Last week, Iran unveiled another accomplishment in its nuclear programme. Both Israel and the United States are speaking openly of possible military confrontation.

The European Union has upped the ante as well, with a new stage of sanctions recently approved. All of this is because “Iran has failed to restore international confidence in the exclusively peaceful nature of its nuclear programme”.

It will never be able to do so because its programme isn’t exclusively peaceful. So where are we going with all of this?

First, this isn’t another Iraq.

Going on the internationally agreed evidence, there are legitimate concerns about possible military dimensions to Iran’s nuclear programme. Concerns which Iran has repeatedly failed to address when given the opportunity according to the International Atomic Energy Agency, a neutral, multilateral body vested with ensuring that nuclear energy is used for peaceful purposes.

Serious concerns about a weaponisation programme arose in 2002, when a secret enrichment programme was revealed and, 10 years later, following repeated and thorough inspections, the agency still cannot conclude that Iran is on a purely peaceful path. Neither can Iran – it has experimented with practically every element of the weaponisation process.

And for those who argue that it has a right to do so, Iran forfeited this right when it signed up to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty in the late 1960s. It has been caught cheating in the most serious area of international peace and security and the case against it is pretty solid. (Take a look at the most recent report of the IAEA’s director general, GOV/2011/65 , available on iaea.org)

So what are our options and those of the international community?

As far as we can reliably tell, military action has only ever been employed once to prevent a state from acquiring a nuclear weapon. That was Iraq in 1981, when the Israelis blew up a reactor in Osirak, concerned it might be used for building a bomb.

Iran is much further along the process and its infrastructure is far more diverse and sophisticated. You couldn’t simply blow up the relevant sites because many are buried underground – a lesson learned from Osirak. And we don’t know where they all are. So determining success would be difficult.

Iran has also invested in both tactical and strategic defensive equipment (with defence spending expected to double to over $14 billion this year). To protect one’s own assets and ensure a successful strike, non-nuclear (ie military) facilities would also have to be targeted.

A strike proposed solely against nuclear facilities then would probably escalate into something more. And that is before possible responses from Iran are considered. The list of potential military targets expands again as pre-empting possible retaliation is looked at.

And once areas like the Strait of Hormuz come in to play, as was recently threatened, we are almost certainly talking war. Another war with the Middle East. The third in a decade. And this one after the Arab Spring.

Can Iran be penalised into repenting? Sanctions have never prevented a country from obtaining a nuclear weapon.

A recent and ready example is North Korea, a country in breach of its international obligations from the day it entered into them in 1985. Through very skilful manoeuvring, it strung the international community along for two decades while it developed a weapon. The international community even banned exports of lobsters and luxury yachts to the country in an attempt to bring it back on side. Still it persists.

Sanctions will certainly make it more difficult – they will slow things down. As they slowed down India’s progress in the 1970s, but only after it had already developed a weapons capability.

Given the stage that Iran is now at, the facilities under its control, the experience and the technical know-how already gained, we must conclude that sanctions alone will not keep Iran from developing a nuclear weapon if that is what it wants. Many western countries have already concluded this.

Sanctions – even severe ones designed to cripple the country and its people – will not draw Iran back from the brink. They may even exacerbate the situation as further isolation increases Iran’s security fears. You have to wonder if there is anything that we can do. A better understanding is possible if we look at the situation from Iran’s perspective.

In 2002, the US, the greatest military power in the world, labelled Iran a rogue state and part of an axis of evil. Less than two years later, it was camped on both its eastern border in Afghanistan and its western border in Iraq, another member of “the axis”.

Iran’s programme was initiated in part in response to its brutal war with Iraq in the 1980s, when it suffered chemical weapon attacks on its military and civilian populations (attacks the western powers chose to ignore). And the more recent history of the region has only served to underline the importance of the ultimate deterrent. No country possessing a nuclear weapon has ever been invaded.

Whatever one might think of Iran’s president or the country’s confrontation with Israel or its sponsoring of Shia militants in Iraq post-2003, it is hard not to conclude that Iran has legitimate security concerns. And crying “havoc” and readying the dogs of war does not address these concerns.

Talks have been tried before. But with so many preconditions, it was difficult to get people to the table, let alone keep them there.

In addition, terms focused on the nuclear issue when it is clear that this is only one symptom of a much bigger problem in the region.

We must not give up on negotiations – on trying to find a peaceful solution to the current hostilities with Iran across a range of fronts. Because there is quite simply no other way.

Ireland could lend its experience and moral authority here – we are directly responsible for the establishment of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, the cornerstone of all international arms control agreements since. And yet, somewhat counter-intuitively (and possibly short-sightedly), we have just closed our embassy in Tehran.

We are being led too easily down the sanctions/confrontation route and this will not end well.

I think the Gathering is a good initiative from the Government and is a great opportunity for the Country. It may well prove a significant injection in to the economy in what will be an important year in terms of the bailout programme.
The plans from the Minister announced today, including the allocation of €5 million in funding, are a real statement of intent. St Patrick’s week of this year will be when we announce our plans to the world and this will guarantee maximum impact as all eyes will be on Ireland.

The Gathering will be overseen by a Project Board which will bring together representatives from the tourism bodies and from the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport along with other members with relevant expertise.

