I’ve moved!

Hey if anyone’s wondering where I’m at and why the site here isn’t updating it’s cos I’ve finally gone loco down in alcopulco.. or at least gone local with my server arrangement – yep the blog is now at http://jameslawless.ie – all the stuff and more. Do stop by..

Local government boundaries review

The Minister for Environment and Local Government, John Gormley TD, last week announced the details of a commission to study existing boundaries and sizes for local area wards and report back by 20th June. The move was widely expected in political circles as there has been substantial population movement since the last review (1998) with resulting variances in the representation level of different areas. In other words some people have more councillors to go around than others.

The guidelines for the review state that the minimum number of councillors in any given ward should be four and that local boundaries should be kept in line with Dáil boundaries. The guidelines state that whilst the total number of councillors in any given authority should remain unchanged, areas and seats can be reshuffled across wards.

What this means for politicans and the electorate is as follows. Sitting councillors shall remain in situ until June next year when the next local elections are due to occur. Those elections will be fought on the basis of the new local areas and the revised number of seats in each.

Map showing current wards within Naas LEA

The commission will be inviting submissions and I intend studying the various Kildare wards more thoroughly in the coming weeks, but my initial observations are as follows:

The Naas LEA is currently split across Kildare North and Kildare South Dáil constituencies. This means that electors (and councillors) end up dealing with two different sets of TDs, depending which end of the ward they are in, and would be due for revision according to the new guidlines.

The Ballymore/Kilcullen end of the Naas LEA is entirely in Kildare South and hence may be moved out of Naas and into an existing or newly created ward in the Kildare South constituency.

Caragh is in the same boat, as also in the Kildare South constituency, although arguably is more a natural hinterland of Naas, and may have an argument for remaining adjoined.

Sallins is on the cusp of three LEAs, namely Naas, Clane and Celbridge. It could conceivably move into Clane or at a push join up with Straffan/Ardclough for an expanded Celbridge ward.

Naas has five councillors currently which leaves it vulnerable to losing a councillor to a three-seater to satisfy the new minimal four-seater requirement.

The Naas LEA currrently has a very high ratio of councillors to constituents, (8329:1) putting it at almost double the national average (4916:1). This could allow it lose the Kildare South portion without needing to pick up elsewhere.

Unfortunately as the review effectively freezes the total number of councillors in each authority (in our case KCC) it does mean we will still have a higher than average variance, whatever way it pans out. In a nutshell this means Kildare people have less councillors to serve the same number of people as elsewhere. Anway, more on all this anon..

Northern Ireland – a work in progress

I was moved to write a letter to Metro free sheet last week, on the subject of the mooted visit by the Queen to Ireland. Being honest it’s not an issue I’m terribly excited about either way, and for the record I don’t have a problem with her visit, but I did take issue with another writer who had declared the North as ‘over and done with’ and that it was time to move on. Yes, it is time to move on, but forwards, not backwards is my view. Here’s what I wrote:

“I take issue with your letter writer of Thurs 10th, who states that in voting for the Good Friday agreement (GFA) we accepted permanent British rule in Northern Ireland (NI) and that we should now move on from the whole process. The GFA was a complex, multi-faceted arrangement which finally enshrined civil liberties in NI, provided a legislative basis for Irish citizens living in the six counties whilst recognising the desire of unionists to remain allied to the UK. As well as removing articles 2 & 3 from the Irish constitution, the British Government of Ireland act 1920 and the act of Union 1800 were also repealed. Unionists remain within the UK until a majority vote to change. This was an astounding piece of legislation and marked a huge step forward on the ‘national question’. Whilst including many concrete and solid provisions, to enable things to move on the agreement also featured much use of ‘constructive ambiguity’ ie there were a lot of aspirational passages which left enough room for all sides to secure support for the deal. However I think most of us, then and now saw the realpolitik, regarding the GFA as a stepping stone, paving the way towards eventual unity and in the interim providing a middle ground where nationalists and unionists could come to know one another in a supportive and safe environment.

