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Press statments are welcome from all polictal parties, at the moment The Labour Part are the only party that send me
Press Statments. If sending any press statments please consider sending them to this site to be published first. If not then
they will not get published at all.
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Brendan Ryan On The Wastewater Plant In Lusk
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In a special Dáil debate today Brendan Ryan, Labour Party T.D., for Dublin North, called on the Minister for Environment,
Phil Hogan to engage with the communities of North Dublin to seek alternatives to the proposal for a monster wastewater Treatment
Plant. Read more od what Brendan Ryan sain in the Dail about the Wastewater Plant
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Brendan Ryan, Labour Party TD for Dublin North, today voiced his disappointment at the decision to shelve the proposals
for Metro North.
“Whilst I am not surprised that Metro North has been deferred, I am bitterly disappointed. I strongly believe investment
in key infrastructural projects which would have a long term gain for communities and businesses, is vital at this time. Metro
North is one such project.” read more about Metro North Refeeral
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LUSK HERITAGE VILLAGE SAYS NO TO GIANT SEWAGE TREATMENT PLANT
Lusk Waste Watchers was officially launched last Wednesday 26th October in response to public
outrage to a gigantic 20 hectare sewage treatment plant planned by Fingal County Council for the Fingal Area. Nine potential sites have been identified, 4 of them are in Lusk.
Under the current proposal sewage from 7 County Councils is to be piped to Lusk for treatment and dispersal
into the Irish Sea.
‘It is simply unacceptable and outrageous that Lusk, with a population of 6,000 in North County Dublin,
should be asked to treat and dispose of sewage from 7 county council areas’, a spokesperson for Lusk Waste Watchers
said. ‘Lusk has long been the dumping ground for County Dublin. The area has had Balleally super dump for the last 40 years, a prison and the parish also holds the site
at the Nevitt identified for the new proposed super dump. We have had enough. We
will not treat and dispose of sewage from the entire county.’
“We’ve been betrayed,” said one resident, as speaker after speaker outlined the “sell
out” of the heritage village by Fingal County Council. This story goes right back some 6 years when at the very peak
of the then Celtic Tiger the Greater Dublin Drainage Project was rolled out, at a cost of € 2.6 billion – yes
billion. “At the most basic level there is no way that this can be funded and the whole thing is absolute nonsense”
said another angry Lusk resident. See www.greaterdublindrainage.ie and which incidentally has its offices in Dun Laoghaire.
A spokesperson for the newly formed action group Lusk Waste Watchers said “Put simply Fingal Co Co
had decided to take it upon themselves to act as a wholesale sewage treatment processor to not just one but to 7 County Councils
and they have agreed to process the sewage waste of over 700,000 bums through a new plant to be based at Lusk. The size of
this new wholesaling monster waste plant is a massive 20 hectares which is equivalent to more than 3 times the entire area
of Croke Park or the Aviva Stadium – so the scale of this sewage treatment
plant is truly gigantic and the sea outfall pipe would be like creating an M50 of a sewage pipeline ripping through the beautiful
landscape of North County Dublin. More info on the Lusk Sewage Treatment Plant
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Swords Heritage Week 2011
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Welcome to the 25th annual celebration of the Heritage,
Art & Culture of Swords. An annual celebration such as this has continued since 1987 when the first Swords Heritage Festival
began as Dublin Co. Council's project for the European year of the Environment. The voluntary committee with the backing of
the County Council has continued over the years to present a programme of events to encourage an interest in the cultural
history of the area. Like last year, because of the continuing downturn in our economy the committee decided to focus on giving
a forum to artists, writers, story tellers and musicians to display some of the hidden talent in the area. You will be able
to experience the tales of Fingal in abundance this year as the Fingal Heritage Network is presenting `Tell a Tale Day' at
St. Columba's Swords. This is the them; for National Heritage Week, so we hope to have tales from Balbriggan to the Strawberry
Beds. Many other stories have been discovered and published in the `Swords Voices' series; this is the 18th such publication.
