Skatepark At Carrigaline For Children Aged 10 And Over
‘Some younger kids are blown out of it by older ones’ said Cllr Jack White (FG) at the recent meeting of the county council’s Carrigaline Municipal District (MD) when requesting extra signage at the popular skatepark in Carrigaline so as to make parents and children aware of younger and vulnerable users.
‘There is signage at the skatepark but it is currently covered in graffiti. The sign will be cleaned which will make it more visible. I should point out that the sign does advise that users of the skatepark should be aged ten or over’, replied MD officer Denise Kidney, adding that it had been cleaned before.
Cllr Una McCarthy (FG) spoke in support of Cllr White adding that it was important parents and guardians knew what they were letting themselves in for when children went into the skatepark.
The MD officer, in her monthly report, said works in Carrigaline Community Park under the Ukraine Community Recognition Fund 2023 worth €25,000 were completed. The money was utilised by Tidy Towns towards sensory planting and other improvements as part of a new landscaping plan for the park.
Cllr McCarthy paid tribute to council staff, some of whom worked waist deep in flood water clearing drains the day after the recent storm in Passage West as well as in other parts of the MD. Other councillors concurred.
Returning thanks on behalf of the staff, senior executive engineer Madeleine Healy said these were very tough days for council staff during and after Storm Babet in mid-October, some of whom were out for nearly 36 hours, which was a phenomenal response. She also praised Cllr Marcia D’Alton (Ind) who helped deliver sandbags.
Litter bins
In a discussion about the emptying of bins in the MD, councillors enquired why the service had reduced from seven days a week since October.
While accepting the concern expressed, the engineer explained that that the area office literally had no longer had available funding nor a safety net due to exceptional demands from storm flooding etc and the high cost of a bin service at weekends when it would be at overtime rates.
There was no collection for one weekend only recently but it had since become a six days a week service for all streets, parks, beaches and walkways that had bins and this would be the case until the end of the year because the MD simply couldn’t afford a seven days service.
She added that even a six day service would have an impact, such as the cost of hiring a mechanical sweeper. Councillors thanked and acknowledged the explanation given by Ms Healy. It was agreed the matter should be further examined and raised with senior management in the council as part of the bigger issue of budgets for MDs. It was also agreed that the weekend collection day should be Sunday.
The engineer subsequently confirmed to The Carrigdhoun that the seven days a week (i.e. weekdays only) ceased on the week commencing Monday November 7th. It was reintroduced to six days on the week commencing Monday 14th. It was the intention, if resources were available, to continue with the six day collection for the rest of the year
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