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Two wheels GoodCllr. Kieran Binchy has worked consistently to secure the expansion of the Dublin Bike Scheme into the Docklands and South Docks area, and eventually into Ringsend, Irishtown and Sandymount. As chair of the South East Area Committee and as a member of the Traffic and Transport Committee he has championed the scheme and has campaigned for its expansion. He is therefore delighted to welcome the commitment by the National Transportation Authority of €2.6 million to fund the expansion of the scheme into the Docklands and down to Heuston Station in 2013. This NTA funding is in addition to the funds allocated to the scheme in the 2013 Council budget which was forwarded by Fine Gael and Labour Councillors.

The Council is finalising negotiations with JCDecaux, the current manager of the scheme. Cllr. Binchy has passed on a number of suggestions from local residents, businesses and for suitable sites for docking stations in the Docklands area.

Cllr. Kieran Binchy is working with Minister Lucinda Creighton, Eoghan Murphy TD, Senator Catherine Noone and Gay Mitchell MEP Cllr. Kieran Binchy working for you

Cllr. Binchy with local residents at the launch of the Ringsend Park Slí na Sláinte.

CoNTACT KIeRAN AT: 91 The Windmill, Lime St., Dublin 2

087 1774365 kieran.binchy@dublincity.ie www.kieranbinchy.ie facebook/cllrkieranbinchy twitter: @kieranbinchy

CliniCs:Thursdays 6pm: St. Andrews Resource Centre, Pearse St

Thursdays 7pm: Ringsend Community Centre, Thorncastle St. Ringsend

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SPRing 2013Cllr. KiERAn BinCHY

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Cllr. Kieran Binchy is the Fine Gael Councillor for the South East Inner City Electoral Area on Dublin City Council. A resident of Windmill Lane in the South Docklands, Kieran also works as a Barrister.

Kieran has a degree in Law and French from Trinity College Dublin and a Master’s degree in International Relations from Dublin City University. He has worked as a law lecturer in DIT Aungier Street and as a Parliamentary Assistant to Lucinda Creighton in Leinster House, as well as having worked abroad in tourism management for a number of years.

Kieran is a member of the Traffic and Transport Committee and the Housing

Policy Committee on the Council. He sits on the board of directors of the Hugh Lane Gallery and of the Temple Bar Cultural Trust. He is currently Chairperson of the South East Area Committee.

To keep an eye on what Kieran is doing for you on the Council, find Councillor Kieran Binchy on Facebook and click “like” – you’ll get regular updates on what is going on in the area, on what Kieran is doing on the Council, and the work he is doing with local groups and residents. You can also contact him on Twitter.

“The most important part of my job is being in contact with the people I represent and the communities I serve

so I have made it as easy as possible for them to get hold of me and to keep an eye on the work I am doing. My website is regularly updated with local issues; you can find me on Facebook; you can tweet me; you can call me or you can come down and see me at my clinics in Pearse St. and Ringsend.”

Kieran works in the South East Inner City with Minister Lucinda Creighton, Eoghan Murphy TD, and Senator Catherine Noone. Cllr. Kieran Binchy also works closely with Cllr. Paddy McCartan and Cllr. Edie Wynne, the Fine Gael Councillors for the Pembroke/Rathmines electoral area.

Report

BAlANCING The BooKsPassing the 2013 City Council budget involved some very difficult decisions by Councillors in the face of the dramatic cuts in funding available to the Council. Fine Gael and Labour worked together to negotiate a responsible and progressive budget, securing basic essential services like road maintenance, housing, drainage and libraries. The budget provided for another cut in commercial rates to assist small businesses and to support jobs in the inner city. As part of the Budget, funding has been made available for a number of projects in the South East Inner City, including flood protection works, security measures in Council housing complexes and increased street cleaning to tackle dog dirt throughout the south side of the city. Cllr. Binchy supported what is a fair and responsible budget in these difficult times.

AfTeR The flood – INsuRANCeMany residents have been extremely concerned that they have not been able to get household or flood insurance since the October 2011 flood event. Others have found that the premium they have to pay has been hugely increased. The City Council and the OPW are working to put in flood prevention measures to ensure that flooding like this does not happen again. Works are ongoing along the Dodder, and Cllr. Kieran Binchy is working to ensure that the Council addresses the problem in all affected areas. Meanwhile, Minister for State Brian Hayes is working with the Irish Insurance Federation to put in place an agreement whereby insurance companies would recognise the work done by the City Council and the OPW in this regard. It is hoped that, as a result of the work of the Council and Minister Hayes, flood insurance may be available at a reasonable premium in the protected areas.