There will be walks and talks, photographic and art exhibitions and remember all the events are open to everyone; so please
come along.
The continuation of Heritage Week in Swords would not
be possible without the support and interest of Fingal County Council, local businesses and people `who like to help' So you
should find something of interest, maybe the meaning of a place name, or perhaps try to trace your roots, its all there!
BERNADETTE
MARKS SWORDS HERITAGE WEEK
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Committee: Mary Lowndes, Margaret Thorpe,
Pauline Langan, Geraldine McGovern, Liam Heron,
Anne
James, Bernadette Marks, Mick Kelly, Cathal Moore.
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Swords Pride of Place in association with Swords Historical Society Ltd
THURSDAY AUGUST 25th: NATIONAL
HEREITAGE WEEK- FINGAL HERITAGE NETWORK presents `Tell A Tale Day' which is the theme for this year's National Heritage Week.
Listen to tales from
the towns and villages of Fingal, told by Final Heritage Network members, in the shadows of St Columba's
ancient Towers.Starting at 8.00 p.m.. Cheese & Wine Reception. ClIr. Gerry Maguire, Mayor of Fingal will be in attendance.
SATURDAY AUGUST 27th: Kinsaley Walk around the Block. 11 am to 2.30 p.m. for National Heritage Week; the
intention to is encourage people to share their knowledge and stories while enjoying the walk. 5 mile walk starting at Aspen
Road. Further details from Mick Kelly at 086 8401456.
SUNDAY AUGUST 28th: 3.00 pm - Walk around Historic Swords — Starting at St. Colmcille's Well, walk
to St Columba's Towers taking in graveyard with interesting headstones. Learn some hidden history, tales of the past and turbulent
times in Swords.
TUESDAY August 30th: Launch of Swords Heritage Week by Mayor of Fingal, Gerry Maguire.
Presentation of
awards in Short Story Competition, Poet of Fingal and What Swords Means to Me. Starting at 8.30 p.m. Carnegie Court Hotel,
North St., Swords. Reception courtesy David & Mary Grant.
WEDNESDAY August 31st: Launch of Swords Voices Vol. 2 No 8. Michael Kennedy will launch the 18th in the
series of memories of old Swords told by those who helped to make it happen. Come along and join in the music and craic.
Venue
The Star, Main Street. Starting 8.30 p.m. Reception courtesy Taylor's The Star.
THURSDAY Sept 1st: Launch of Annual Art Exhibition by Deputy Brendan Ryan at St Columba's Church starting
at 8.30 p.m.
View the work of local artists. Musical entertainment. Cheese & Wine Reception.
FRIDAYSept2nd. Art Exhibition St. Columba's 12 pm to 5 pm
SATURDAY Sept 3rd. Art Exhibition St. Columba's
12 pm to 5 p.m.
3.30 p.m. Walk around St Columba's Graveyard to view ancient Headstones.
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METRO NORTH IS ONLY PROJECT WHICH MEETS THE TRANSPORT NEEDS OF NORTH DUBLIN - RYAN Press Statement
Labour Party TD for Dublin North Brendan Ryan has responded to increased attention being paid to the proposed
dart spur linking Dublin Airport to the dart line at Clongriffin. This proposal is being viewed by some as a low cost alternative
to Metro North.
Deputy Ryan said: "The proposal by Iarnród Eireann to extend the Dart line to the airport is NOT an alternative
to Metro North. To me, it is nonsense to suggest that such a link could adequately fill the transport deficit on the M1 corridor.
I agree that we need a rail link between the airport and Dublin city centre however the point must be made
that there is a far greater deficit in the transport infrastructure of North Dublin than merely no rail link to the airport.
The population of Swords is over 45,000 people and is currently without a rail link to the city centre. Ballymun, Dublin City
University (with a student population over 11,000) and the future National Children’s Hospital will all be serviced
by Metro North.