The Project Board will be supported by an executive team drawn from tourism agencies and graduates through the JobsBridge scheme. A Council of Champions will offer further assistance by acting as forum to engage the wider community at home and abroad.

It’s very positive that the Minister has made provisions for graduates through the JobsBridge scheme to play a central role in the implementation of the Gathering. Tourism is a key part of the plan to keep Ireland on the road to economic recovery because it involves the domestic economy and job creation throughout the country. By engaging with communities and members of the public, the Gathering provides a way for everybody to make a valuable contribution.

The flooding that occurred on the 24th October 2011 was the result of an extreme rainfall event that exceeded the carrying capacity of existing river and drainage systems within Dublin City.

The City Council received over 1300 reports of flooding on roads and properties throughout the City. Investigations by the Drainage Department to determine the full extent of the effects of the flooding and to identify suitable remedial measures are ongoing. The length of time required to complete this work will be considerable due to the limited resources, both financial and staffing, that are currently available to the Department. 

The following reports which address the nature of the event and the manner in which resources were deployed to handle the emergency have already been presented to the City Council and the Environment & Engineering Strategic Policy Committee.

• Report No. 338/2011 considered by the Council at the Monthly Meeting held on 7th November 2011 on Dublin City Flood Risk and interim report on extreme pluvial flooding event affecting East Coast and Dublin City on 24th November 2011.

• Progress Report on Extreme Event Pluvial Flooding 24th October 2011 considered by the Environment & Engineering Strategic Policy Committee at a meeting in December 2011.

• Progress Report on Extreme Event Pluvial Flooding 24th October 2011 (Incorporating the report from Jacobs titled Interim Review and Recommendations following the Dublin flood event of 24th October 2011) considered by the Environment & Engineering Strategic Policy Committee at a meeting in January 2012.

The purpose of this report is to brief the Area Committee on the specific drainage issues that have arisen in the South East Area as a result of the rainfall event of 24th October.

Flooding in the South East Area

Property Flooding
The City Council has received reports of flooding at 130 road locations in the South East Area. The list of these locations is provided in Appendix 1 of the report.

Principal Sources of Flooding
The principal sources of flooding within the South East Area were:
• The Dodder River
• The (piped) Swan River and its overflow to the Dodder estuary.
• The Poddle River
• Incapacity in the drainage network

Flooding Related to the River Dodder
Of all the major rivers in Dublin the river Dodder falls the greatest height over the shortest distance. It rises on the slopes of Kippure mountain and descends through a distance of 26km to discharge into the River Liffey near Ringsend. The swift transfer of rainfall into the river channel combined with the high degree of urbanisation within the catchment downstream of Bohernabreena makes the river system highly susceptible to flooding during
periods of extreme rainfall events. Current estimates indicate that the peak volume of water which flowed through the River Dodder during the most recent flooding event was approximately 250m3/sec downstream of Ballsbridge.

The majority of flooding in the Dodder catchment resulted from the river overtopping its banks and flooding areas that had been historically flood plains. While isolated flooding reports were received in the Dartry Road and Milltown areas, the greatest number of flooding reports was received from the Stillorgan Road in Donnybrook to Newbridge (Lansdowne Road Bridge). The river is tidal from upstream of Ballsbridge and for the remainder of its course to where it discharges into the Liffey at Ringsend.

The current estimate of premises flooded within the Dodder catchment stands at 192 dwellings in addition to 136 other buildings/non-residential ground floor units.

The principal locations where property flooding occurred as a result of the Dodder River were as follows:

Marian College (swimming pool and residential building)
Canon Place (12 Properties)
Herbert Road (1 Property)
Railway Cottages (15 Properties) 
AVIVA stadium car park and grounds
Sweepstakes site (130 Properties)
Ballsbridge Park (The car parks of three apartment blocks)
Herbert Cottages (26 Properties)
Ballsbridge Avenue (18 Properties)
Dodder View Cottages (43 Properties)
Beatty’s Avenue (8 Properties)
Granite Place (1 Property)
Main RDS building (15% of the floor area)
Anglesea Road, Dunluce, Somerset (54 Properties, cricket club pavilion)
Licensed Vintners Association (Basement and wall collapse)
Junction of Anglesea Road and Simmonscourt Road -The Church of Ireland near the junction was also flooded
Leinster Rugby Ground
Bective Rangers Ground
Old Wesley Ground
Bective Tennis Courts
Eglington Road (3 back gardens)
Clonskeagh (Public House)
Strand Terrace (5 Properties)
The Dropping Well Public House
Dartry Cottages (4 Properties)

Tide Gates
There are three tidal flood gates located at Londonbridge Road, Lansdowne Village and Newbridge Avenue and two demountable flood barriers located on the Aviva Stadium side of the river. These were designed to protect local areas against tidal flooding events. On the night of 24th October the predicted tide level was below that which necessitated closure of these units.

Following reports on the night of rising river levels a decision was taken to activate these defences. The gates were closed at approximately 10pm and the demountable flood barriers were erected approximately half an hour later.

There was a delay in closing the tidal flood gates as difficulties were encountered in retrieving the locking pins which were stored in a kiosk adjacent to the Aviva Stadium. The Drainage Division has reviewed the protocol for closure of these gates and will in future be closing the gates on foot of both tidal and pluvial adverse weather forecasts subject to staff availability. This warning will correspond roughly to a yellow Tidewatch Report.

