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Extra.ie
2 days ago
- Politics
- Extra.ie
Dublin City Council cited ‘low usage' to shut €1.4m toilet -- but stopped counting users in 2023
Dublin City Council blamed 'low usage' as the reason for closing a €1.4million public toilet in the capital, but the council hasn't recorded the number of people using the toilet in over a year-and-a-half. The announcement at the start of May that the only public toilets in the city centre would be closed was quickly reversed after backlash from city councillors and the public. Dublin City Council (DCC) had said the toilets, installed near St Stephen's Green shopping centre in June 2020, would be removed due to 'low usage' and were used by 1,500 people per week. However, a FOI request by found DCC stopped recording these figures in September 2023. Dublin City Council blamed 'low usage' as the reason for closing a €1.4million public toilet in the capital, but the council hasn't recorded the number of people using the toilet in over a year-and-a-half. Pic: Rolling News The council stated the number of people entering the toilets was counted by security staff with 'a hand-held device similar to what you might see security staff use at nightclubs', and that data was 'sporadic and limited'. A report given to councillors in April of this year also repeated the '1,500 person per week' statistic without informing the councillors that this was data from two years ago. The report also noted that the 'current operator for this unit is ceasing trading' and DCC did not plan to seek a new operator. South East Inner City councillor Claire Byrne said: 'If misleading figures in terms of usage were presented as a strong argument for shutting the toilets, I think that's really disappointing.' A DCC spokesman said the toilets were installed as a temporary measure during Covid.
New Indian Express
2 days ago
- Business
- New Indian Express
Congress MLC Dinesh Gooligowda writes to CM, urges to pay additional interest rate to NABARD
BENGALURU: Congress MLC Dinesh Gooligowda has written to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy CM DK Shivakumar to pay an additional interest rate of 4.25% to NABARD on behalf of the state Apex Bank, which will then be able to borrow higher amounts from the central agricultural institution. The additional loan will enable the Apex Bank, DCC banks and primary societies to conduct business sustainably and provide necessary services to farmers. Every year, NABARD provides loans to DCC banks through the Apex Bank at low interest rates. DCC Banks provide loans to farmers through primary agricultural cooperative societies in their jurisdiction, Gowda pointed out in his letter. Last year, NABARD provided Rs 5,450 crore loan to the Apex Bank at 4% interest rate. But this time, NABARD has limited the amount that can be borrowed at 4% to Rs 2,700 crore. 'For additional loans, it charges 8.25% interest,'' he stated. These restrictions will lead to capital shortage for the Apex Bank and DCC banks and affect distribution of loans to farmers for the kharif season. This will in turn affect the foodgrain production targets for the year, he wrote.
The Hindu
2 days ago
- Business
- The Hindu
State govt. urged to bear additional interest sought by NABARD from Apex bank to ensure adequate credit facilities for farmers
Dinesh Gooli Gowda, Congress MLC, has urged the State government to bear the additional interest sought by NABARD from Apex bank to ensure adequate credit facilities for farmers. In a letter addressed to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar, Cooperation Minister K.N. Rajanna, and the State Chief Secretary, Mr. Gowda pointed out that NABARD provided ₹5,450 crore loan to the State Apex Bank last year at 4% interest rate, which facilitated the district Apex and District Central Cooperative (DCC) banks to provide loans to farmers. However, this year, NABARD had limited the loan amount to the Apex Bank at 4% interest to ₹2,700 crore. 'Every year, NABARD provides loans to DCC banks through the State Apex Bank at low interest rates. The DCC banks provide loans to farmers through Primary Agricultural Cooperative Societies in their jurisdiction. As a result, farmers can grow food grains without heavy debt burden, improve their living standards and feed our people,' he said. With the State government setting a target of distributing ₹28,000 crore credit to 37 lakh farmers to sow crops in 114.40 lakh hectares during the kharif season, there is a possibility of capital shortage for the State Apex bank and DCC banks for loan distribution in view of NABARD's regulations. As NABARD is ready to provide additional loans as required by the State by levying an interest of 8.25%, which amounts to an additional interest of 4.25%, Mr. Gowda urged the government to bridge the interest difference and ensure timely credit facility for the farmers. 'This year, the State has set a target to produce a total of 160.74 lakh tonnes of grains, including 148.48 lakh tonnes of food grains and 12.26 lakh tonnes of oilseeds. The target is to sow crops in 114.40 lakh hectares during the Kharif season,' he said. Fearing that State's Apex Bank, DCC banks and Primary Agricultural Co-operative Societies may face financial difficulties if they have to pay the additional interest to obtain loans, Mr. Gowda said there is a possibility that the State may not be able to produce the targeted amount of food grains in this financial year if they are unable to provide adequate loans to farmers. With the kharif season already beginning in the State and agricultural activities gaining momentum, Mr. Gowda said the Agriculture Department too has made preparations to distribute the required seeds and fertilizers to the farmers in the State. 'For the Agriculture Department to meet its sowing targets, it is necessary to provide farmers with adequate credit facilities at zero interest rates in a timely manner,' he said. According to the Agriculture Department, the demand for sowing seeds is 5.99 lakh quintals and demand for chemical fertilizers is 26.77 lakh metric tonnes while the sowing target is 114 lakh hectares and food grain production target is 149 lakh tonnes, he said. Mr. Gowda also said several women's self help groups (SHGs) in the State were unable to avail the zero interest rate loan facility up to ₹3 lakh as they have not been registered on the relevant portal and hence paying interest. 'There are strict regulations in portal registration, and I request on behalf of the farming community of the State to simplify them,' he said in the letter.