It is now ten years since the agreement was signed. The DUP who alone opposed the talks now work the executive in style. The incredible working and personal relationship between Dr. Paisley and Martin McGuinness continues to astound. Co-operation on all-Ireland issues grows daily across more and more streams of industry and government. Unionists look winsomely at our euro currency and celtic tiger economy. Sinn Fein have abandoned the guns and have representatives in parliament both sides of the island. Fianna Fáil are about to become an all-Ireland party.

The British queen is welcome to visit Ireland, as an independent nation standing along on an equal footing, we owe a respect to our neighbouring nation, no longer our opressor but our peer, friend even.

But let us not consider Northern Ireland as ‘finished busines’. Rather, we are only getting started…”

Hillary just an ‘Uptown Girl’?!

Amusingly the pundits in the race for the US Democratic nomination have begun dividing the support groups in terms of beer or wine camps.

Bush’s “man with the plan”, Karl Rove kicked off a storm postulating how “Mrs. Clinton won the beer drinkers, Mr. Obama the white wine crowd. And there are more beer drinkers than wine swillers in the Democratic Party” in a Washington Post piece whilst the Toronto Star concluded that “Democrats are engaged in a race between what is known as the “beer track,” made up of more pragmatic, middle-class voters concerned with pocketbook issues represented by Clinton, and the “wine track,” the more upscale, liberal Democratic class represented by Obama”

So, perhaps surprisingly, the African-American Senator Obama is pulling in the well-to-do, supposedly more sophisticated swathe of the electorate, whilst the ‘establishment’ white woman from Washington is mopping up votes in the rural areas and blue-collar suburbs.

Could Hillary really be just an ‘uptown girl’?!

Fianna Fáil’s record on transport policy

On politics.ie the other day I participated in a debate on transport policy and Fianna Fáil’s record over the past few years. While I’m always one for objective analysis, credit where credit’s due and likewise when the opposite is the case, I do think the government has made strides in this area that are not always acknowledged. Similarly there are a few areas where I would like to see more being done. I detail below the arguments I made.

To start with I don’t think the party/govt have done all that badly in the rail arena over the past couple of years, in the time I’ve been an activist on either front anyhow.

When I got involved in rail campaigns I was aware of Platform11’s then proposal to ‘Extend the Dart’ by creating three new Dart lines linked by underground tunnel. I was a fan of the proposal and exchanged correspondence with the offices of both the Taoiseach and the then Minister for Transport. I also championed the issue at the Killarney Ard Fheis a few years back. Sure enough Transport 21 was announced and the Interconnector was a key component. So good start.

Other developments in my own area include the Kildare Route project which is certainly in progress, and due for completion on target. The Spencer Dock station opened in 2007 for commuters on the Western/Maynooth line which relieved the slot contention in Connolly and allowed commuters more choice travelling into the IFSC. Recently moves have been made to reopen Broadstone station for trains on the Southern/Waterford line which will improve contention at Connolly and again represents a step in the right direction.

Metro North and West are badly needed and whilst there may be debate about the routes, Metro West in particular will open up a huge corridor all along the west city which is not particularly well served at the moment, and also aid connectivity meaning that a commuter from say my part of the world (Kildare line) could hop an Arrow to Clondalkin and in one change board Metro West for the airport. With the Interconnector make a similar change at Stephen’s green or Pearse and head for the Southside DART.

The LUAS has been a success and is hugely popular. More lines are planned and the railway order went out for the citywest line just before Christmas. The Lucan and other additional lines can only be good news for the residents in those areas.

Services such as the hourly Cork-Dublin are welcome additions I think, even though some may label them as expensive playthings, anyone that’s had to make the journey appreciates the service. Significant service frequency improvements are due to occur on most routes over the next 2-3 years.

I am also consider progress on the Western rail corridor a positive development.

The government has pledged huge funding, 31BN in Transport21, the Department plans 4BN spending in 2008 alone. Half of this (1.9BN) is on public transport.