Flooding Related to the River Swan  
The Swan River comprises a network of small pipelines which drain much of the old Rathmines and Pembroke drainage catchment area. It originates as a very small overflow of the River Poddle in the vicinity of Kimmage Manor and drains the areas of Terenure, Rathgar, Rathmines and parts of Ballsbridge before discharging into the River Dodder near the Aviva Stadium. The river has a total channel length of over 17km and is culverted for almost its entire length.

Significant numbers of flooding reports were received from the Rathgar, Rathmines and Ranelagh areas. These areas are notable not only for the age of the drainage but for the age of their building stock, many dating from the 19th century. In particular extensive flooding, including basement flooding took place at the following locations:

Chelmsford Road  (1 Property)
O’ Connell Gardens (1 Property)
Palmerstown Villas (1 Property)
Grosvenor Place (2 Properties)
Havelock Square (3 Properties)
Kennilworth Square (3 Properties)
Effra Road (1 Property)
Derrynane Gardens (1 Property)
Leinster Road (1 Property)
Leinster Square (7 Properties)

Most of the flooding associated with the Swan River related to properties containing basements or rooms below street level.    

Flooding Related to the River Poddle
The flow of water from the Tymon Stream splits upstream of Kimmage Manor into two sections, the River Poddle and the Lakelands overflow. On October 24th screens located at the Lakelands overflow blocked with debris carried down during the flood causing the bulk of the upstream flood waters to flow into City section of the Poddle. The debris carried in this flow in turn blocked the screen at Gandon Hall resulting in extensive flooding in the locality. The majority of flooding occurred within the South Central Area, However flooding did occur within the South East Area at Mount Harold Terrace where 7 premises were flooded.

The design of river screens is currently being examined and minor alterations have been made to the Gandon Hall screen. The operation of all screens and the installation of screens that allow for overtopping is currently being examined.

Flooding Related to the Drainage Network
At a number of locations in the South East Area flooding resulted where the capacity of the drainage network was unable to cope with the discharges to the piped system. The most serious flooding occurred at the following locations.

Ailsbury Park (2 Properties)
Ailsbury Road (1 Property)
Eglinton Road (1 Property)
Elgin Road (1 Property)
Gullistan Cottages (1 Property)
Highfield Road (6 Properties)
Irishtown Road (1 Property)
Landsdowne Road/Shelbourne Road Junction (3 hotels)
Macken Street (2 Properties)
Magennis Place (1 Property)
Pearse Grove (1 Property)
Pearse House (1 Property)
Pearse Square (1 Property)
Pearse Street (2 Properties)
Pembroke Cottages (1 Property)
Rathmines Road Lr. (1 Property)
St. Alban’s Park (3 Properties)
St. John’s Road East (8 Properties)
Suffolk Street (4 Properties)
Sydney Parade Ave. (1 Property)
Wilton Place (1 Property)

Flood Alleviation Measures in the South East Area

The  Dodder
The River Dodder Catchment Flood Risk Management (CFRAM) Study is at draft Final Report Stage as reported to SE Area recently and is programmed to go to 3 months public consultation next month in the three Local Authority Areas following submissions and comments it will come before the 3 Councils for adoption this autumn. Significant flood defences along the lower banks of the Dodder have already been put in place through the efforts of the City Council Flood Defence Unit and the Office of Public Works (OPW) and these saved dozens of dwellings from flooding on 24th October 2011.
 
The proposed flood protection works include raising and replacing existing flood walls and embankments in certain locations on the west/ north bank of the river to cater for the one in a hundred year river event or the worst 200 year combined tidal and river event in the tidal region. All of these works are currently envisaged to be provided within 50m of the river banks. Certain flood alleviation measures may be classified as emergency works in the near future with a view to their quick implementation.

The Swan
The OPW has responsibility for co-ordinating flood works by central Government Agencies and has agreed to discuss with Department of Environment, Community and Local Government (DECLG) on how to address schemes which may not fall under OPW remit but which might be eligible for funding under DECLG Water Services Investment Programme (WSIP). This particularly refers to flooding associated with underground “rivers” many of which are fully piped. In particular flooding associated with River Swan has been referred to OPW to determine eligibility for capital funding from the appropriate Government
Department.

The Poddle
As part of the Eastern CFRAMS, which is due to report in December 2015, the OPW has agreed to fast-track portions of a study of the river Poddle in order to identify potential improvement schemes provided that it does not interfere with the statutory deadlines of the overall study. The flood alleviation schemes required on the Poddle will require the co-operation of the City Council, South County Dublin Council, OPW and Eastern CFRAMS consultants. A meeting was held on Friday 20th January 2012 with a view to progressing the necessary works. 

The Drainage Network
Flood Resilient City Project (FRCP)
The FRCP currently underway will identify areas that are vulnerable to the threat of pluvial flooding and develop the most appropriate strategies to protect those areas against flooding. A final report will be available by mid 2012. A number of pilot areas have been selected for detailed attention.  And in the South East Area Pearse Square is one of the areas for which a specific report will be prepared.

Rathmines and Pembroke Drainage Scheme
The aim of the Rathmines & Pembroke Sewerage Scheme is to develop a rehabilitation strategy for the combined foul and surface water sewer serving the Rathmines and Pembroke catchment. To this end a Drainage Area Plan was developed, its objective being to identify and prioritise cost-effective solutions that address the hydraulic, environmental and structural deficiencies of the system. The current aim of the project is to review the Drainage Area Plan and out of this to develop a number of Construction Schemes to implement the solutions identified and to improve the performance of the system. A Project Engineer has been recently been appointed to progress this scheme.

