, you should now make arrangements so that by no later than the 15^th of February your new Greyhound account has enough money in it to cover the annual charge plus credit to cover expected lifts, which you can then top-up as required in advance.

How to Pay:

Greyhound will send you your customer Payment Card. This card includes your customer account number which you will require when making payments.

You can pay the Annual Service Charge and/or top up your account in the following ways:

• Online at www.greyhound.ie
• At local shops using Payzone or PostPoint outlets.
• At any Post Office.

Some residents have been in touch about the possibility of rescheduling lift days so that Green and Black Bins may be presented for collection on the same day. We have also received feedback regarding some confusion over the issue of payment. I am in communication with Dublin City Council on these issues and will be posting any developments on this website. Please do get in touch with my office if you have any further questions.

For a list of Frequently Asked Questions please follow the links below.

Dublin City Council FAQ

Greyhound Recycling FAQ

Hey folks,

We are again looking for an intern to give a hand in the constituency office, as well as help with research tasks for the committees that I sit on (Public Accounts and Transport, Sport, Tourism, Arts, Gaeltacht and Heritage Affairs) . If you know anyone who might be looking for 3 months of experience in a political environment, please let them know. Description and responsibilities below. As a note of encouragement, our previous intern is now in full time employment in Brussels (thanks to his own hard efforts of course).

Cheers,

Eoghan

Job Description
The position will involve supporting the existing team in the areas of research, administration and general support and back up. The position will be office based Tuesday to Thursday 9.30am to 5.30pm. This position is open immediately. The successful candidate will be based primarily in the Ranelagh constituency office.

The ideal candidate should have:

• Proven research skills
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Good computer skills to include Excel, Word processing and internet.
• Knowledge of online social media outlets
• Ability to work on own initiative
• Excellent organisational and people skills

The ideal candidate should be:

• Interested in Politics and current affairs
• A team player
• Highly motivated

To Apply:

All CV’s with a cover letter to be sent to eoghan.murphy@oireachtas.ie .This is not a salaried position and the successful candidate will not be able to apply for this position under the Jobsbridge scheme. However lunch expenses will be covered. While the position cannot be made permanent, it can be extended.

The successful candidate will need his/her own laptop.

Applications should be received on or before next Tuesday 17^th January 2012.

Today (Wednesday 21st December) Fine Gael TD for Dublin South East Eoghan Murphy welcomed the Minister for Environment Phil Hogan’s decision to extend the contract for the cycling officer post with Dublin City Council for a further six months.

Speaking after the decision was made Deputy Murphy said “I’d like to commend Minister Hogan for today requesting that Dublin City Council extend the contract for the Cycling Officer Post with the council for six months. Having brought this to the Minister’s attention and lobbied for retention of the position it is great to see a positive result.

“It is of the utmost importance that we have someone dedicated to this role. The Dublinbikes scheme has proved to be a very popular initiative from Dublin City Council, with an annual turnover in excess of €400,000. It is crucial that we have someone with the right vision at the helm of the operation ensuring its continued success.

“A dedicated cycling officer is the very least that city needs if we are to follow in the steps of other bike friendly European cities by providing a cheap, congestion free commuting option.

“Minister Hogan has further requested that Dublin City Council consult with the National Transport Authority during this six month period to review the situation and report to him on how the promotion of cycling in Dublin should be addressed in the longer term.

“I would also like to thank Lord Mayor Andrew Montague for his work, as well as to Peter O’Brien and others for bringing the issue to the wider public’s attention.

The Outdoor Advertising Strategy is part of the Dublin City Development Plan 2011 to 2017 and sets out policy on the location and type of outdoor advertising structures that are best for the city. Depending on the issues raised in submissions received, the City Council will then decide whether a Statutory Variation of the Dublin City Development Plan 2011-2017 is required.

Your City, Your Space; Draft Dublin City Public Realm Strategy identifies the importance and character of the public realm and the challenges to be addressed to improve quality in the city’s spaces. The emphasis is on a collaborative approach by agreeing and defining guiding principles and setting out detailed actions to be undertaken to achieve this with all those who have responsibility in the public realm.

Both Strategies are available to view/download at www.dublincity.ie/Planning

To make submissions online go to www.dublincity.ie/Planning or via email to development.plan@dublincity.ie

To make a written submission, send to:

The closing date for submissions is 4.30 pm on Wednesday 25th January 2012.