Park and ride facilities could be improved but are starting to emerge and I think a congestion charge will need to be considered for city centre motorists within peak hours once adequate alternatives are in place. I believe we are not that far off and a carrot and stick may have to be applied at some point. London has made great strides since it was introduced and even in Dublin car traffic between the canals has actually lessened in recent years showing public transport is succeeding although it’s a long war.

Although a strong advocate of public transport, I would not at all dismiss the progress on our roads. The M11, M50 and M7 are just three roads I happen to use regulalry and have all seen massive improvement in the last couple of years. The M50 might be in flux at the moment but remember only a few years ago it ended at Dundrum. Now I can drive from Kildare to Wexford without ever leaving motorway. This sort of upgrade is occurring on roads and motorways all over the country. The M1 in particular is a fantastic road now and highly praised by anyone who travels North on a regular basis.

While I am not familiar with the detail, in Cowen’s budget speech he referred to a number of local projects in the Cork (and Waterford?) areas, so it seems commuter services outside Dublin are beginning to gain traction too.

Are there things I don’t like? Well yes of course.

I had understood Meath on Track would occur, or at least get a good start under this administration – I’m not up to speed on the detail but have heard murmurs this may not be happening – I think it is a no brainer but I’m not in the Ministers office and I don’t have the whole picture.

The Kildare route project was initially due to four-track as far as Kildare town to include Sallins/Naas and Newbridge stations along the way and now ends in Hazelhatch. I’m still a little suspicious on this one although I’m told by Irish Rail and by some trainspotters of my acquaintance that four-tracking for the inner commuter loop is all that’s necessary and we will enjoy faster more frequent mainlines once the inner shuttles are out of track contention.

I cannot understand the fact that it takes two hours and five minutes to travel sixty odd miles between Gorey to Conolly whereas similar distances to mid-land and Northern line stations can express it in around the hour.

I would prefer the LUAS not have to contend with cars at red line junctions between Heuston and Connolly although it seems to have settled into a reasonably harmonious rhythm at this stage.

The two Luas lines not being joined funnily doesn’t bother me that much. In London which has a fantastic underground there are lots of connections where you have to switch by bus or on foot over ground. The Interconnector to link Heuston and the DART line is a far bigger deal. But funny noone except transport anoraks (including myself) seemed to care about joining the two city centre rail lines yet the world and its mother was in arms over the Luas lines being so.

Day to day stuff is what irritates me most although I see that as implementation of policy and an operational matter for the provider, i.e. Irish Rail. Our line has really dogged punctuality issues of late, which I might well raise with the Minister next opportunity at least he can direct a boot in the right direction and maybe get someone moving on it. Overcrowding was a problem on our line and chronically on the Maynooth line but that has been addressed significantly on the Maynooth line with 300% capacity increases and to some extent on our line through additional services. It seems we’ve been waiting forever for the new railcars but over 200 of them are on the way and the first ones went into service on the Sligo line just before Christmas. Less trumpeted projects such as the new depot in Portlaois will see a step change in frequencies and services on Southern and Western lines, including Kildare, and will open later this year. Stations all along the line will be upgraded under the route project, ineed the planning notice is up at Sallins station already.

So all in all, as far as I can see, it doesn’t stack up too badly.

Note: More info on these projects available at Irish Rail and Transport21 (detail under ‘projects’ tab).

A modern haunting on the Hill of Allen

Over the holidays I took the opportunity for a much needed breather and spent some quality time just relaxing at home with family. On one of the days I did something I’d meant to do for a while and made a trip to the Hill of Allen to see for myself what was left of the ancient mound.

For those unfamiliar with the story, the Hill of Allen is an ancient site celebrated in Celtic myth and with connections to Fionn Mac Cumhaill and Na Fianna. If my mythology is correct it served as part of a ring of hills around Tara which could all communicate with each other by fire at night lit by druids. On a visit to Lullymore bog centre a few years ago a similar site was pointed out to me, also in the bog of Allen.

An aerial view showing how the hill has been eroded

Unfortunately in modern times the Hill had lost something of its mystique with some of the surrounding lore perhaps fading from public consciousness, in fact the site has been the subject of mass mining and quarrying for the past few decades. In recent years a protest group was established and they have done some good work in raising awareness of the issue and highlighting the Hill and its heritage.