Gully Management Programme
Dublin City Council radically revised its gully cleaning programme in 2004. A new database was introduced which records the date and location of every single gully cleaning operation.  All of the city’s 54,000 gullies are cleaned on average once per annum. Gullies on the main thoroughfares are cleaned more frequently, in some cases once every six to eight weeks. In addition, during adverse weather conditions and in particular on receipt of severe weather forecasts, normal gully cleaning work is suspended and the crews travel to areas which have historically flooded in the past to deal with any visible flooding and also carry out precautionary gully cleaning.  
    
Flood Resilient Communities
The City Council will endeavour to progress alleviation schemes to minimise the adverse effects of flooding within Dublin City. However it is not feasible to afford protection to every location for extreme pluvial events. The City Council’s sandbag policy (Appendix 2) points out that the prime responsibility for the protection of premises at risk of flooding rests with the owners of those properties.

In Scotland a model has been developed by the Scottish Flood Forum that has enabled over 200 Community Flood Groups to plan and prepare for flood events.
 
Recently the Flood Resilient City Office (FRCO) in conjunction with the Central Area Office invited the Scottish Flood Forum to meet with residents in the East Wall area with a view to establishing a Community Resilience Group to deal with floods. This type of model provides individuals and communities with an effective and efficient means of protecting properties from floods by:
• Establishing local area flood watch systems
• Establishing awareness of factors contributing to flood risks. 
• Developing local community flood action
• Minimizing the danger of flooding within the local area.
• Assisting at times of flooding and supporting people who have experienced flooding to ensure effective support is available to assist recovery. 
• Meeting regularly to ensure that flood preventive methods are being maintained and monitored.
• Monitoring and reporting to the City Council those areas which are at risk of flooding through lack of maintenance or repair.
• Raising the awareness of personal and collective actions to limit the occurrences of flooding.
• Engaging with the City Council and other organisations to reduce the risk of flooding.
• Developing a local community flood awareness training programme
• Promoting flood protection equipment and materials to prevent further flooding to property
• Arranging free surveys of properties and giving specific advice on the most appropriate means of flood protection.
• Providing advice on the type of protection and suitability of products that will minimize the risk of flooding to properties.
• Making recommendations on minor repairs to properties that may prevent entry of water. 
• Facilitating substantial reductions in the cost of flood defence products such as flood gates through bulk buying.
The City Council has explored the possibility of establishing Flood Resilience Groups in the recently flooded areas as the most appropriate means of facilitating the protection of homes and businesses from flood events. The Flood Resilience Cities Office (FRCO) has created a trans national learning alliance between Dublin City Council and the Scottish Floods Forum (SFF). A workshop between City Council staff and the Director of the SFF was held on Thursday 12th Jan 2012. The purpose of establishing the Alliance is towards developing a Dublin Flood Forum that will encourage and support the establishment of Community Resilience Groups across the Dublin region in areas that are faced with the threat of flooding. This will be advanced through the Area Committees.
 
Of particular benefit in establishing flood resilience communities in the South East Area is in combating coastal flooding and the flooding of basements. In the case of the latter many of the premises that were flooded in the South East Area were basement properties.

The 2005 Greater Dublin Strategic Drainage Study highlighted a number of issues with regard to basements and the associated flooding risks. Throughout the city many properties have basements with connections to old sewers and culverts. When these sewers become surcharged the flows often enter basements as these basements are built below the surcharge levels. These basements can be protected by backflows from surcharge by the installation of small pumping stations or anti flooding devices.
 
The City Council has a Basement Policy which advises property owners on all aspects of drainage concerning basements. The policy strongly advises against any basements in new developments as these areas will always be liable to flooding. The basements in older dwellings in areas like Rathgar, Rathmines and Ranelagh are a legacy that will always remain susceptible to flooding. Rooms that may have been once used as storage areas when the buildings were originally constructed have, in many cases, been redeveloped as apartments or other living accommodation.

The Council has produced an advisory leaflet on Basement Flooding (Appendix 3) advising owners of basement properties to install Non-Return Valves or, where possible, a separate drainage system which is then pumped to the public sewer. In both instances the objective is to break the direct connection to the main sewer as in flood conditions the level in the sewer will rise, in many cases to a level above any drain inlets in the particular basement, and the sewer will back-up and flood the basement.

An important measure to reduce flooding within these areas will be the actions taken by property owners themselves, whether in the installation of non-return valves or pumped connections to the main sewer, in many cases it is actions they will undertake themselves that will protect their property from flooding.

Appendix 2

Dublin City Council’s Sandbag Policy

The City Council does not provide or distribute sandbags to individual premises at risk of flooding. The prime responsibility for the protection of such premises rests with the owners of those properties.

The primary role of the City Council during pluvial events is to manage the drainage network in order to minimise the extent of flooding to the general public. The supply and distribution of sandbags would present a considerable impediment to this task. In addition the inevitable increase in telephone requests for sandbags to emergency call centres would seriously interfere with the ability of those centres to cope with major flooding events.

