JPD
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The cheek of that copyright yoke how can they claim copyright on designs that are so devoid of any originality?
Nothing only more convenience stores it would seem alright how can the planners give permission for two directly opposite each other where none exist now?
BTW Why is it taking so long for Stack A to open? It looks nearly finished from the outside I can’t undetand it
Interesting images Brian you can almost see the Great Southern Hotel in the background if you think creatively.
I read in todays Irish Times that the Ten Year Capital plan is being held up ‘by the evil economists’ in the Department of Finance well those are Tim O’Briens words in the Irishmans Diary section.
Will the routes be made public or for the Ministers eyes only?
I was on the street today and crossed the road at a new set of traffic lights near the Savoy, it looks like the council are taking more account of the public this time around. That has to be a good thing, how long do people think the works will take?
Cullen would want to cop himself on after the number of mistakes he’s made, no more bluster it is past time to start listening to common sense.
I dunno all the design work is done for the link-up and it wouldn’t need to go back for planning again as a new line would. I thinks that Luas would look great on O’Connell St and Grattan bridge is too narrow to take a luas.
The bridge end of O’connell st has been cleared and the new space that has been stripped out looks perfect for a luas line, does cullen have the balls to run luas across college green and O’connell St?
The RPA are now talking about the Swords Metro, I wonder will they build a metro from Swords to the Airport see the price double and then decide it is too expensive to connect it to the City Centre?
I like the idea of the black poles around the Squares I think that the railings would kill most of the effect and give a good contrast to the signs making them clearer to drivers.
Competence of OPW called into question
From:ireland.com
Tuesday, 21st June, 2005There is an emerging lack of confidence about the ability of the Office of Public Works (OPW) to acquire, manage and dispose of property according to the chairman of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), Michael Noonan.
Mr Noonan was speaking at the launch of a report into, among other issues, the effectiveness of the OPW in managing property deals.
The report says the OPW spent €19 million on five properties to house asylum seekers that were never used.
It criticises the lack of pre-planning or community consultation before purchasing the five properties which are now worth less than was paid for them. One property in Myshall, Co Carlow was purchased for €1.3 million in 2000 and is now worth just €500,000 on the open market.
The OPW was obliged to pay more than the market rate for each of the five properties because of significant local opposition to asylum seekers being housed in the area.
Mr Noonan said the committee was very concerned about the serious waste of taxpayers’ money and stressed the urgency of the OPW getting its “house in order” to avoid the same mistakes being made in the roll-out of the Government’s decentralisation process.
The OPW is charged with buying and selling property under that process.
“Skilled professionals are needed in the OPW to deal with buying and selling property. They need to review their resource base to ensure they have the expertise necessary to undertake complex property transactions. And if not, they need to acquire it quickly – on a contract basis if necessary.”
“It takes exceptional skill to have bought property in this country four years ago and to have made a loss on it,” he added.
Responding to allegations by Tom Parlon, the Minister with responsibility for the OPW, that the PAC was being “unfair” by focusing on one aspect of the its business, Mr Noonan said: “The Parlon defence that because we don’t lose money every week aren’t we great fellows doesn’t work. That isn’t the kind of defence I’d like to go to the High Court on.”
The vice-chairman of the PAC, Mr John McGuinness, said if the OPW were a private company it would be closed down.
“The OPW needs to be dragged into the modern world of property management,” he said.
The report also criticised the OPW for going €23 million over budget on the refurbishment of the new Cork courthouse. It says it failed to take costs for temporary court accommodation into account and said there was a serious loss of taxpayers’ money in the negotiation of the lease at three times the original rent
Call for ‘tourism spatial strategy’
http://www.rte.ie/business/2005/0620/tourism.html
June 20, 2005 13:12
The Irish Tourist Industry Confederation says research it has commissioned shows a fundamental change in the composition and spread of visitors to Ireland over the last five years.The study, which looked at the regional distribution of tourism, shows that while Dublin has increased in popularity, areas outside of the capital have suffered serious losses.
As a result, the ITIC says that a ‘tourism spatial strategy’ is needed to identify the barriers to exploiting potential in the regions.
It is calling for the establishment of a Leisure Tourism Forum under the auspices of Failte Ireland, with representatives from Tourism Ireland, the Regional Tourism Authorities and the industry.
This new body would be charged with developing a new integrated programme to reverse the decline in bednights from tourists, through a national strategy ‘which exploits the complementary potential of tourism to Dublin and the rest of the country’.
The Irish Tourist Industry Confederation says it wants a more focussed marketing campaign to attract car ferry and coach tour passengers. It also wants improvements to the transport system, more access for walkers and restriction on drift netting.
The research shows that the number of nights spent by holidaymakers outside the capital in 2003 was 2.7 million fewer than in 1999 – a 14% drop in demand in four years. Dublin, during the same period, attracted almost two million more bednights. Increases were reported also in the South East and Midlands East regions – 16% and 3% respectively.
The net result was a decline of 3% overall in the number of bednights by overseas holidaymakers to Ireland, despite the fact that overall numbers of visitors increased. The ITIC says this shows the impact of the trend towards shorter trips.
The report argues that Ireland has lost its positioning in key segments of the British and European markets – with two million fewer bednights spent by British visitors in the western regions. It says the loss in visitors to rural Ireland is due to the changing profile of visitors attracted from Britain, and a sharp fall-off in activity holidays from Britain, especially following the foot and mouth scare in 2001.
The ITIC says the growth in Dublin highlights that Ireland is now attracting two distinct markets – those attracted to short breaks in Dublin and urban centres, and visitors motivated by the traditional appeals of scenery and people. It adds that this is a reflection of fundamental changes in the international pattern of holidaymaking.
The number of buses on O’Connell St has always been excessive its just like the route always went that way so it better not be changed. Dublin Bus has never had so many buses, I think they need to look at some routes.