However even now, one side of the hill is almost completely gone and concerns are growing as to the remainder of the structure and the stability of the round tower at its zenith. An ongoing legal battle is underway involving the protest group, the quarry owners and the county council.

As is usually my approach with these matters, and out of simple curiosity, I set about to see for myself just what was the state of play and set off for the hill, kids and dog in tow.

We arrived a little late in the afternoon and first of all had difficulty finding access. There is only one entrance point and that is a bare siding at the edge of the road with room for only one car at a time. It is also not particularly safe being on a bend and on a steep and narrow road.

Undeterred we made our way across the boulders at the entrance (which block access to what would be a perfectly good car park!) and up the winding path that marks the start of the trail. The going is reasonable for the most part and the ascent is not unduly steep although I would recommend allowing enough time and wearing suitable footwear. The path to the summit and the tower is a little offshoot off the main trail and wends its way through quite a bit of dark woodland along the way. As with all these places, it was quite silent apart from the odd animal or bird noise which at least highlights the wildlife still in habitat on the hill. In the dusky twilight of our ascent it all had a rather spooky feel about it, even a little entrapped, which is not helped by the wire fencing at both sides surrounding the final footsteps towards the summit.

Photo taken with camera held over head!

The Round Tower is the central feature at the top of the climb and though one is at a height, the view of the surrounds is largely obscured by the protective netting which separates the public path from the majority quarry land. There is an obvious safety reason as there are some sharp drops but the net result is a countryside more akin to a prison cell.

It is too late to put back the part of the hill which has been excavated to date. But there is much that could be done to prevent further degradation and restore the eminence of this heritage site.

Firstly the access should be improved. The gravel area at the foot of the hill could be opened to the public with safety measures applied at the entrance. The divide between the quarry and the remaining hill could be revisited to enhance the character and provide better access to the views from the top. The natural environment on the remaining hill should become a protected special heritage and nature zone.

Looking in larger terms, the area needs to become less dependent on quarry and rather realise the heritage potential. Provision of a visitor centre could provide an alternate focal point with spin-offs possible in tourism and marketing potential. Rural pubs struggle for business in recent times and there are many picturesque taverns in the vicinity which could serve as hostelries for backpackers, hill walkers or just families on day trips.

Similarly in this specialist age boutique products have huge potential. Developing the Hill as a brand may give a new lease of life to local industry. A range of products all centred around the hillside location. What about woolen knits from sheep grazed on the hill? Hill of Allen whiskey anyone?

But if my children are to repeat the trip with their children, then something has to happen, and soon.

Sallins station car park finally opens

After months of waiting, grating and anticipating the new parking at Naas & Sallins rail station finally opened this week. The facility is part of the overall complex in the Waterways which includes a supermarket and apartments but the underground piece is exclusively for rail users. The old car parks on both sides of the station still exist but will also become pay parking and have been altered somewhat to allow link up with the new facility. Cars now enter the old Naas side and the underground facility via the entrance to the Waterways at the traffic lights. The Sallins entrance and parking remains unchanged although that will also now become chargeable. A net total of 202 extra spaces will be created by the development.

The charge will be 2 EURO a day or better value 5 EURO for a 7-day ticket. Whilst there were some quibbles over this my personal view is that it is not unreasonable. There is a brand new facility provided so it is not just charging for what used be free. Also whilst it is not an option for everyone, the charge may incentivise some to now walk, cycle or feeder bus to station rather than driving.

NASRUG have lobbied on this issue since the start and with the opening of this car park we negotiated an initial waiver of the pay-parking period until the new year to at least get people accustomed to the facility. So until the 31st Dec no charge applies.

