Busy times

World Water Day today, and thanks to an invitation from Sarah Franklyn from the Water for Life! Ireland Campaign I found myself outside Leinster House with children from Scoil Cholmcille in Ballybrack, women from various African countries and the Lord Mayor Emer Costello.

I had a great chat with Ifrah Ahmed, a Somalian women living in Ireland Ironically enough the heavens opened as we posed for the pix, but all for a good cause.

There's a lot going on around Dún Laoghaire at the moment, and lively enough on the national stage as well. Dún Laoghaire Enterprise Week kicked off today in the Royal Marine Hotel, and Nicola Byrne founder of 11890 Directory Enquiries gave an upbeat speech. She's banning the use of the R word and wants us to refer to this period as the 'pre-boom'. I'm not sure about that though, I think we've seen how booms can go wrong, and I'd prefer a 'fáda' shaped smoother tranjectory out of our current difficulties.

Owen Keegan the County Manager was at the launch of County Enterprise Week, and I caught up with him a few weeks ago where he outlined a few of the positive developments that are happening the town of Dún Laoghaire. Here's an overview:

The Metals Upgrade
The covering over of the Dart line at the Pavilion complex has resulted in a great civic space where people can sit and enjoy views of the Harbour. The next phase begins this month and will see new café terraces, pathways, seating areas and a new small play space installed. There will also be new lighting, umbrellas and an information kiosk, as well as trees planted in the area.

Under the government’s Smarter Travel Fund, the 3.5km Metals pathway will be upgraded by the end of the year. The work will involve upgrading the road crossings that intersect with the path to make them safer, with better facilities for those with mobility and visual impairments. New directional signs and informational panels illustrating the history of the Metals will also be installed. These works will make this valuable resource better and safer for pedestrians and cyclists alike.
You’ll find further information on these projects and how to make a submission here:

Laneways Taken In Charge
For too long, Dún Laoghaire’s laneways have been in a bad state. Now, the Council is taking control of the lanes between George’s St, Northumberland Ave, Cross Ave and Patrick St. The paving, street lighting, landscaping and traffic management will all be improved. The Council wants your input into this process. More information here:

Marine Road Improvements
The Council intends widening the foot-paths, narrowing the carriageway and planting trees so as to provide a ‘boulevard’ appearance to the street. This will make the area more attractive for residents and visitors alike

Dún Laoghaire Harbour
On March 15th we will see the return of the Ferry Service to Dún Laoghaire Harbour after the winter break using a smaller Express vessel, and the HSS during July and August.
The old ferry terminal on the Carlisle Pier has been demolished. However I have asked Bord Pleanála to decide whether or not the Harbour Company illegally demolished the old nineteenth century railway building, and if so I will pursue the restoration of this part of the town’s heritage.

Pedestrian Improvements beside the DART Station
Proposals are afoot to relocate the ‘Gateway’ Sculpture, previously located at the Pavilion, to a new spot outside the Dún Laoghaire Dart station. The Council are constructing a new traffic island and pedestrian crossing at this location, which will hugely improve access to the station. The Council will seek submissions on these proposals shortly. Judging from the feedback I'm getting though, it seems like half the town would rather see Michael Warren's gateway sculpture recycled, so we'll see how this consultation goes.

Anyway, that's the view from Dún Laoghaire. Meanwhile I'm hosting a special screening of "The End of the Line" (short clip and website here) in the Oireachtas Audio-Visual room at lunchtime on Thursday 25th March 2010. It addresses how overfishing is changing the world and what we eat. It's based on Charles Clover's excellent book of the same name, and if you know of anyone with an interest in sustainable fisheries drop me a line, and I'll try and arrange for them to attend. Thanks to Mike Walker at Pew Environment for making this happen. Mike will say a few words and we'll also have a speaker from the Irish Fish Producers Organisation Ltd, so it'll make for an interesting discussion towards the end of another exciting week in politics.