The use of sandbags has become established in the public’s mind as an effective flood protection measure. This is reflected in demands for the City Council to make sandbags available to householders and businesses at risk of flooding.

The Council maintains strategic stocks of sandbags at a small number of locations. These amount to around 9,000 at various locations including Clontarf, Sandymount, Glendhu Park, and the drainage depots at Marrowbone Lane and Bannow Road. The stocks at these sites are maintained for strategic purposes and play a useful role in areas when dealing with flood events which have sufficient advance warning.

General advice to property owners on dealing with floods is provided by the OPW in booklet format and on the website www.flooding.ie. The OPW advice recommends property owners at risk of flooding to have a supply of sandbags close at hand. The advice notes also acknowledge that sandbags can be difficult to deploy during flood events and can also pose health risks if contaminated with sewage.

A major report on of the serious pluvial flooding that occurred in the UK in 2007, known as The Pitt Review, concluded the following with regard to the role of sandbags as a means of protecting individual properties during flood events:

• While it is clear that sandbags have a useful role in certain types of floods when used strategically, their benefits are less clear when they are used by householders to protect individual properties. This weakness is further heightened by their relative inefficiency when compared with alternative dedicated flood defence products that have been developed in recent years, such as floodgates and airbrick covers.
• Extensive evidence of public over-reliance on sandbags which often proved of little value in protecting against flooding.
•  Many householders and business owners put time and energy into obtaining and installing sandbags which would have been better spent on other activity such as moving possessions to safety and deploying door boards.
• Sandbags can be effective when it is marginal, as to whether water enters a house or not, but in relation to large volumes of water they are largely ineffective, contrary to public perception.

To supply sandbags to all properties at risk of flood during sudden rainfall events would require a level of resources that is much greater than is currently available to the City Council. Even if such resources were provided the deployment of sandbags in sufficient time to prevent significant flooding of properties, particularly during monster rainfall events would be logistically impossible. During a flood event, invariably the transport network is very busy, which means that DCC crews have great difficulty in reaching certain areas to deploy pumps, close flood gates, or deliver sandbags. If there is little notification that an event will occur, delivering sandbags would not be possible.
 
The provision of sandbag stores at specific locations around the City that could be accessed locally by residents on foot of flood warnings would require considerable investment by the City Council to manage and maintain. The unpredictable nature of flood warnings which can average 4-5 a year would result in sandbags being deployed more often than required, leading to the unnecessary expense of maintaining the required stock of bags at each location. The transportation and placement of sandbags from local containers would still require a considerable effort by local residents and they would be unlikely to be in position in time to prevent flooding to most properties subject to sudden rainfall events.  Furthermore, if sandbags were deployed at certain locations, there is no guarantee that the people who need them will get them. During a flood, panic generally sets in, and those who are not in risk of flood could easily exhaust the supply of bags at the expense of those in need.

Owners of properties that are at risk of flooding are encouraged to keep where possible, their own stock of empty sandbags together with sufficient stocks of sand to fill bags at times of potential flooding. Preferably owners should invest in the provision of suitable proprietary flood gates and covers to protect openings such as doors, windows and vents. Dublin City Council does not have financial provision in the 2012 budget for purchase of any additional sandbags.

The Taoiseach, the Tanaiste and the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation today launched the first annual Action Plan for Jobs, the Government’s plan to rebuild the economy and create jobs. The plan, which contains over 270 actions to be implemented in 2012 by all 15 Government Departments as well as 36 State agencies, will improve supports for job-creating businesses and remove barriers to employment-creation across the economy.

Action Plan for Jobs 2012 builds on work across Government to deliver reform and create economic growth, and will deliver on the third major strand of Government’s economic programme. The first was the plan to rebuild the banking system’s capacity to extend credit into the economy. The second was the plan to reduce the interest rates for the government, banks and enterprise by cutting the government deficit and downsizing the public sector. Building on the work of Ministers Noonan and Howlin to stabilise the public finances and the banking system, the third strand now is to build on this progress with the wider economic reforms needed to accelerate jobs growth and get the country working again.

Ministers Burton and Quinn are delivering on a fundamental transformation of the training and activation services that the State provides, and further details will be unveiled shortly.

Action Plan for Jobs 2012 is the first instalment in an ambitious multi-year process which aims to deliver on the Taoiseach’s commitment to make Ireland the best small country in the world in which to do business, and increase the number of people at work in Ireland by 100,000 – from 1.8million to 1.9million – by 2016. The measures to be implemented in 2012 include:

1.            Establish a “one-stop-shop” for small business supports, by dissolving the County and City Enterprise Boards and creating a new Micro-Enterprise and Small Business Unit in Enterprise Ireland that will work with Local Authorities to establish a new network of Local Enterprise Offices in each Local Authority.

2.            Implement a range of new supports for small and medium-sized businesses struggling to access credit, including a €150million Development Capital Scheme aimed at addressing a funding gap for mid-sized, high-growth indigenous companies with significant prospects for jobs and export growth. A Loan Guarantee Scheme and a €100million Micro-Finance Loan Scheme will also go live shortly.

3.            Better support indigenous companies to improve their performance, including:

• establishing a new Potential Exporters Division in Enterprise Ireland to idenfity more and better support indigenous exporters.
• up to €1.2 million per year in extra funding for mentoring and management development networks.
• increased mentoring of SMEs by top business leaders, multinationals and large Irish companies.
• assisting small businesses to engage in R&D and innovation.

