13/11/08
Green Party Castleknock ward candidate, Roderic O’Gorman has called on the Mayor of Fingal County Council to swiftly convene a meeting of the Joint Fingal and South Dublin Liffey Valley Management Advisory Committee. O’Gorman made the call after the County Manager confirmed in a reply to Green Party councillor that the committee has only met 6 times since its formation in 1995 and has not met for the last 5 years.
“I have written to the Mayor of Fingal and called on him to rapidly convene a meeting of the Joint Fingal and South Dublin Liffey Valley Management Advisory Committee. I recently had a question asked at a Fingal CC meeting about how often this committee meets. When the County Manager replied, I was shocked to discover that this committee has only met 6 times since it was first established back in 1995. Indeed, the last time the committee met was in 2003. This means that the Committee hasn’t met once during the lifetime of the current Fingal County Council, which was elected in 2004”.
“The Liffey Valley is a huge natural resource for Fingal – particularly for those of us living in the Dublin 15 area. I would have thought it was plainly obvious that Fingal councillors should be working with members of South Dublin County Council on issues of joint concern relating to the management of the valley area. Why else was this committee set up in the first place?”
In answer to a question put on behalf of Roderic O’Gorman, Cllr Robbie Kelly, a Green councillor from Malahide, the Manager reported that the first meeting of the Liffey Valley Advisory Committee was held on 1st March, 1995 and that subsequent meetings were held on 9th January, 1996, 21st June, 1996, 6th June 2001, 22nd January 2002. The most recent meeting was held on 31st March, 2003.
“Not only has the committee hardly met at all, but the Manager also reported that he was unable to locate minutes for the few meetings it did have. Has the benefit of any work the committee actually achieved in its very few meetings now been lost”, asked Roderic O’Gorman.
“I can think of a range of issues that the committee could be dealing with. The possible extension of the Special Amenity Area Order (SAAO) to the south side of the valley, the impact of the Metro West crossing on the valley, recent severe flooding suffered in the Strawberry Beds area”.
“Further, I think the Liffey Valley Advisory Committee should be working to progress the Towards a Liffey Valley Park strategy document which was drawn up on the behalf of the Office of Public Works, after public consultations. This was a very wide ranging document looking at how the maximum public benefit could be obtained from the Liffey Valley in areas such as recreation and tourism, with the eventual aim of creating a Liffey Valley national park. I’d like to see Fingal County Council becoming the driving force behind this strategy and working with South Dublin CC to achieve its objectives”.
“If I am successful in the local elections in June next year, one of the first things I will commit to doing as a councillor for the Castleknock and Blanchardstown areas is to quickly seek to have the Liffey Valley Advisory Committee reconvened and meet on a regular basis. It’s vital that Fingal County Council is leading the fight to preserve the Liffey Valley and enhance its use as an amenity for people in Dublin 15”, concluded Roderic O’Gorman.
Editors Note – Text of response to question from Cllr Robbie Kelly (Green Party)
Fingal County Council
13th OCTOBER, 2008
ITEM NO. 18
JOINT FINGAL AND SOUTH DUBLIN LIFFEY VALLEY MANAGEMENT ADVISORY COMMITTEE
QUESTION: Councillor R. Kelly
“To ask the Manager when did the last meeting of the Joint Fingal and South Dublin Liffey Valley Management Advisory Committee take place, when is the next meeting of the Advisory Committee scheduled to take place, how many times has it met since its formation and are minutes of its meeting available?”
REPLY:
The last meeting of the Joint Fingal and South Dublin Liffey Valley Management Advisory Committee took place on 31st March, 2003.
The Inaugural Meeting was held on 1st March, 1995 and meetings were held on 9th January, 1996, 21st June, 1996, 6th June 2001, 22nd January 2002.
No future schedule of meetings has been arranged.
Minutes of the meetings are being sourced and will be made available as soon as possible.
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