"I must also add, that the reason this proposed rail link is in the news this week is because Iarnród Eireann
have finally got back to the Minister for Transport outlining its proposals.
I met with Iarnród Eireann a couple of weeks ago who outlined to me their plan for the dart spur and indicated
they were requested by the Minister to "dust off" a near 20 year old plan. I made my case clearly to Iarnród Eireann that
I am in no way supportive of its proposal to link the airport and Clongriffin.
“For too long Ireland’s transport policy has been blighted by short term vision, Metro North
has been designed to cope with population increases projected for the North Dublin region. For this reason alone, it is vital
that we keep Metro North on the table.”
ENDS
Brendan Ryan 01-618 3421
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Merch Sharp And Dohme / Organon Seeks Redundancies-September 2011
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Merch Sharp And Dohme which was previousially known in Swords as Organon is seeking voluntary redundancies.
Located on The Drynam Road in Swords for over twenty years. The company employs over 700 workers in it's Swords plant, 600
of which are full time employees. The company are seeking over 200 redundancies. Many employees have already put their names
forward for a package that will include six weeks pay plus statutary for each week workd up to 13 weeks max. Merch Sharp And
Dohme took over from Organon last year. Much of the production in the factory was originally done by hand but is now done
by computer so not as many workers are now needed.
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| Michael D. Higgins with Cllr. Ciaran Byrne |
Michael Daniel Higgins (born 18 April 1941), known in Irish as Micheál D. Ó hUigínn, or informally as Michael D., is
the President of the Irish Labour Party and the party's candidate to contest the upcoming Irish presidential election. He
was formerly a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Galway West constituency, and was the Minister for Arts, Culture and the Gaeltacht
from 1993–97.Michael D. Higgins was born in Limerick. When his father's health grew poor, with alcohol a contributing
factor, his mother sent Higgins, aged five, and his four-year-old brother to live on his unmarried uncle and aunt's farm near
Newmarket on Fergus, County Clare. His older twin sisters remained in Limerick. [2] He was educated at Ballycar National School,
Co. Clare, St. Flannan's College, Ennis; University College Galway, Indiana University and Manchester University. Serving
as Vice Auditor of the College's Literary and Debating Society in 1963–1964, he rose to the position of Auditor in the
1964–1965 academic year. He also served as President of UCG Students' Union in 1964–65. Before entering politics
he worked as Statutory Lecturer in Political Science and Sociology at University College Galway (UCG) and Visiting Professor
at the Southern Illinois University.
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The Labour Party TD for Dublin North, Brendan Ryan has welcomed the move by Minister for Environment Phil Hogan to set
up a Working Group to facilitate homeowners affected by Pyrite.
“I am encouraged by Minister Hogan’s move to establish a Working Group to facilitate homeowners affected by
Pyrite as I was the first TD who raised this proposal with the Minister in the Dáil in April. I secured a
special Dáil Adjournment debate on the 19th April during which I called on the Minister for Environment to establish a Working
Group to examine all aspects of the Pyrite problem. I called on this Working Group to be led by the Government but to also
include all relevant stakeholders in the Pyrite issue. Although the exact composition of this Working Group is not yet clear,
it has been stated that it will include all relevant bodies including Homebond and the Construction Industry Federation.
“This problem which is affecting so many householders not only in Fingal but also in Meath, Kildare and Offaly must
be resolved. To date the householders feel they are coming up against brick walls in their dealings with the various Local
Authorities, Homebond, and the builders. I am hoping this Working Group can give encouragement to the affected householders
that the Government are at last prepared to acknowledge the problem and deal with it. I will continue to work for concerned
citizens on this matter.”