4.            Help more small businesses win big contracts, both from Government and from large multinationals.

5.            Implement the ‘Succeed in Ireland’ scheme, to provide direct incentives to members of the diaspora and others across the world to create jobs in Ireland.

6.            Turn more good ideas into good jobs, by implementing a Research Prioritisation Plan and enacting new laws to target the State’s core €500million annual research budget towards more applied areas of research with strong potential for commercialisation and job-creation.

7.            Create a vibrant environment for business start-ups, attracting more international start-ups and making it easier for indigenous businesses to establish here.

8.            Measures to reduce costs, including a request to Government Department and Agencies to identify, by next month, charges levied on business that can be frozen or reduced for 24 months.

9.            The Government will identify a number of key sectors which will be major sources of job-creation and economic growth, such as:

• Manufacturing, including establishment of a Manufacturing Development Forum
• Establish a Health Innovation Hub to drive collaboration between the health system and the life sciences industry
• Publish and implement a Cross-Departmental Plan for the Green Economy
• Agri-food – including winning more investment from multinational food companies for Ireland
• Cloud computing – including a Cloud Computing Strategy for the Public Service and establishment of a research centre in cloud computing
• Establish a cluster development team for digital games
• Establish industry clusters in targeted sectors

The Plan is accompanied by a detailed list of the more than 270 actions which includes the measures required to implement each action, the Government body responsible for implementation in each case, and the deadline in 2012 by which each measure will be delivered. In order to police implementation of the measures, the Cabinet has sanctioned the establishment of a Monitoring Committee which will be chaired by the Taoiseach’s Department and will also include representatives of the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform and Forfas. A number of expert staff from Forfas will work closely with the Department of the Taoiseach to assist with the monitoring process. Quarterly reports on implementation will be prepared and published by this monitoring group.

It also includes a number of measures that I think are particularly good, including:

• Measures designed to support job creation and enhance the attractiveness of Ireland as a destination for multinational companies.
• Measures which aim to support SME’s and indigenous companies by recognising areas with the best employment potential.

These include:

• Foreign Earnings Deduction to support companies that promote Irish exports to countries such as Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.
• Three year Tax Relief for Start-up Companies is being extended to Start-ups who commence a new trade in 2012, 2013 or 2014 – a great incentive for Irish entrepreneurs.
• Rewarding Research and Development by allowing companies reward key research employees by giving the company the option of transferring a portion of their R&D Tax Credit to personnel who are involved heavily in this area and making it easier for SME’s to claim the credit.

Also:

• Our exports grew by 4.4% in the first 9 months of 2011 and are leading the economic recovery and that the IDA reported record numbers of new investments won in 2011. The Bill is designed to build on this success.
• A ‘Special Assignee Relief Programme’, introduced in the Budget to attract key foreign -based individuals to the Irish-based operations of their employers, which this will see specialised individuals bringing their expertise to Irish companies.
• Extending the tax relief for corporate investment in renewable energy generation.
• Improved relief for excess tax on royalties for the Software Industry.

The measures above involve one key area of the economy.

A full copy of the Bill can be found on the Oireacthas website at: http://www.oireachtas.ie/documents/bills28/bills/2012/0512/b0512d.pdf

Today, Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Leo Varadkar TD has announced that he is going to do this. The purpose of the audit is to ensure that speed limits are not only safe but also sensible. The Department is engaging with the National Roads Authority and local authorities to conduct the audit but the Minister is also encouraging members of the public to highlight their concerns within their respective local authorities. While recent road safety measures have seen road fatalities for 2011 fall to the lowest levels since records began, the primary objective of the audit is to identify inconsistencies between different regions and to ensure that right speed limits are in operation on the right roads.

Audit of Speed Limits

• The Minister for Transport, Tourism, & Sport plans a nationwide audit of speed limits to ensure that all speed restrictions are both safe and sensible.
• The Minister’s Department is engaging with the National Roads Authority (NRA) and local authorities to conduct a nationwide audit of speed limits across Ireland.
• Speed limit bands are set by the Minister for Transport, Tourism & Sport. However, specific limits applied on particular roads are determined by the local authorities, in consultation with the Gardaí and in respect of national primary and secondary roads with the National Roads Authority.
• The aim of the audit is to start overhauling the inconsistencies between different counties and regions, and put an end to confusion among drivers. Although the process is expected to take some time, the audit will be a crucial first step.
• The NRA and local authorities will be asked to conduct the audit in consultation with the Department of Transport, Tourism & Sport. However, the Minister also encouraged members of the public to highlight their concerns with their own local authority.
• Recent road safety measures like speed cameras and new drink driving laws have gone a long way towards improving road safety. However, we need to ensure that the right speed limits are in operation on the right roads.
• We all know of cases where speed limits are inappropriately low or inappropriately high. There can be some confusion among drivers about the various speed limits which should and do apply, as well as the approach to speed limit signage on national, regional and local roads.
• There are also suggestions that local authorities are not consistent in how they decide on the appropriate speed limit and that this has also contributed to driver confusion. Last year a new set of guidelines for special speed limits was published. This audit will follow on from that publication.

