Health Service Administrators – Careful FG/Lab

The London Times published an essay on administrators and their
prolikeration with markets in gthe NHS.

April 30, 2010

Scalpel! This NHS red tape needs removing The internal market has been a
costly disaster. Let the professionals manage medicine Jonathan Waxman

It’s election time, apparently, and our glorious political classes are
marching forward on the massed ranks of the electorate with banners that
claim that their party, only their party, will save the NHS. Politicians
clamour to praise its world-class status and laud the dedication of nurses
and the skill of its doctors. And all parties are united in the view that,
despite the need for austerity measures, frontline staff and services will
not be cut. So where are the savings planned? Watch the hand and not the
mouth.

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NRA – M50

30kmph speed limit: The other side campaign

Dear Councillor,

I don’t know how you voted on the introduction of the 30kmph speed limit but congratulations to the council for having the guts to introduce it.

I was sceptical that it would make any difference but I was in town this evening at rush hour and I’m very impressed. I was watching the traffic from the blood donor clinic on D’Olier St. and could see that it was moving smoothly at a decent enough speed. Later when I was down among it, it was a strangely relaxed experience. I got from A to B in more or less the same time, just without the usual stress and heart palpitations.

The criticism of it was ridiculous, childish stuff. I really think that given a few weeks everyone will have gotten used to it and most drivers won’t regret leaving the old mania of Dublin driving behind.

I hope you’ll continue to support it when it comes up for review.

Kind regards,

Taxi Driver’s Unsolicited Approval on 30kph madness

Greetings Bill

I applaud you in your stance against this 30kph madness in the city centre, it must and shall be removed.  As a Taxi driver, I`m getting abuse from customers who want me to “speed up” around this 30kph area which of course would get me two penalty points and an 80 euro fine.  Compare this to the case about a week and a half ago in Blanchardstown court where an Asian man alleged to be trying to get married to a lativan girl in an EU passport scam was found guilty of having two forged passports one Italian and one Hungarian I believe. He was found guilty and got a 250 euro fine and walked free! Yet if you go down the quays at 22mph you get an 80 euro fine and two penalty points!!

I applaud your stance also in the council chambers the other night and it reminded me of the Clarence Hotel many moons ago during a KRAM meeting when you compared the players not going on strike and forcing the issue to how nazis Germany started.  Interestingly enough your share issue plan that night came to fruition many years later to save the Hoops and secure a move to Tallaght.

Driving so slow will cause accidents as you literally have to have your eyes on the speedometer not the road.

The likes of montague have come up with figures over the past ten years or so pedestrians killed in Dublin etc. There are many holes in this argument as the HGV ban was not in place then and most were cycists killed by them and other freak incidents are included like the Wellington Quay bus incident which killed a few people.

Lets get rid of this 30kph nanny state rubbish.

Yours sincerely

Coalition for Common Sense

Vindication from the Leader of the Labour Party Eamonn Gilmore on 4th February is a pleasant surprise for Bill Tormey and those councillors trying to bring common sense to Dublin civic government.  We hope that his intervention will enable Labour councillors to join the “Coalition for Common Sense” at City Hall in March and reverse the 30 kpm core speed limit fiasco. Mr Gilmore echoes Councillor Bill Tormey’s opinions on the subject and issues a kick in the ankles to his own players who have lost touch with practicality. Hopefully, sentiment on the council will see this issue confined to history with minimum fuss on 1st March.

IRELAND – a financial nightmare

When the Republic’s exchequer borrowing requirement of €18.8 billion is added to the £16 billion annual net transfer from London to the 6 counties of Northern Ireland, the potential catastrophy of the withdrawal of foreign support is frightening. 32% of the workforce in Northern Ireland is in the public sector.The UK budget deficit of 13% of GDP is a prime target for cutting, the only question is when? It will start later this year and both Labour and the Tories agree that the cuts will be severe as they will have to be for the British to retain their AAA rating by the agencies.

Supernationaisits should be asked how is this financial problem gling to be tackled in their dreams of independence. Living beyond your means limits options. Not a good thing.

Kerb Stone Granite

Question to City Manager – City Council Meeting 01/02/2010

Q4. COUNCILLOR BILL TORMEY

An Taisce and Dublin City Association have lobbied to get historic Dublin or Wicklow granite kerbing for the east side of Temple Lane Dublin 2 from Cecelia Street to the Temple Bar pub to replace the Chinese white granite which has recently been used on the basis that this will better preserve and enhance the character of the street and area. This would better accord with the stricture in the 2005 – 2011 Dublin City Development Plan which lists paved areas and streets with Granite kerbing “to be retained and restored and included in the City Council’s programme for Restoration. The Engineering Department has maintained that there is no more Wicklow or Dublin yellow granite in Marrowbone Lane or Glasnevin to use for this purpose. Where has the historic granite removed from O’Connell Street, St Stephens Green, Luas works at Harcourt St, Chancery St, Abbey St, Talbot St, Grattan Bridge gone? Is it possible to get historic Dublin granite for Temple Lane?

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Unemployment in Finglas

In November 2009 Unemployment live register numbers were

Navan Road – Total 6,250 of which 727 and 458 were respectively males and females under 25 years

Finglas – Total 5,766 of which 853 and 424 were respectively males and females under 25 years.

In Finglas and Cabra, there are significant cohorts of young people who have never been in the work force.

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YOU HAVE 7 DAYS TO COLLECT YOUR HORSE FROM THE POUND

Control of Horses Bye Laws 1999

“If the owner or keeper of the horse shall fail to make himself known to the Council or cannot be found within a period of 14 days from the date of seizure and detent, the council may dispose of the horse in accordance withy these Bye Laws and the Act.”

The Council Management wanted to reduce this to 5 days but Bill Tormey proposed that this be seven days and this was overwhelmingly agreed by councillors at the meeting of 1st February 2010. Councillor Dessie Ellis outlined the success of the horse passport scheme and the ear tagging of horses by the DSPCA in the Finglas area and all Ballymun Finglas councillors voted in favour of this change.

Bill Tormey has supported the Finglas Horse and Pony club in negotiations with the City Council as has Councillor Dessie Ellis and former Councillor Liam Kelly. The horse situation in Finglas has improved but over the recent cold spell, there were distressed horses in the Dunsink Lane and Scribblestown area. This is very disturbing and makes the implementation of the stabling issue very urgent.

Dublin Fine Gael on the 30 kph speed limit in the City Centre core.

Following a detailed discussion on this issue, the elected councillors resolved to send out the following statement: – “Fine Gael on Dublin City Council understands the public abreaction to the introduction of a city centre 30 kph speed limit zone around the clock. While Fine Gael is supportive of the pedestrianisation policy for the core city centre, we feel that this speed limit should be restricted from 7 am to 7 pm.

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