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Londis Shop To Close Down - August 2011
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The Londis shop on Swords Main Street closes it's doors for the last time on Friday 12 August 2011. . The shop which
is owned by Joe Savage and was formally owned by his father Michael and before that by J.C. and before JC it was owned by
his father Joe Savage senior. Prior to being a Londis it was a V.G. store. A shop has being in existance on the site for more
than 60 years. The reason for closing down is lack of business on Main Street. Rates on Main Street are also very high which
was also a factor for the closure of Taylors shop closing three years ago. Since the opening of The Pavilions Shopping Centre
Main Street has suffered badly. For example there are no clothes or shoe shops left on Main Street, the bulk of shops are
chippers and betting shops with a few pubs. A new chipper will open where Taylors shop was in the coming weeks.
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Council Squanders Million To Private Landlords
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Fingal County Council is subsidising 630 houses in the Fingal area, these houses and flats are mainly located in the
areas of Swords Balbriggan and Blancherdstown. A futher 80 houses will be added to that list by the end of the year. What
this means is that the local council is paying private landlords an avarage of €700 per month for 810 houses. On a monthly
basis this fugure is €567,000 and a yearly figure would be in the region of €10,000000 , yes that's over Ten Million
Euro per year to private landlords out of the pockets of ordinary tax payers. Now lets look at the another way. How many houses
could you build for 10,000000 ? Lets take a look at a site that's currently on the market in Swords. 17 acres 6.84 hectares
of top quality laid out in one division presently planted in potatoes. The property benefits from extensive road front...Size:
17 (acres) (6.88 hectares, the price of the land is €269,000. with 30 houses per hectares, that's over 200
new houses that could be built. The cost of building houses has fallen considerably in the last three years and adding the
provision of services such as water and roads your avarage house will cost in the region of €120,000. That's provided
one purchases the land at agriculture rates and then change to housing use. So what the council is paying private landlords
per year it could build it's own housing stock and make a reat profit in rents from it's tennents in just one year. It's not
rocket science it's basic economics. If the local council was run like any private business it would have to cease trading
within the first year.
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Nevitt Dump To Cost €90 million
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The Nevitt superdump which will replace Ballelly Dump near Lusk Co.Dublin has so far cost Fingal County Council
€32 million. They paid farmers €25 million and paid €7 million to consultans. The council are paying €12,500
per week on intrest fees alone. When and if the dump ever goes ahead it will cost €90 million. These figures were recently
obtained by The Fingal Independent The local Socialist party T.D. for Swords Clare Daly asked the minister for the environment was a dump costing €90
million justified and the minister replied he was unably to do anything about the situation as it was up to the local council
to manage it's own funds when it came to dumps. Well the good news in all this is that there are a few very happy farmers
and consultans making money out of rubbish.
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Rugby Takes Precedence Over Park Security - August 2011
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In the same week the local council removed the park rangers from The Jacko and Swords Town Park Fingal County Council appointed
a rugby coach to increase participation in the sport. The council apointed Gerry McCleary to oversee the devolopment of seven
rugby clubs in Fingal. The reason the council gave for the removal of the park rangers was lack of finance, with cutbacks
in all local authoritys round the county it's ironic that a rugby coach would take precedence over the safety of people
young and old using our parks. In the past few years there have being a number of assaults in our parks especially The
Ward River Park / Jacko It's high time the tax payer held it's local council responsible for the way it allocates it's resources. These are
hard times for everybody and in leaner times the appointing of a rugby coach would be a fine.
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Bogus Charity Collectors In Swords - August 2011
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A number of bogus charity collectors are now opperating in the Swords area. They usually operate outside shops on Main
Street and shopping centers on the outskirts of the town such as River Valley Shopping Center. The latest bogus collectors
are Romanian Gypsies who claim to be collecting money for cancer. They have no identification most of the time and other times
they will be wearing a shabby i.d. with someone elses photo displayed. Be careful who you give money to on the street.
While most street charity collectors are genuine collectors for good causes there are a large number of bogus ones who
keep the proceeds for themselves.
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News Around Swords County Dublin
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