Follow the link below to find a copy of the January 2012 edition of the Inner City Employment Newsletter. This issue covers the full year outcomes for the service in 2011 and I hope you find it interesting. For general information, news and upcoming events, check out www.standrews.ie

The next issue is already underway and that edition should be published around the end of February or early March.

Inner City Employment Service Newsletter

I wonder if we ever tried something similar here. I wonder if they’ve left anything out or if there is some way we might add to them given our own experience as a country.

The Seven Principles of Public Life set out by the Nolan Committee in the United Kingdom set out the standards that should apply to the appointment of people who serve the public; in the UK, these Principles can be brought to bear on all aspects of public life.

The Nolan Principles are as follows:

SELFLESSNESS

Holders of public office should act solely in terms of the public interest.  They should not do so in order to gain financial or other material benefits for themselves, their family, or their friends.

INTEGRITY

Holders of public office should not place themselves under any financial or other obligation to outside individuals or organisations that might seek to influence them in the performance of their official duties.

OBJECTIVITY

In carrying out public business, including making public appointments, awarding contracts, or recommending individuals for rewards and benefits, holders of public office should make choices on merit.

ACCOUNTABILITY

Holders of public office are accountable for their decisions and actions to the public and must submit themselves to whatever scrutiny is appropriate to their office.

OPENNESS

Holders of public office should be as open as possible about all the decisions and actions that they take.  They should give reasons for their decisions and restrict information only when the wider public interest clearly demands.

HONESTY

Holders of public office have a duty to declare any private interests relating to their public duties and to take steps to resolve any conflicts arising in a way that protects the public interest.

LEADERSHIP

Holders of public office should promote and support these principles by leadership and example.

                        These principles apply to all aspects of public life.  The Committee has set them out here for the benefit of all who serve the public in any way.

The ‘Committee on Standards in Public Life’ was established under John Major’s Government in October 1994. A non-departmental public body, the Committee and its Secretariat-General are funded by, but independent of, the Cabinet Office. On announcing the establishment of the Committee, John Major said: “In the present atmosphere, there is public disquiet about standards of public life and I have concluded that action is imperative.” The Committee’s terms of reference were widened in 1997 by new Prime Minister Tony Blair to cover the funding of political parties.

I congratulate the Minister on bringing this Bill before the House. We made a commitment to the people during the general election last year that this would be a reforming Government and that while restoring our country’s fiscal sovereignty would be our prime objective, we would also take the opportunity to reform all aspects of society to better meet the needs and realities of Ireland in the 21st century. Our aim would be to find a new vision for the country and to build a better country in pursuit of that vision. No sector of our economy or society can claim it is incapable of performing better, including this Parliament. We have only just begun our work, but already some important steps have been taken. This Bill is another important step in the process of the reform we hope to bring about for the country.

The Minister has asked for constructive proposals on how the Legal Services Regulation Bill may be strengthened and I hope to offer some in this debate. I have spoken with and corresponded with the Minister on this matter previously and I appreciate the fact he took the time to engage with me in detail on the various issues. We also had an excellent briefing last week on the Bill with the Minister and his officials where we had the opportunity to go through each section of the Bill in detail. Again, I thank the Minister for his time and for answering my questions in detail.

Today, I would like to speak about some particular aspects of the Bill because although we have discussed these issues previously, it is important that as a member of one of the Government parties I come into the House and contribute to the debate. Much of the work of Government Deputy happens in the background, in parliamentary party meetings and in one-on-one meetings with Ministers and their officials. However, it is important to the process that we also come into the House and express our opinions. I feel that too much of the work of an elected representative to this House is confined to that of a constituency representative and that needs to change. It is changing, but slowly. We are elected both to represent our constituents and to attend Parliament and bring our judgment to bear on matters of national importance. That does not mean coming in here and pushing a button once or twice a week, or standing up and speaking to a half-empty Chamber and calling it debate. This is a criticism I level at all of us, myself included. The country wants us to do better. It wants reform in this Chamber and wants us to be better and we cannot let reform of this House slip off the agenda, even for a moment.

As for reform of the legal profession, an issue this Bill attempts to address, it is critical to the functioning of a true and proper democracy that operation and regulation of the legal profession and system is truly independent of the executive and legislative branches of government. To blur that separation of powers even slightly is to strike at the delicate balance underpinning our society.

In a democracy, an independent legal system is essential to protecting and vindicating the legal rights of citizens. Anything that seeks to alter the constitution of that system, even with a view to improving it, must be examined very carefully. Independence is not an absolute term or meaning. It has different connotations. It is varied in its practice and it is relative. As a general principle, we can agree that it is preferable that no body or profession would regulate itself. That is true for the legal profession as it is true for the other professions. However, it is also important to recognise that in a democracy, given the special position of the legal profession, neither can the operation and regulation of that system be vested in the Government alone.

The Legal Services Regulation Bill 2011 establishes a legal services regulatory authority to regulate and control the legal profession, something we all would welcome in this House. However, questions have been raised about its constitution and there is a concern about potential political interference from future administrations. When we address new Bills in this House, we must remember that the ensuing legislation will remain after we are gone. We must always keep in mind those who will follow us into this Chamber and those who may occupy the front benches. Questions have been raised and we should not be afraid of them. We should answer these questions and where they are ridiculous, let us say that they are ridiculous and where they merit consideration, let us consider them. The Government will not have all the answers and we will not get it perfect every time.

