Talking to by friend Fergus Finlay today, he was very angry about the state of the country. The consequences for Bernardos and the Children they serve are very severe. He will have to crushing task of making people redundant for lack of funding.
Launch of the the security cameras in Ballymun which have gone live. These will heighten the security of the people and should prevent crime.
I am in favour of increasing our relations with China. Getting closer to Bejing is part of that. Chinese language in schools is another step we should pursue.
‘I am writing to you in relation to a motion which has been submitted by
Councillor Louise Minihan in opposition to a British state visit by the
‘British Queen’ to the twenty six counties. I am totally opposed to such a visit and am calling on you support the motion when it comes up for debate and vote. I trust that you will publicly support both the motion and the sentiment contained within it.’
The actions of Dublin City Council in setting in train the Compulsory
Purchase Order for about 1.7 sq km to allow Liffey water be used for a
cooling system at the Waste to Energy 600,000 tonne capacity Incinerator in
Poolbeg are necessary to protect the public interest. I unequivocally
support the manager’s actions and would have taken this action earlier if I
was an elected mayor of Dublin. Minister Gormley has at most about about 22
months in office. Any new minister can reverse financial impediments
introduced to impede the effective use of incineration. Land fills are a
no-no. Irrespective of party considerations, this move by Dublin City Council is correct and not before time. It will protect the taxpayer from pain from government-inflicted EU fines. Let’s get on with the construction as fast as possible. So no tardiness please from the Bord Pleanala process.
Live Register = number of persons signing on for certain welfare benefits = seeking unemployment benefit or assistance + signing to preserve social welfare benefits
In July 2010, 440,000(94% sought unemployment benefit or assistance
26,000 (6%) were signing to preserve benefits
Total = 466,000
Cancelled operations up 10% to 18,000 in 2009
This is not surprising. The population gets older. The number of surgical
beds shrinks and the speed of turnover increases, the effects on case
cancellations will multiply. There is also the unresolved problem of A&E
trolley occupants having priority over elective admissions virtually
irrespective of the reason for elective surgery. Probably, the only way to
deal with this problem in the short-term is to have whole secondary and
tertiary care hospitals with no A&E service.
Site for new children’s hospital
Madam, – A modern children’s hospital needs a large 40-60 bed
intensive care unit, a highly efficient day care unit which might turn over patients two or even three times a day and a nearby basic hotel. Oncology and cystic fibrosis need separate units because of infection issues. All Dublin surveys omit the vital factor of a basic hotel, “Holiday Inn” standard, on site.
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To-night I received the following pithy message on Facebook.
“speed cameras on the quays mostly at night,catching people with this 30kph bullshit.”
As you all know, I am opposed to this entirely. I have a motion down on the City Council agenda to bin the January changes except for the gap between Capel St and O’Connell Bridge on the quays. That is as much as I think that Labour will vote for. Any of you who get tickets for speeding at 25 mph – look to the sky and think of Montague and Labour.
I will lead the Coalition for Common Sense. I had hoped the Gardai were on board but maybe that is too much to hope for.
On the issue of Smithfield Horse Fair, I wrote a satirical reply on August
7th in response to some of the lobbying earlier. There have been many other e-mails on the subject. Most follow a pattern. These fall into two
categories. Reasonable or strident. I have posted two. You can judge for yourself. Some people don’t like satire. Come back Jonathan Swift, the Lilliputians are on the march.