BLANCHARDSTOWN CASTLEKNOCK Little CLONSILLA HARTSTOWN HUNSTOWN ASHTOWN Village CLONEE & ONGAR DUBLIN 15’s COMPREHENSIVE NEWS HUB ISSUE 02 FOR ALL LOCAL & BUSINESS MATTERS FEB/MAR 2017 FINGAL COUNTY COUNCIL BUDGET 2017 LOCAL TD’S CALL FOR INCREASED COMMUNITY POLICING DAVE GALLIGAN EVENTFUL YEAR FOR SACRED HEART OF JESUS NS D15 GAS CONTACT DAVE AT: 20 PRE-FABRICATED HOMES FOR WELLVIEW GREEN 083 813 3400 ST. MOCHTA: THE LAST DISCIPLE OF ST. PATRICK [email protected] OUTRAGE: HISTORIC TREES FELLED ON CLONSILLA ROAD WIN!!! B&B AT THE SHERATON HOTEL TO ENTER LIKE, SHARE & TAG 01. LIKE our Facebook Page: @littlevillagemagazine 02. SHARE the competition 03. TAG the person you want to bring with you! SEE OUR FULL ADVERT ON PAGE 35 [email protected] WWW.REBAHAIRANDBEAUTY.IE VLittleillage DUBLIN 15’s COMPREHENSIVE NEWS HUB FOR ALL LOCAL & BUSINESS MATTERS SERVING: BLANCHARDSTOWN, CASTLEKNOCK, CLONSILLA, HARTSTOWN, HUNSTOWN, ASHTOWN, CLONEE & ONGAR EDITORIAL Keith Bellew reetings Dublin 15. My name concerns and opinions known, about is Keith Bellew and I am the things that are happening in Dublin 15. Contributing Editor of this Along with this I also hope to provide new publication. them with information about what is G We here at Little Village going on in the area which they may not feel that there is a void in exclusively be aware of; from decisions affecting local news which needs to be filled. We them within local politics to services aim to fill this void with local news of available to them through the various interest to, and concerning local people. community centres and organisations We hope to achieve this through a around. balanced mix of light and hard news. I invite all local schools, clubs Having been born and raised in community organisations, sports teams Huntstown I am acutely aware of many and residents to contact me with any of the issues affecting local people, and undertakings or achievements they the interests and stake they have in their would like to promote, or any issues communities. It is my aim to provide a they would like to raise. platform and a voice for people within Regards, the community can make their feelings, Keith LITTLE VILLAGE MAGAZINE All correspondence should be addressed to: Little Village Magazine 4 Castleknock Mews Old Navan Road Castleknock Dublin 15 Creative Top Publishing Ltd. publishes Little Village Magazine. Company registration No. 534480 No part of Little Village Magazine may be reproduced without the prior consent of the publisher. Ronan Bright Karl Lynam Yasmine Beharic Patrick Browne Disclaimer Director / Head of Sales Sales / Marketing Sales / Marketing Graphic Design Views expressed by contributors [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] are not necessarily those of the 085 199 8321 087 772 4630 089 200 8822 086 831 9322 publisher. GOT A STORY? TO GET IN TOUCH WITH KEITH CALL: 083 815 6903 EMAIL: [email protected] Grow your business with Little Village Magazine. REACH 25,000 HOMES IN THE D15 AREA ADVERTISE WITH US!!! CALL RONAN TODAY ON 085 199 8321 February / March 2017 Little Village 03 BUDGET FOR 2017 The €216m Fingal County Council budget for 2017 is now in eff ect having been voted in late last year, in a less contentious fashion than it has in years. he Council’s planned expenditure of A sum of €115.5m will be levied from Commercial €215,953,800 next year will fund its day- Rates, which means the annual rate on valuation (ARV) to-day operations as well as contributing for 2017 will be unchanged at 0.144. This is the lowest to the advancement of Fingal’s Capital valuation rate among the four local authorities in the T Programme which will cost €324.4m over a DublIn region. Fingal currently has the highest level of three year period (2017-2019). rate collection compliance in the country at 96 per cent. This follows a reduction of 15% in Local Property Tax Councillors also voted to alter the rate of refund made (LPT) agreed by councillors in September. Charges will on vacant property in 2017 as the vacancy refund rate remain at the same level as in 2016. The decision leaves is being reduced from 100 per cent to 75 per cent. the Council with discretionary LPT income of €1.9m and Owners of vacant properties at the making of the rate reduces the income from the tax by €5.7m. While there will therefore be required to pay 100 per cent of the will be a reduction in funds for essential services as a commercial rates and will receive a 75 per cent refund result, many fi nancially straitened families in Dublin 15 subject to certain conditions. Councillors have reduced will fi nd this a welcome relief. the rate of refund in an eff ort to further reduce the According to