Ups and downs on the campaign trail

"Hey Mister"
-"Just a second"
I'm at the top of a ladder, half-way up a pole trying to feed one plastic poster-tie into another on Deirdre de Burca's poster. Finally it catches and I pull it tight.
"Mister"
-"I'll be with you in a second!"
I thread the plastic tie through the lower part of the poster. Once you've locked the poster-tie in, it can resist gale force winds, if done correctly. I clamp the end of plastic tie between my teeth and pull hard. Not exactly ideal from a health and safety perspective, but it does the job. Finally, I finish securing the poster, and climb down the ladder.
-"Mister"
"Yes?
-"Mister, your poster is upside-down.
"@#*%~!"
I walk back to the car, and take out a kitchen knife reserved for these occasions. It's started to rain again, the kind of rain we've had for the last two weeks - first one or two drops, then a downpour. Back up the ladder, knife in my mouth doing a fair impersonation of Captain Jack Sparrow getting ready to repel boarders. I'm at the top of the ladder, and spend a few minutes trying to ease the poster ties apart with the tip of the knife so that I can re-use the ties. Eventually I give up and attempt to sever the tie to release the poster. As I cut through the plastic there's a loud bang and a bright yellow flash. The knife falls and I slide down the ladder faster than a sailor in one of those World War Two films just after the torpedo hits the ship. Unlike our candidate Martin Hogan a few weeks ago, I'm still in one piece. I look back up the lamp post and as I do there's another flash and a puff of smoke from the electrical junction box half-way up the pole.
"Hey Mister"
-"Yeh"
"That's deadly, it is, can you do it again?"
It's time to move on, and find a safer lamppost for Deirdre de Burca's poster.

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That photo shows Cllr. Gene Feighery and Cllr. Ruairí Holohan on the stump on the Blackrock Bypass last Friday. They're giving out Hazel tree nuts and saplings as part of Ruairí's 'Brown Envelope' campaign. It's brought a smile to people's faces, and is the kind of soft sell that works well as part of wider campaign. Ruairí also has a good pitch at the doors:

"Look, I'm not going to talk about the recession, I can talk to you about Home Energy Grants, or the Gardening course that we're running in Blackrock.

It seems to be working well, by all accounts. He also told our monthly Green Party meeting in Dún Laoghaire that he's been dropping apple pies in to every convent in his ward with 'Green Party' written on the plate, and then drops by to collect the plate a few days later, and tries to persuade them to use their land for allotments.

Cllr. Gene Feighery, represents Dún Laoghaire, and has been pointing out that the Greens are good on planning. Gene was a founder member of CRSOS (the Combined Residents to Save Open Space) an NGO that campaigned to prevent the rezoning of the Dún Laoghaire Golf Club lands. It may well be that this green lung within Dún Laoghaire won't be developed in the short term, but it is important that a Local Area Plan is drawn up to guide development in the town. She's often seen in her electric car around the town.

Tom Kivlehan is our councillor for Shankill and Ballybrack. He dragged me up to Sandyford Luas stop a few weeks ago to take a photo beside a Luas so that we could photoshop 'Sandyford' out of the sign and substitute 'Shankill'. When the Luas gets to Cherrywood early next year, Tom will be clearing the scrub off the old Harcourt Street line to make sure it gets to Shankill and Bray a few years later. On a more practical note, he succeeded in getting the Council to shift their electricity supply to a renewable supplier.

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It may be a European and Local Election, but it is clear that many are thinking about national issues as they consider how to cast their vote in two weeks time. Few people disagree that John Gormley and Eamon Ryan are doing good work in their respective ministries. Tough decisions are being taken to ensure Ireland weathers the worldwide economic storm. Already it seems clear that the recovery is green. New jobs are being created in energy, in construction, in transport and in agriculture. Many of these are in areas of the sustainability sector that didn't exist a few years ago, or have a green hue to their complexion. One thing is sure though, the economy that was too dependent on laissez-faire construction and SUV car sales has changed, and the new green collar jobs will shape Ireland's future.

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Thanks to all you new media people for dropping in to the Oireachtas last week. My relatively tidy office that some of you saw last week has again disintegrated into squalor. I think both John Gormley, Deirdre de Burca and Damian Connon enjoyed the opportunity to talk candidly about their work. Thanks Dharragh Boyle, Mark Coughlan, Damian Mulley, Gav Reilly, Thaedydal and others for coming along. You all seem to have enjoyed your experience of the madness that constitutes the Houses of the Oireachtas.