COUNCIL FAILING TO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT STILLORGAN LEFT BEHIND IN CAPITAL FUNDING - HUMPHREYS

STATEMENT BY CLLR RICHARD HUMPHREYS

Labour Party Councillor for Stillorgan

Thursday, 23 June 2011

COUNCIL FAILING TO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT STILLORGAN LEFT BEHIND IN CAPITAL FUNDING - HUMPHREYS

Cllr Richard Humphreys, the Labour Party Councillor for the Stillorgan Ward, has criticised Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council for failing to acknowledge that Stillorgan has been left behind in terms of capital funding for the 4 year period 2011-14.

“The Council’s response to this issue has been very unsatisfactory.  I recently submitted a question to the Council seeking a breakdown of proposed capital spending on a ward-by-ward basis.  This showed that the Stillorgan Ward was to receive a sum of only EUR 200,000 for the refurbishment of Stillorgan Library, out of a total of EUR 77 Million in the capital budget for this period.”

“It now emerges that the Council only divulged information regarding the breakdown for existing projects, and the Council has failed to provide any ward-by-ward breakdown of the funds to be spent on a further EUR 140 Million of new projects.  I have called on the Manager to provide that breakdown and circulate it publicly.”

“However it would appear that within the further EUR 140 M for new projects, only three projects are provided for that are within the Stillorgan Ward – Glenalbyn swimming pool at EUR 1.7 M (which seems set to benefit from external funding), Cabinteely Park tearooms and toilet at EUR 500,000 and Cabinteely Park adventure course at EUR 100,000.  This makes a total of only 1.6% of funding from the additional capital spend going to Stillorgan – and only 1.1% of the capital fund overall going to an area with 14% of the County’s population.”

“Even if we include in these figures projects which will benefit adjoining wards also, such as the Green line works and the Sandyford/Stillorgan drainage scheme, the grand total of capital funding benefitting Stillorgan is a mere 3.7% of the Council’s capital budget over 4 years – less than 1% per year.  I believe that the Stillorgan ward has been disproportionately deprived of funding and I regret that the Council is declining to review the allocation to it.” Humphreys said.

Ends