With my Fianna Fáil hat on I also sought a form of tax relief on commuter parking. Whilst it was not granted in this budget I understand it will be considered over the next year and may well form part of the taxsaver scheme in future. (Some coverage here although typo on my name)

Many will breathe a sigh of relief that the new facility is finally in operation. Obviously the many motorists who had struggled day in, day out for the past year or two as the old car park creaked at the seams. Similarly the village had begun to suffer the effects of the overspill and parking all around the main street, community centre, canal view, nearby estates was becoming a nightmare for local residents and businesses. Not all due to rail users but it must be acknowledged the station shortage was a major factor. The extra spaces will hopefully encourage more people to use the service which again can only be a good thing. Less cars on the roads to Dublin and more people on the trains.

There is more to be done but this is definitely the right direction. With increased usage comes the need for greater capacity in car parking and greater capacity on trains. Continued investment in public transport is required to bring our service up to speed but I am heartened by the capital spending pledges of the budget. And the promise of Transport21 with all that will bring…

As my home broadband is switching providers this may be my last post of 2007. Seasons greetings and happy new year to all!

NASRUG negotiate extra train in evening gap

NASRUG (Naas and Sallins Rail Users Group) is a commuter lobby group serving the users of Naas and Sallins railway station. A strong advocate of public transport, and a daily commuter to Dublin myself, I have been involved with the group since its inception.

We lobby on a number of matters but primarily on timetable changes, station facilities (parking, shelters, buildings), service levels (punctuality, reliability, announcements), ticketing and fare structures and longer term projects such as Transport 21 and route upgrades.

Looking back over the last few years I would say we have consistently punched above our weight and no less this week.

Platforms at Heuston Station

As in previous years, we received an advance copy of the timetable and whilst it was reasonable overall and included a few sweeteners (such as a later last train at 11pm which we’d always listed as a ‘nice-to-have’), there was one outstanding issue.

This was a gap in the evening service between 18.35 and 20.05 returning from Heuston to Sallins. For many people working a little later than the traditional 9-5 this posed significant problems in getting home. Allowing for the fact that Heuston itself is a bit away from most workplaces, many folk were stranded between these trains until the 20.05 and were stuck getting home at 9pm daily as a result.

Previous years negotiations had seen repeated improvements (we made a lot of breakthroughs in the 07 timetable including an improved evening service and a Sunday service) but this gap was the one remaining ‘black spot’ in the Sallins timetable.

Armed with a flood of protest from the online group I approached our contact in Irish Rail and made him fully aware of the difficulties posed. There were challenges around rolling stock and conflicts with mainline trains, but we kept on the pressure and IR kept with it, and I finally got the good news on Wednesday that we would indeed get an additional train.

From Monday, 10th December, the 18.50 service ex-Heuston will stop in Sallins. It will not be printed in official timetables, being an 11th hour concession, but it will operate.

Credit where credit’s due and Irish Rail took our points on board here. They showed flexibility and a willingness to meet us halfway and I am certainly appreciative.

NASRUG have always had a policy of positive engagement and whilst we can and do get tough when the occasion calls for it, equally we listen to the other side at all times and usually we meet in the middle.

Communications build trust, trust builds communications. It’s certainly worked out this time.

Some thoughts on stamp duty reform

The biggest headline in today’s budget was probably the reform of stamp duty and it seems to have drawn generally favourable reviews. Certainly the estate agents were happy as they expect the market to recover in the new year as a result and stimulate activity in what had been a dead calm for some months.

As always there were critics but one analysis I strongly disagree with – it was suggested the changes will in reality apply to very few.

To assess the veracity of this claim this one has to consider the whole gamut of groupings who are stakeholders in the construction and property industries. To some extent we all are.

A commentator recently had described the tax, under the old regime, as “a tax on hope” and with some justification. All of us in Ireland aspire to home ownership and when we have one we aspire to a bigger one. It is the Irish dream perhaps and there are historical reasons why.

There is nothing wrong with this and it is an ethos fostered strongly from our first pay packet – “rent is dead money” etc.

It is also desirable that the many immigrants to this country in recent years should be in a position to purchase their own homes. Greater levels of home ownership would help to foster integration, stability and confidence in our new composite communities. Again affordability and stability are key to enabling this.