Dublin Bus will be introducing service revisions for Ballycullen, Knocklyon, Terenure, Rathgar, Rathmines, Malahide Road, Clare Hall and Clongriffin areas from Sunday 18th December 2011, which will deliver more direct, high frequency and punctual bus services with improved cross city connections. Full details on the revised services can be found on the below link:

http://www.dublinbus.ie/en/News-Centre/Travel-News/Changes-on-Routes-15-15a-15b-15e-15f-65-65b-74-74a-128-

Customers will be notified of the changes via leaflet drop, newspaper advertisement, the Dublin Bus website and Dublin Bus’ Facebook and Twitter pages. If you have any further queries, please do not hesitate to contact my office on 618 3324 or by email at eoghan.murphy@oir.ie

Minister for Public and Commuter Transport, Alan Kelly, together with the National Transport Authority has launched the new integrated transport ticket for Dublin.

From today, the ‘Leap’ card goes for public sale with commuters in the greater Dublin area now being able to switch between Bus, Luas, Dart and Rail services with one ticket. Public transport users will be able to purchase and top up their Leap Card at more than 350 authorised Leap Card agents (Payzone) across Dublin and online at www.leapcard.ie

The news follows the successful public testing of the card with over 15,000 journeys completed with the new Leap card.

Launching the card, Minister Kelly, said: “The Leap Card will be among the cheapest ways to get around Dublin. It will make using public transport more attractive and make it easier to get around the city. Our testing phase produced over 15,000 successful journeys. This represents huge progress for commuters and it has been one of my biggest priorities since taking office,”

“A commitment was given in the Programme for Government to advance this project as quickly as possible and I’m delighted to have delivered on this. I have taken an active and participative interest in this project with the various transport companies and agencies since taking up my role so I am delighted to see it off the ground.

Today is only the first day of the first phase. It will be gradually built upon and developed throughout 2012 where additional functionalities will be added to include Bus Eireann services, some private bus operators, children tickets, rambler, Travel 90 and student cards.

It is worth noting that over 17 launches of London’s Oyster card took place before it will fully operational. So while we have lift-off today, there is still huge work to be done and that will continue between the National Transport Authority and myself as Minister.”

The Leap Card offers passengers value and convenience with every transaction. It is easy to use and is hassle-free because it doesn’t require public transport users to have the correct change or lots of coins to hand. It’s also quicker with no more queuing at ticket machines for single tickets on Luas, DART and Commuter Rail Services. It’s safer because public transport users can top up online and can report their card lost or stolen so that no one else can use it. With Dublin Bus, Luas, DART and Commuter Rail Services all being on board, public transport users can travel around Dublin as it suits them, without having to buy a specific ticket in advance.

Using Leap Cards to travel by Luas is up to 17% cheaper than purchasing single tickets from ticket machines, travelling by DART and Commuter Rail using Leap is up to 19% cheaper than purchasing singles from ticket machines, while the same fares as cash apply on Dublin Bus until January 2012 when a discount of 9% will come into play, following the rise in cash fares.  Commuters and travellers are urged to buy their Leap Cards now, to be ready to take advantage of these differentials as soon as they come into effect.

Public transport users who currently hold pre-paid tickets including annual and monthly tickets on Dublin Bus, Luas and DART and Commuter Rail services can be assured that their cards will continue to work as normal, alongside the new Leap Card, until well into 2012.

“Today represents a very important day for commuters in the Greater Dublin Area and I would like to thank the National Transport Authority and the Railway Procurement Agency for their commitment and diligence in this project along with Dublin Bus, Irish Rail, Bus Eireann, HP and Payzone for bringing it to this stage” concluded Minister Kelly.

For detailed information on fares and other aspects of Leap Card, please visit www.leapcard.ie

IMPORTANT: Please note earlier start time to the Sandymount Ceremony.

Sandymount Green: Friday 9^th of December at 5.30 p.m.

Ranelagh Triangle:                     Thursday 1st of December at 4.00 p.m.

Donnybrook Village: Sunday 4th of December at 6.00 p.m.

Rathmines Plaza: Tuesday 6^th of December at 3.30 p.m.

Rathgar, at Christchurch: Friday 9^th of December at 7.00 p.m.

Terenure, village carpark:          Friday 2^nd of December at 5.00-6.00 p.m.

I am delighted to be here at the first Fine Gael Presidential Dinner since our great party was elected to Government. It is also the first since we became the largest Party in the State. Those historic achievements are a fitting reward for the many years of dedicated work of many people in this room and our thousands of loyal members throughout the country.

The strong mandate we have received from the Irish people is one that I and my colleagues in Government exercise with great seriousness. It’s a mandate to face up to and tackle the problems of the country – not to shy away from them.