ABouT CouNCIlloR KIeRAN BINChy

Cllr. Binchy with members of the Kurdish Community at the launch of their new education centre in Dublin 8

leARNING ToGeTheRCllr. Kieran Binchy has fully supported the campaigns in both Portobello and Sandymount to establish Educate Together primary schools to address the ongoing need for additional primary school places. His motion to the South East Area Committee calling on the Minister to provide a site for Portobello for September 2013 received unanimous support from the area Councillors and has been communicated to the Minister. He therefore welcomes the recent announcement by the Minister that an Educate Together School will be opening in Portobello in 2013. For more information please see http://portobellomds.org/. The Sandymount campaign is at an earlier stage and the group recently met with Minister Ruairi Quinn - for more information on this campaign and pre-enrolment please go to http://dublin4educatetogether.ie.

PRoTeCTING CommuNITy lANdOne of the City Council’s core functions is to zone the land in the City. The High Court recently ruled that some aspects of the last Development Plan, regarding institutional and community land such as schools and convents, did not accord with the Constitution. In response Fine Gael councillors reacted quickly to put in place a planning scheme which ensures that such land will continue to be protected and used in the best interests of local communities, while making sure that the scheme would be robust enough to withstand further challenge.

fRIeNds of The GRANd CANAlOn the first Saturday of every month a friendly group of volunteers by the name of Friends of The Grand Canal meet at Leeson St. Bridge (on the city side at a canal bench) from 10am to 12noon. They pick up litter (and then grab a coffee and a bun courtesy of the local Starbucks). Just turn up - no need to bring anything but your enthusiasm.

RePlACING The dddAThe Dublin Docklands Development Authority has become a bye-word for political cronyism and speculative property dealing. Councillor Kieran Binchy has welcomed the decision of the current government to wind up the DDDA. However, he is working to ensure that the Council continues to build on the good things that the DDDA did achieve such as the development of the North and South Docklands areas. This development brought in new residents, new businesses and new jobs to a previously neglected area reversing years of degeneration.

As part of the orderly wind up of the DDDA many of its responsibilities will pass to the Council. Cllr. Binchy is determined to ensure that the voices of local communities continue to be supported and respected. Cllr. Binchy has called on the Community Council to be retained, for social housing to be delivered for the area and for development levies to be ring-fenced for the benefit of local communities.

Cllr. Binchy was delighted to represent the Lord Mayor at the Coffee Morning in Charlemont Court in aid of the Harold’s Cross Hospice

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The Local Electoral Area Boundary Committee is currently drawing up the electoral areas for the next local elections. Councillor Kieran Binchy has made a submission to the committee calling on the Committee to re-unify Sandymount. Sandymount is currently divided between two separate electoral areas with the division running through the Green. Cllr. Binchy works with residents, businesses and local groups and has seen first-hand that the division makes effective action for

Sandymount more difficult. He has therefore called for the reunification of Sandymount.

A number of traffic concerns in Sandymount have been raised with Cllr. Kieran Binchy, and he is pursuing them within the Council, including the need for a 30km per hour zone in the heart of the Village.

Cllr. Kieran Binchy has been working with residents, the Council and Irish Rail to improve the area along the Dart line around Holyrood Park and Oaklands Park.

The ReuNIfICATIoN of sANdymouNT

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Cllr. KiERAn BinCHY

Cllr. Kieran Binchy... working for you www.kieranbinchy.ie

in YOUR AREA

Councillor Kieran Binchy was delighted to propose and then launch a new Slí na Sláinte route in Ringsend Park. An initiative of the Irish Heart Foundation and the City Council, it maps a measured route in the park to encourage walkers to get out and get some fresh air in this great community resource. During last autumn, for a trial period, the Park was left open at night time, but following feedback from residents it was not considered a success and the Park is now closed at night.

Cllr. Kieran Binchy made a detailed submission on the proposal to turn Barrow St. into a cul de sac, highlighting the danger that it would increase the traffic pressure on neighbouring streets. As a result of effort and the submissions of local residents the much-needed street improvement works will be going ahead but with one-way traffic only under the bridge.