Otago Daily Times
4 days ago
- Automotive
- Otago Daily Times
Taking the high road
Ever wished you could drive from the north of Dunedin directly to Kaikorai Valley? Peter Dowden explores the highway link that was proposed in the 1970s. Driving into town from the north, everyone believes there is a suburb (Pine Hill) on the left, then a cliff on the right below which Leith Valley nestles. But there is a sizable finger of land reaching right into North Dunedin, with a few decent-sized ''lifestyle'' sections on it. I grew up on one of these. You couldn't get a pizza delivered there because nobody believed the place existed. On my parents' title deed for the land there was a plan, criss-crossed with lines and the words ''designation removed'', indicating some sort of infrastructure had been proposed, then thought better of, which could explain the relative lack of development on this corridor. By chance I recently came across an old Dunedin City Council document, the 1972 City of Dunedin District Scheme. Flipping through the maps I was astonished to see a grey ribbon marking land designated ''street works'' and ''motorway'', connecting Pine Hill with Kaikorai. A large roundabout would have linked it with Balmacewen Rd and it would have joined end-on to Kaikorai Valley Rd, much of which had been widened to four lanes (and since narrowed to two). This road would have ramped down the tall cliff behind the DCC dog pound in Leith Valley, crossed Malvern St at the bend by the (now closed) Leith Valley Touring Park, ploughed up the Ross Creek valley, crossed the Otago Golf Club's Balmacewen course and Kaikorai Rugby Club's Bishopscourt ground, then squeezed between Balmacewen Intermediate School and the Araiteuru Marae through the Shetland St Community Garden, Kaikorai Common, Kaikorai Bowling Club and the Nairn St Reserve football field. The planners would have needed to convince several sporting bodies and many residents of a reasonably well-off part of town to shift out of the way. That's quite a few owners of backyards ready to say ''not in mine''. Perhaps that's why it was never built. • Peter Dowden now lives at the bottom of the Pine Hill cliffs.
Irish Independent
5 days ago
- Business
- Irish Independent
542 new homes and community facilities coming to former St Teresa's Gardens site
Led by the Land Development Agency (LDA), in partnership with Dublin City Council (DCC), the Donore Project will see a 4.3-acre site off Donore Avenue transformed into a mix of cost-rental and social housing. The plans also include a crèche, public parks, community spaces, a café and retail unit, a mobility hub, and a new base for Donore Boxing Club. A municipal sports pitch is also planned following the completion of the residential blocks. The long-awaited development follows years of delays, with the site first earmarked for regeneration in 2005. Earlier proposals were shelved after the financial crash, and progress was further delayed by soil contamination issues. Now, almost two decades later, construction is officially under way, with the first homes expected by early 2027. The scheme includes 233 one-bedroom, 265 two-bedroom and 44 three-bedroom apartments. Of the 542 homes, 389 will be cost-rental units and 153 will be allocated for social housing. At the official launch, Minister for Housing James Browne said he was 'particularly pleased' to see 'such a transformative project' under way in the heart of the city. 'The LDA is the State's affordable housing delivery body and the Government, through Housing for All, has ensured it has the necessary resources to fulfil its remit and to deliver at scale, as it is doing here,' he said. According to the project's May 2025 newsletter, groundwork is progressing rapidly. Foundation and substructure works have begun on several blocks, with three tower cranes being erected on site. Work on Margaret Kennedy Road, which previously formed part of the original St Teresa's Gardens site, has now been completed, with hoarding moved back to the kerb and the road reopened to residents. Project teams say efforts are being made to minimise disruption and schedule deliveries outside peak hours. John Coleman, CEO of the LDA, called the Donore Project a 'flagship development' that will 'create not just new homes, but new liveable, sustainable and integrated communities'. 'This is a major development for the LDA, and I'm pleased to see construction is under way and progressing quickly,' he said. 'We're not just delivering housing, we're creating communities that can cater for the needs of families, older people and renters and make a real difference to the lives of people living and working in Dublin 8.' DCC Chief Executive Richard Shakespeare said the council had engaged extensively with residents and businesses throughout the planning process. 'It's great that our work with the LDA will deliver a high number of affordable and social homes, but I'm also very pleased that we will create new public spaces and recreational areas,' he said. 'I know the local community has been seeking new sports and community facilities, and it's fantastic that we're now in a position to provide a new pitch and a new home for Donore Boxing Club.' Dublin Lord Mayor Emma Blain said she was 'delighted' to see the development get under way. 'This type and level of high-quality housing is much needed, and I'm delighted that it will also deliver new amenities and facilities for the local community,' she added.