Unfortunately in recent years property prices had spiralled, development quality in many places had fallen below par, stamp duty bands and rate tables had become hopelessly outdated in a meteoric market place with the result that many were paying over the odds for a toy-box townhouse or in many cases not even managing affordability for that..

But like the Tulips, the rise was not sustainable and when it crashed it did so with alacrity.

In every corner of Ireland the pinch was felt, not only by the reluctant would-be purchasers watching the market with confusion and foreboding, but also by the hundreds of thousands of ordinary workers employed in the construction industry. I was down home last weekend and down the pub on Saturday night it seemed a recession was upon us as one by one everyone I met appeared was being laid off, were doing the laying off or were looking around for alternate work before they heard the worst.

So it is not just multi-millionaire property tycoons that have an interest in a buoyant property market – our economy and most importantly many of our people have thrived on it over the last several years and it was the sustenance of many households through the last decade.

All of that appeared in danger of collapse recently. The reform promises to refloat the becalmed boat and in a way that is modest and equitable. Whereas tweaking around the edges may have affected the few, a step change in operation and resuscitation of an industry benefits the many.

Arguments that the reform gives more to the €4M house buyer than the 400K one are simplistic and facetious – the tax is a proportional one and scales up, but like any linear equation the effects of change are higher the bigger the stake in question.

From a revenue point of view the duty has been a huge earner the last couple of years and a stalled market yields no income there. Whether we like it or not that tax goes into the greater pool to pay for health, education, transport and all the other vital services and if it doesn’t come that way it has to come from somewhere else. Whilst prices had veered into the silly money end of the spectrum leading to some particularly bumper revenue windfalls, a more steady but revived market will still provide an income for the exchequer. And on the question of whether the tax should exist in the first place, most economists will tell us if it was abolished in the morning it would soon be absorbed into prices leaving no net change for the buyer and a large loss for the state and subsequently the rest of us.

In conclusion I think we all benefit from an overhaul of the building tax, which leads to a more affordable climate for buyers, stimulated but value-driven growth for the industry, continued employment for that very significant workforce, revival of a vital revenue stream for the state and a return to sanity and equity in every sense of the word.

Something for everyone

Looks like the Minister has managed another crowd pleaser under challenging economic circumstances in his hot off the press 2008 budget..

Something for everyone and enough to go around – generous social welfare increases, increased income tax reliefs, ploughing ahead with capital spending, a review of stamp duty that simplifies and makes the market more equitable, lower earners taken out of tax net, middle earners pitched at standard rate, environmental reforms to VRT and motor taxes and a raft of spending on everything from farm distribution to public transport to fisheries and decomissioning schemes.

Value for money in public services was mentioned more than once in the introduction although little hints emerged later on the detail. Transport gets an extra €2.7BN including the commencement of the Navan rail line and LUAS extensions, numerous bypass and motorway enhancements including M50 upgrade also detailed. Stamp duty reform will amount to a de facto reduction in the tax whilst increased mortgage reliefs will ease the houes buyers burden and presumably help steady the market which will be welcome to all. Liked his comment about arriving at a “better balance between buyer and seller” in other words punters were being treated to daylight robbery not so long ago.

Education, Health and Welfare all receiving increases and together comprising over 80% of current spending, and capital spending there too with almost €100M extra for the schools building program and €700M extra for health capital expenditure.

Another highlight and very welcome is the move to promote electronic finance over the paper variety by reducing duty on laser/credit cards and redressing it by increasing duty on cheques which makes perfect sense and begins the phasing out of what was a inadvisable charge in the first place.

Overall whatever largesse was available the Minister chose to distribute to the most vulnerable through generous welfare increases, pensions, child benefits, childcare supplements, carers allowances, whilst income tax measures are targeted again at low earners and those in the middle bands although all will benefit.

“Modest borrowing and ambitious investment” will ensure no let up in capital spending whilst maintaining a sensible debt ratio.

Once again Fianna Fáil has demonstrated that social justice is a core value whilst displaying economic prudence and ensuring future prosperity.