“I   am  delighted  to  announce  that  Passage  West Town
Councillor, David O’Byrne, has joined the Labour Party.

“David  was elected to Passage West Town Council for the first time in June
and  has  proven  to  be  a  capable  and effective councillor.  This is an
important  development  for  the  Labour  Party  in  a town where we do not
currently have a councillor.

“I  have no doubt that David will be a great asset to the Labour Party, not
just in Passage, but in the broader Cork South Central constituency.  Since
my  election  as  Party  Leader two years ago I have emphasised the need to
grow  the  party and to expand it in areas of the country where we have not
been traditionally strong.

“Having recorded the best ever results in the Local Government Elections in
June,  and  with Labour at a record high level in the opinion polls, we are
in a better position that ever to do this.

“Anyone  who shares our values and supports our policies are welcome in the
Labour Party regardless of their political backgrounds.”

Responding  to  Cllr.  O’Byrne’s  decision,  the  Labour  TD for Cork South
Central,  Ciarán  Lynch, said; “Since his election to the Town Council this
summer  I have been greatly impressed by Cllr. O’Byrne’s enthusiasm, energy
and dedication in serving the people of Passage West and Monkstown. David’s
decision  to  join  the  Labour  Party  is  most welcome and I am very much
looking forward to working with him. As our Party representative on Passage
Town  Council  I  am certain that his record in serving the electorate will
significantly  enhance to the overall level of public representation by the
Labour team in Cork South Central”.

Labour  Councillor, Paula Desmond, said ;  “Passage West has a long history
of able and dedicated Labour representation, from Mosie Lynch to Jim Murphy
to  Michelle Murray. I am delighted to welcome David to join that admirable
list  of Labour town councillors and I look forward to working closely with
him for the people of Passage.”

Over the last number of months as the enormity of the current crisis has hit us all I have been impressed by the strong leadership and focus of the Labour Party. Having seen how Eamon Gilmore responded to the crisis and knowing how well Labour’s local team of Ciaran Lynch TD and Cllr Paula Desmond work for the people of Cork I have decided to join the Labour Party.

I believe that Ireland has changed in the last 12 months and that there is a new landscape in Irish politics. It is healthy to look at ones situation after a period of change to see if you also need to make some changes. This was not an easy decision to make and it was not made lightly but I feel it is the right move for me.

In the grand scheme of things I realise that as a town councillor I can only play a small role, however I wish to serve the people of Passage West & Monkstown to the utmost of my ability. I believe that I can do that best as a member of the Labour party.

These difficult times call for focused leadership; focus on jobs, focus on social fairness and focus on getting our economy back in shape. I feel that the Labour party has consistently offered that leadership over the past few months and I am looking forward to working hard with my new Labour Party colleagues for my constituents.

Dear Friends,  

Welcome to this, the first edition of my e-newsletter for Passage West and Monkstown. I wish to thank you for your support, advice, comments and correspondence during my election campaign and since my election to the Town Council.

It is my hope, through this newsletter, that I will keep you informed of the issues coming up at the Town Council, how we are dealing with them and what progress is being made. I also hope that you will interact with me in response to the newsletter. I welcome your views, suggestions and even criticism.

You can contact me at any time on 087 2626048, at wdobyrne@gmail.com or via my website www.davidobyrne.ie  

Dave

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In the September 09 edition;

- Joint Policing Committee

-Star of the Sea Planning update

-  Howard Holdings Redevelopment

-  Monkstown Marina – EIS

-  Road Safety Issues

- Tidy Towns

-Vigilantes

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Joint Policing Committee

The first meeting of the Passage West Joint Policing Committee (JPC) was held on Monday 14th September at the town hall in Passage West. Members of the Town Council, Oireachtas, community representatives, officials from Cork County Council and representatives from An Garda Siochana were in attendance.

As a member of the local authority I was appointed as chairman of the JPC. It is a real honour and an exciting challenge chair Passage West’s first Joint Policing Committee. I hope we can use the opportunity provided by this forum to improve how both the Town Council and the local Gardí serve and interact with the community.

The District Superintendent gave a brief outline of the key crime statistics for the area and the Gardí from the local station reported on some of their recent issues and successes. The members of the Town Council and the local community representatives felt that there was a lot to be gained by focusing the attention of the JPC on issues like anti social behaviour, vandalism and road safety as a starting point.

 I feel it is important that we stay focused on results and outcomes which can be reasonably achieved. If at the end of my term as chairman of the JPC we have put in place some facilities for young people, seen a reduction in anti social behaviour and have a plan in place to tackle any other issues I think I will have achieved something worthwhile in my first term as a councillor.

It was agreed that a list of common complaints would be complied by me as chairman of the JPC and passed onto the local Garda Sergeant before the next scheduled meeting of the JPC.