Cllr. Binchy was delighted to attend the launch of Ringsend Radio in the Ringsend and Irishtown Community Centre. Listen in to this radio station by the community for the community on www.ricc.ie

The Ringsend Community Services Forum is working with the community to organise a Ringsend Gathering event in 2013. It is currently looking for members of the community, and for community and sports groups, to get involved. Check out http://ringsendhelp.com or call 087 918 2722

RINGseNd IRIshTowN PoRToBelloFollowing an application for planning permission for a large museum on Walworth Road and Kingsland Parade in Portobello, Cllr. Binchy met with the St. Kevin’s (Portobello) Community Council and local residents to discuss the proposed development. While Cllr. Binchy supports the development of the Irish Jewish Museum, he is of the view that the current proposal is too large for the site and unsuitable for a residential conservation area. Cllr. Binchy has lodged an objection to the proposal. The application is currently before the City Council which has requested further information; the applicant has six months to provide this information.

Tesco recently applied for planning permission for an express store and off-licence at Leonard’s Corner in the old NIB building on South Circular Road. Cllr. Binchy made a submission on the application supporting the concerns of local residents with regard to traffic impact, parking and the profusion of off-licences in the area. As a result, while the City Council has granted permission to the store it denied its application for an off-licence element. The decision is currently under appeal to An Bord Pleanála, which is expected to give a decision in May 2013.

Cllr. Kieran Binchy has been working with local residents to ensure that no trees are removed from Lennox St without the agreement of residents, without an urgent reason having been established, and without immediate replacement.

Cllr. Binchy with local residents, council officials and representatives of the Irish Heart Foundation in Ringsend Park

Cllr. Kieran Binchy and Senator Catherine Noone hit the pavements in support of the Children’s Rights Referendum

hAve youR sAyThe right to vote is at the core of our democracy, but there are those who don’t exercise it. All adult residents can vote in local elections, while Irish citizens can vote in all elections, including referendums. If you want your voice to count, get on the register of electors before the next local election or the next referendum. Email Cllr. Binchy at Kieran.binchy@dublincity.ie and he will send you out a voter registration form.

Councillor Kieran Binchy at the Coffee Morning in Ringsend College in aid of Our Lady’s Hospice – Well done to all the pupils for their great work.

INNeR CITyCCTV has been installed in the Cabbage Patch Park near St. Patrick’s Cathedral. This is a monitored service equipped with speakers. During the hours of 10pm till 6am verbal warnings will be issued to alert people that they are being monitored and, where appropriate, that the Garda have been called. If you have any issues or queries in reference to this new service please do not hesitate to contact the South East Area Office on 01 222 2243. Cllr. Kieran Binchy welcomes the instalment of CCTV as it will increase safety and security in the area in the evening. He is also working to secure the protection of the remaining 18th Century gravestones in the park.

The flood protection works on the Southern Campshires along the Liffey Quays will go ahead in late 2013 with completion expected before the end of 2014. A local liaison group is being set up for communication and consultation with local residents throughout the works.

The Council will be putting in place a number of new traffic schemes to ensure that traffic will continue to circulate while the Luas works are ongoing. The first step will be a right turn from Stephen’s Green East on to Merrion Row which the Council is in the process of approving.

Cllr. Kieran Binchy was delighted to find the guards looking at cost-effective ways to improve inner city policing

Cllr. Binchy had the honour of lighting the Christmas Tree in Sandymount Green this year

wAsTe woesCllr. Kieran Binchy recently submitted a motion calling on Greyhound to reverse their cynical decision to start charging residents of the city who use bag collection for recycling bags. Although the motion gained unanimous support, until the Council is given the power to regulate waste operators in the city, it does not have the power to force the waste operators to co-operate. In the meanwhile, the Council is in the process of passing a bye-law which will limit the days on which waste can be collected and which will make collectors responsible for missed bags in order to combat the huge littering problem being caused by the current set-up.

dIRTy old TowNCllr. Kieran Binchy has welcomed the new initiatives of the Council aimed at tackling the all-pervasive problem of dog dirt, including a hard-hitting advertising campaign warning dog owners that they are putting the sight of children at risk when they fail to clean up after their dogs. In addition, he supported an amendment to the City Budget for 2013 which provides increased funds for street cleaning, including a new specially-designed vacuum and street-cleaning machine to be operated for the year.

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