I am personally interested in those proposals which have been put forward to parliamentarians that would seek to constitute the regulatory authority in a slightly different manner to that which is proposed in the Bill. I am particularly interested in those elements that seek to give more of a role to Members of the Oireachtas as a pillar separate to that of the Executive. These give us more of a role as legislators and give more weight to what we do in our work in the Government. That is important as part of the reform that we need to seek in this House. We can achieve that without impinging on the independence principle that we are all seeking to promote as we go about reforming the legal profession and as is contained in this Bill.

It is important that the appointment of a new regulatory authority is transparent and is seen to be transparent, uninfluenced by day-to-day political concerns. I wonder if there might be a role for the Commission for Public Service Appointments, or a similar body or committee, to nominate members for the Government to appoint to the regulatory authority. I agree with the Minister that it is also important the authority has a lay majority. However, it might be a good idea for those lay members to be nominated from particular sectors of our society, such as the non-governmental sector or other professional bodies, which will add to the variety of the authority and will increase its expertise. I would also like to see the regulatory authority reporting to the Oireachtas and its committees. If anything, this will strengthen the role of the Oireachtas and its independence from the Executive.

We could decide that Members of the Oireachtas will be responsible for dealing with those matters that may arise in the work of the regulatory authority, such as whether a member should be removed from the authority. That may fall to the Oireachtas or one of its committees to decide, and then only for stated reasons. I raise these two points because it is important in the context of the future Governments and future Members of Parliament who may sit here after us.

We have also discussed the potential costs of the regulatory authority. It is important that it is funded appropriately, so that it can carry out its work. It will have a lot of work to do under this Bill and it is appropriate that it has the right number of staff and all the resources necessary so that it can effectively regulate the legal profession.

The Minister is looking at the ways in which we might cost or provide for the funding of this authority but it is preferable that the authority would be established in such a way that it would not increase costs for the consumer. That is an important principle and I look forward to any proposals that the Minister has on that issue. He has also indicated that amendments may be made to the consent provisions in the Bill, and I look forward to considering them on Committee Stage.

I appreciate that there is a compelling reason for reviewing the current structures of the legal profession. However, given how significant the changes will be – it is a big change to how legal services operate in this country and to how people access those services – it has been suggested that there may be room for further development of the part of the Bill dealing with multi-disciplinary practices in separate legislation. This merits some consideration given the huge amount of work that will be involved in it, and I know the Minister is committed to it.

I am interested to hear more about how it is intended the new disciplinary tribunals are to interact with the new authority. Will they come under it? Will they share membership or other structures? Will they be appointed by the authority or will they be strictly independent of it? If they are independent, how will they be constituted and to whom will they report? We have not had an opportunity to speak about that yet, and I would appreciate clarification on that matter.

I hope that those proposals may be constructive to the work the Minister is trying to do. As a backbench Member of the senior party in the Government, it is important that contribute to this debate and be as constructive as I can. There is a long way to go. It is a large, ambitious Bill and I congratulate the Minister for that. I look forward to participating in further debates as we move to Committee Stage.

DUBLIN CITY COUNCIL

CURRENT SCHEME ALLOCATIONS 2012

  Project Name Project Description 2012 Allocation (€) Fade Street Pedestrian Scheme. Completion of improvement works to pedestrian space along Fade Street. Part of City Centre cell – Grafton- George’s Street. €50,000   Cycle counting Systems. Development of automatic counting system to provide necessary data on numbers of pedestrians and cyclists as well as information on time of use etc to enable appropriate planning for pedestrians and cyclists. €30,000   Cycle Parking. Provision of extra cycle parking at various locations to meet the large increase in demand brought about by increasing cyclist numbers across the city. €75,000   Cycling Network Design. Finalise layout of key cycling network for Dublin city area identifying key commuter and leisure routes. €50,000   Royal Canal Premium Cycle Route Phase 2 – Sheriff to North Strand Road. Finalisation of the design of a leisure, tourist and commuter cycle track to link from the northern end of the current route (at the junction of Guild Street and Sheriff Street) to North Strand Road. €80,000           Royal Canal Premium Cycle Route Phase 3 – North Strand to Road to Phibsborough Road. Design of a leisure, tourist and commuter cycle track along the Royal Canal, from North Strand Road to Phibsboro Road. €80,000           Liffey Cycle Route. Design and commencement of construction of high quality East-West city centre cycle route linking the IFSC in the east with Heuston Station and the Phoenix Park in the west. €150,000           30km/h treatment. Further treatments for the city centre low speed zone to raise awareness and help to reduce speeds based on 2011 experience at 3 locations. €75,000   Expansion of dublinbikes Scheme. Finalisation of the design of an expansion of “dublinbikes” eastwards and westwards. Finalisation of commercial arrangements to facilitate expansion. Commencment of implementation work. €500,000   Merrion Gates Level Crossing Closure Scheme. Progression of the design for a road link to facilitate the closure of the Merrion Gates level crossing. €100,000   S2S Cycle/Walkway Scheme – Bull Road to Causeway Road. Detailed design and commencement of construction of the “missing link” between Bull Road and Causeway Road (in Clontarf) along the northern section of the S2S (Sutton to Sandycove) cycle and walking route. €300,000             ]]> http://www.eoghanmurphy.ie/2012/02/02/new-cycle-and-pedestrian-shemes-on-the-way/feed/ 0