A date of Monday November 30th was selected for the next meeting. Members of the public are encouraged to attend and raise issues of concern with the members Town Council and An Garda Siochana. Anyone seeking more information or who would like to be involved in the JPC can contact me on wdobyrne@gmail.com or 087 2626048.

Star of the Sea Planning Update

Cork County Council has declined to give planning permission for the proposed new primary school at Maulbaun. In a letter dated 30/07/09 the planning department of informed the Department of Education of 14 points which must be addressed before the school can go ahead. I will post a copy of the letter on my website www.davidobyrne.ie . The Department has 6 months to respond to the Council. These problems with the initial planning application have obviously delayed the start of the schools building. It is my humble opinion that this is a total disgrace given that the site has been identified for many years and the school is being built to a generic repeat design!

Redevelopment of Royal Victoria Dock (Howard Holdings Development)

On Thursday night 17/09/09 the members of the Town Council met with representatives of Clowater Holdings. On behalf of the Town Council the Mayor expressed the very great disappointment of the town generally when the planning application for the Howard Holdings proposed development at the Royal Victoria Dock was refused by An Bord Pleanála last May.

Clowater Holdings are now leading the project to redevelop the docks. They expressed their disappointment that An Bord Pleanála turned down their planning application point blank rather than negotiating resolutions to the issues which existed.

The company’s representatives went on to say that they still intend to drive ahead with the project. With that in mind they hope to lodge a new planning application in late 2009.This is clearly great news for the town and surrounding area. The Council pledged its support to Clowater Holdings vowing to help get the project up and running in any way it can.

Monkstown Marina Development – Environmental Impact Study

A special meeting of Passage West Town Council was held to discuss the environmental impact study produced for the developers of the proposed 285 berth marina in Monkstown Bay. At this meeting I spoke strongly in favour of the development.

The EIS in my opinion raises no major concerns that should halt this development. As with every proposed development there are minor issues which may need to be addressed however looking at the big picture Monkstown and Cork Harbour need ambitious developments such as this.

The proposed development is for a 285 berth marina, 174 car parking spaces and a clubhouse building built on reclaimed foreshore land. An 84 berth marina has already been granted permission by Cork County Council and will be in operation for next summer. The larger marina will incorporate the 84 berth marina when complete.

 I genuinely hope that this project will get the go ahead from Cork County Council and will proceed without any further delays. The loss of the Howard Holdings development of Passage West’s docks lands was a bitter blow for the area. I feel confident that if the marina goes ahead it will be completed in time for the economic upturn which will come. The marina will provide employment, amenities for the community and make Monkstown a viable tourist destination for sailors from the UK and France.

If you would like any more information on the proposed development or the environmental impact study email me on wdobyrne@gmail.com

Road Safety

Area Engineer Meeting

During the summer months many of the roads around the town became dangerous due to overgrown hedgerows. This was brought to the attention of the area engineer from Cork County Council. The area engineer said that due to cut backs in his budget he was not in a position to complete this task.

The responsibility for the cutting back of hedgerows actually lies with the land owners and in the current climate Cork County Council no longer has the resources to compensate for landowners failing to meet their duties.

We asked that junctions were driver safety might be affected be priorities and the engineer agreed.

Eurospar Entrance/Exit

At the September meeting of Passage West Town Council I made a suggestion regarding road safety at the Eurospar premises at the start of the town. The suggestion was made following my observation of several near collisions.

I put it to the Council that a one way system for entering and exiting the car park may provide a safer option for customers and general road users. I am glad to say that I received the full support of my fellow councillors and a letter has been sent to the operators of the premises outing my proposal.

I suggested to the operators that that the access on the Passage West side of the car park be reserved for exiting the car park only. The access on the Cork side would then be used only for entering the car park. I will keep you informed of progress on this issue.

Tidy Towns

At our first meeting as a Town Council it was agreed that one of our key aims was the setting up and maintenance of a Tidy Towns organisation in the area. A meeting to kick off was held on Friday night 18/09/09 in the Town Council room.

A sizable number of interested people attended the meeting which was chaired by Passage West Deputy Mayor Cllr Marcia D’Alton.

Cllr D’Alton outlined the progress made to date. The Passage West Tidy Town group has been registered. An insurance policy has been obtained to cover members of the group carrying out work in public areas such as weeding, painting and collecting litter.

There are many groups working in the town at present and it is hoped that the Tidy Towns committee will be able to facilitate these groups working together to improve the appearance of the whole town. Some funding is available at present from the Passage West Development Association and the members of the Town Council have pledged €10 a month each to help fund the tidy towns committee. It is also intended to fund raise from local businesses.

Those in attendance agreed to begin tidy towns activities on Saturday 26^th September at 10 am. Anyone interested in helping out in any way is invited to come along. The group is meeting at the water tower next to the library in Passage West. In the future it is intended that the group will meet on Saturday and Sunday morning weather permitting. Anyone wanting more information can contact me by email or phone.