Council Offi cials; The 2017 Budget number of vacant properties in the County. provides for a signifi cant and continued level of Within the Budget, a total of €55m has been earmarked investment in the social, economic and cultural fabric for Housing and Building. As part of the national Social of Fingal as it sets out to deliver on a number of core Housing Strategy 2020, Fingal is required to provide objectives including continued investment in housing 1,376 social housing units during the period 2015 to which, at €55m, represents over a quarter of the budget 2017 through construction, acquisition, the rental With a population of 296,214, the 2017 Budget accommodation scheme and the social housing current represents a spend of €729.05 per head, and for every expenditure programme. The Action Plan for Housing €1 spent by the Council, an additional €1.70 is spent and Homeless published by Government in July 2016 downstream in the economy which amounts to a total sets a national target to deliver 47,000 units of social contribution to economic output of over €0.5b. Also, housing by 2021 which represents a 35 per cent for every position directly employed within the council, increase on the target set under the 2020 Strategy. an additional three jobs are supported as a result. This Offi cials say Fingal is already on course to exceed means that the total employment contribution from its targets by delivering over 2,000 social housing units Budget 2017 is over 4,000 jobs. under the Social Housing Strategy 2020 and, while the As in previous years, the 2017 budget stresses much capital investment in the provision of social housing importance on encouraging commerce in the county. is contained in the Council’s Capital Programme, the To this end, one of the key factors of this budget is that revenue budget also plays a part in the delivery and the level of commercial rates has been frozen for the support of social housing under the pillars of the plan. sixth successive year. It is hoped that the rates freeze Other key areas of spending include: €41.75m will assist the competitiveness of local businesses in the budgeted for Environment and €40.33m for Recreation face of a number of economic uncertainties including and Amenity. Road Transport and Safety will receive the fall-out from the Brexit referendum. €23.72m and Water Services €21.15m while €19.3m has 04 Little Village February / March 2017 detailed consideration of all spending requirements and having regard to the objectives we have set in our Five- Year Corporate Plan,” he said. Sinn Fein councillors voted in favour of the budget for the first time in the current council cycle which began in May 2014. Speaking to Little Village, Sinn Fein leader on Fingal County Council, Cllr Paul Donnelly explained the been set aside for Development Management. reasons for this. €5.4m has also been allocated to the operational “Over the past three years, Sinn Féin have engaged in works programme as follows: the budgetary process in a very proactive and positive €2,537,000 for Restoration Improvement Schemes; way. We identified that the council was limited due to €900,000 for Restoration Maintenance Schemes; the nature of the funding structure. The Local Property €750,000 for footpaths and drainage € 750,000 for Tax was a very controversial and unfair method of traffic; € 100,000 for public lighting; € 400,000 for parks, funding local government and in reality, is a method €450k for burial ground development, €100k to build of extracting more money from the people and limiting up a fund for emergency coastal protection; €150k to direct central government funding,” he said, adding build up a fund for bridge maintenance works; €500k that his party made it very clear that they would only for a programme to replace older public lights with support the budget if it was fair and addressed a more energy efficient kinds and €1.4m in continued number of issues including the reduction in the LPT by transfers to capital to assist with the development and the maximum 15%. improvement of Historic Tourism Assets. He said Sinn Fein strongly supports the vacant Also €616k in funding has been allocated to specifically building rates reduction over a two year period as promote Fingal County as a tourism destination, along it ensures that there is a penalty for those owners of with €1m for the delivery of events such as St. Patrick’s commercial properties that were lying empty. Day, Dublin Bay Prawn Festival, Flavours of Fingal “We have engaged through the Corporate Policy group and Swords Summerfest as well as community and and the council statutory budget process to see what voluntary events throughout the County.