While it is right that we acknowledge the progress we have made, we must also reflect on what has happened since our last Presidential Dinner, a little over a year ago. Then the country was rudderless and leaderless. As we now know, discussions had been going on for months on the terms of a bailout package for Ireland – despite the denials by the then Government.

The people had lost faith in the previous Government and were demanding change. A year ago, I promised you that Fine Gael had the team and the plan to get Ireland working again. When the election came in February, the Irish people decided to make us the largest Party in the Dáil.

The democratic vote of the people ensured the election of a strong and stable partnership between Fine Gael and the Labour Party – a new Government with the largest mandate in the history of the State.

Tonight I want to confirm publicly that this Government is working very well and very hard, with a shared determination to lead our country to recovery.

In the eight months since taking office, the Government has made a good start, but there is long way to go. Despite the huge constraints imposed by the EU/IMF programme, we have made some progress. We have worked hard to restore Ireland’s international reputation which was so tarnished by the previous Government.

Economic growth – although slow – has returned.  The banks have been restructured. We have established two pillar banks and imposed losses on junior bond holders. Despite the scepticism of our opponents, we have secured significant improvements in the terms of the EU/IMF programme, improvements that will yield savings to the taxpayer of over €10 billion.

As a first signal of the priority we attached to getting people back to work, we introduced a jobs initiative which has already had a positive impact on sectors like tourism. We have also started the process of radically reforming the political system and public sector so that people can see clearly that change starts at the top and at the centre.

We make these changes against the backdrop of continuing uncertainty about the direction of the European Union and the stability of the single currency.

It is essential that European leaders make and implement clear decisions quickly to prove our shared determination to protect our currency, to support Member States that are working towards economic recovery, and to introduce strong rules to ensure fiscal discipline.

Let me be clear – Ireland supports the creation of stronger economic governance throughout Europe, and particularly throughout the Eurozone.

The Irish people are paying the price now for the absence of such rules in the past. I am determined that we will never go back to the practices that drove our economy off a cliff – reckless spending, poor oversight of banks and over-reliance on property-related tax revenues.

I look forward to the proposals for stronger governance in the Eurozone to be presented by the President of the European Council next month which may include limited changes to the EU treaties. We will engage positively in the debate on these proposals.

However, to tackle the immediate crisis, the first priority must be to use the existing instruments and decisions to their full potential so that the markets can be convinced that European leaders are fully committed to defending and protecting their currency.

Irrespective of the search for a solution at European level, it is essential that we in Ireland continue to implement our plan to fix our budget deficit, while still investing in job creation.

Our guiding principles for this budget will be the creation of jobs, meeting our targets and protecting the most vulnerable. This budget will be tough on everyone. That’s why we started with the political system itself through cutting Ministerial pay and transport, and reducing the number of Oireachtas Committees.

Over recent weeks, we have published segments of the budget package. Our new €17 billion capital investment programme honestly sets out what projects the country can afford in current economic circumstances. It’s focused on jobs, education and health.

Our radical reform of the public sector will tackle waste and duplication and sees the merger or abolition of at least 48 quangos, and a definite end to the ill-judged decentralization programme.

We have also introduced pay ceilings and retirement arrangements for senior public servants and semi-State executives. I am very disappointed that Coillte has yet to accede to the Government’s request for a voluntary cut of 15% in the salary of its chief executive.

Earlier this week, Minister Richard Bruton published details of the first elements of a major government focus on jobs –a new partial loan guarantee scheme and a micro finance scheme for small start-up enterprises. These and other plans to be announced in January are aimed at creating 100,000 new jobs for our people.

While the remaining elements of the budget will entail very difficult spending cuts and revenue raising measures, we are determined to achieve the very large budgetary correction in a way that best protects jobs and the most vulnerable in our society.  That’s why Minister Michael Noonan has already made it clear that he intends to raise the necessary additional tax revenue in the budget through indirect taxes, rather than by increases on taxes on work. We believe that increases in income taxes would be damaging to jobs and this view is supported by international experts, including the OECD.

In conclusion, I want to assure you that, no matter how difficult the challenges, Fine Gael in government will keep our promise to the Irish people to tackle the country’s problems head-on. That’s why we are in politics – to serve the Irish people.

The current economic challenge presents us with a great opportunity to change things in this country for the better. To make the reforms this country needs to achieve economic recovery and, most of all, to make Ireland the best small country in the world in which to do business.

In doing so, we can deliver on our top priority in government– the creation of jobs for our people.