The Vigilante Threat

Last weekend people claiming to be part of the 32 County Sovereignty Movement distributed leaflets in the pubs of Passage West and other communities threatening “lethal force,” against anyone dealing drugs. While the scourge of drugs in our society must be fought, this fight must take place within the law. There are many options available to people who wish to help the fight on drugs.

If you have information you think might help An Garda Siochana you can ring their confidential help line 1800 220220 check out www.dialtostopdrugdealing.ie . If you have time on your hands offer to coach a team, lead a scout troop or youth group!

As part of the Passage West Joint Policing Committee we intend to set up a youth club for the kids in the town to give them options other than hanging out where they are an easy target for drug dealers. If you are interested in helping us please contact me.

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I hope you have found the articles above interesting and informative. If you have any comments, queries or suggestions as to how I can improve future editions of the e-newsletter please don’t hesitate to contact me. If you know of anyone else in the area who might be interested in recieving this newsletter please pass it on or get them to email me at wdobyrne@gmail.com

You can contact me at any time on 087 2626048, at wdobyrne@gmail.com or via my website www.davidobyrne.ie

Kind Regards,

Dave

Cork County Council has declined to give planning permission for the proposed new primary school at Maulbaun. In a letter dated 30/07/09 the planning department of informed the Department of Education of 14 points which must be addressed before the school can go ahead.
The full text of the letter can be seen below . The Department has 6 months to respond to the Council. These problems with the initial planning application have obviously delayed the start of the schools building.

It is my humble opinion that this is a total disgrace given that the site has been identified for many years and the school is being built to a generic repeat design!

30/07/2009

Addresses to the Minister for Education and Science

RE: 09/5912
Construction of a 16 classroom generic repeat design primary school complete with playing areas, car parking, temporary waste water treatment plant & associated site works
MaulbaunPassage West

Dear Sir/Madam,

I refer to your planning application which was lodged with the Planning Authority on the 11/06/2009

In order that this application may be considered further, you should submit the following:

1. Confirmation as to which site layout is correct as different versions have been submitted.

2. Ten copies of a revised site layout plan which makes provision for the following:

 Adequate parking for parents dropping off and collecting pupils (30-40 spaces) within the site to mitigate the impact on the adjacent estate road.
 Minimum footpath widths of 2 m on the site.
 Cycle parking near the entrances to the school which are covered and overlooked.

3. Two copies of a revised road safety audit which addresses the Church Hill/Parkview Maulbaun road junction and proposes recommendations to ensure the safe operation of the junction with increased traffic volumes.

4. Full details of the number of buses that will be serving the school.

You should contact the Senior Executive Engineer, Ms. Eileen Coleman, tel. 4276891, prior to resubmission to ascertain her requirements regarding the above..

5. Details of the proposed odour control system for the temporary treatment plant which should be capable of complying with the following standard: “The 98 percentile odour value around the perimeter of the Waste Water Treatment Plant and at the nearest school building or residence, caused by activities resulting from the operation of the Waste Water Treatment Plant shall not exceed 2 odour units per cubic metre”.

6. Details of the likely noise levels in the proposed Waste Water Treatment Plant together with details of any necessary noise abatement levels.

7. Design calculations and detail drawings for the temporary Waste Water Treatment Unit. The said calculations and drawings should be checked and approved by the your consulting engineer prior to re-submission.

8. Details of the volume, frequency and method of sludge removal from the sludge storage tank (SST) and the ultimate sludge disposal location. Sludge from the secondary treatment tank should be piped to a separate, covered, sludge storage tank (SST) rather than being conveyed to the primary settlement tank (PST) as currently proposed. Activated sludge can be pumped from the SST to the PST as required in the usual manner. .

9. Details of the head manhole connection and the proposed vent stack. In view of the fact that it is intended to pump treated effluent to the public sewer via a 100mm diameter x c. 175m long rising main, the use of a smaller diameter rising main should be examined as it may lead to a more efficient pumping regime and will help to reduce the risk of septicity in the system. The head manhole should be vented; the entry arrangements should ensure that sewer maintenance operations can be carried out without difficulty.

10. Details of a revised sewerage layout and the proposed connection to the public sewer. The foul sewer network should be designed to facilitate a gravity sewer connection to the public foul sewer in Maulbaun at a future date.
11. Ten copies of a longitudinal section through the proposed foul sewer to confirm that all wastewater from the development can flow by gravity to the public foul sewer.

12. Clarification of the proposed ground floor level in the school. This is shown as 82.75m (O.D. Malin Head). However, the level datum used in the site survey is not stated on the drawings.

13. Results of pressure and flow tests, carried out at the site to confirm the availability of the necessary fire flow. The fire flow requirement for the proposed development is likely to be 20 L/s for a duration of 2 hours at a minimum pressure of 0.5 bar. If the existing w/s is not adequate, then a new 150 diameter branch main should be laid between the school and the existing 250 diameter trunk main, to serve the development. The branch main should also be extended to connect into the existing 102 diameter w/m at the front of the site.

14. Confirmation of the proposed method of disposing of attenuated stormwater from the site. It is noted that it is proposed to connect into a stormwater sewer which is apparently located along the south eastern boundary of the site. However, the Council has no record of this sewer. There is a manhole cover and frame approximately 80m south west of the site and there also appears to be a 225 diameter conc. pipe between this manhole and the stream along the field boundary. This stream flows in a south easterly direction towards The Glen where it enters a 450 diameter culvert which discharges into the harbour at Glenbrook.

It may be necessary to lay an 80m long stormwater sewer between the south eastern corner of the site and aforementioned stream.

Design calculations and a longitudinal section of the existing / proposed stormwater sewer should also be submitted.

It will also be your responsibility to obtain the necessary permission from the owner of the adjoining land in which it may be necessary to construct the stormwater sewer.

Similarly, care should be taken to avoid damaging the existing 250mm diameter asbestos cement trunk watermain to the south of the site.

The stormwater detention system should be designed in accordance with the Greater Dublin Regional Code of Practice for Drainage Works. You should limit surface water discharge from the proposed development in accordance with the GDSDS Technical Document Vol.2, New Development Policy. The value of SAAR used in the IoH Report no. 124 Greenfield runoff formula should be 1180mm.

Similarly, the following requirements should also be taken on board

i. The outflow from the detention system should be piped to the existing storm sewer (or existing watercourse as appropriate) in accordance with the council’s requirements.
ii. The capacity of the detention system should be sufficient to store the required fraction of runoff from a 1 in 30 year storm. The overflow from the tank should be capable of passing flows up to the 100-year storm. The overflow from the tank should be retained within the curtilage of the site.
iii. The operation of the Stormtech detention system should be clarified. The low flow channel and the orientation of the ‘Stormtech’ chambers should be shown on plan. Inspection ports and access chambers for maintenance purposes should be shown. The detention system should not be located in the basketball courts to ensure that future maintenance works do not disturb/ interfere with the courts. A grit sump and a stormwater defender unit should be located immediately upstream of the detention system. Conventional longitudinal sections of the proposed stormwater sewers should be provided; Micro Drainage output is not adequate where gradients are flat and a stormwater detention system is required.
iv. A minimum vertical separation of 200mm and minimum horizontal separation of 1m should be provided between the storm sewer and the 250mm dia. asbestos cement trunk watermain to the south of the site.

You should discuss the above points with Mr. Conal Courtney, Senior Executive Engineer, tel. 4276891, prior to resubmission.

Please note that your application shall be declared to be withdrawn if all of the further information as required above is not submitted within 6 months of the date of this letter.

Please further note that where the Planning Authority considers that the further information request has not been fully complied with and requires clarification, the 4 weeks for making a decision (or 8 weeks in the case of an application accompanied by an EIS), does not begin until this clarification has been provided and the request for further information has been fully complied with.

This request for further information is without prejudice to any decision the Council may take, either to refuse permission or to grant permission, with or without conditions.

Further consideration of your application is deferred pending receipt of the information requested.

Any response to this letter should clearly state that it is a response to a request for further information in connection with 09/5912 and be addressed to: – The Secretary, Planning Department, County Hall, Cork.

Last week’s announcement that work will finally start on the new Star of the Sea primary school in Passage West is a most welcome development in the long running saga of Star of the Sea. It represents the end of an eleven year wait and a hard fought campaign by the students, parents and staff of the school if it becomes a reality. While others will claim credit, in truth credit belongs to the local community alone for the pressure they have put on the government.

I would be cautious about getting hopes up however as I fear that the school is once again being used as an election PR stunt by Fianna Fail. This would not be the first false dawn over the course of the eleven years since the new school was first promised by Michael Martin.

With the latest announcement coming less than 24 hours before the Taoiseach admitted that huge cuts will be made to the national development program serious questions must be asked over the security of the funds approved.

I must stress that the community of Passage West must be weary of the past. No one wants to hear about people playing politics in the current environment but I fear the worst. An article in the Irish Times on the 9^th of November 2006, when Michael McGrath was campaigning for the 2007 general election, listed Star of the Sea in Passage West as having been approved for a new school build. McGrath won his seat in the Dail with a huge vote from Passage West. Three years on there has been no actual progress, just another announcement and another election this time with the brothers of both Michael McGrath and Michael Martin looking for seats on Cork County Council.

With the local elections in June a real opportunity exists to ensure actual progress is made on the building of the school. If as I suspect there will be no planning permission applied for, no evidence of design work or no work taking place on site then the residents of Passage West need to show their disapproval at the ballot box.