Latest news with #FingalCountyCouncil
Dublin Live
3 days ago
- Business
- Dublin Live
New Dublin Airport plane viewing facility given green light
Our community members are treated to special offers, promotions and adverts from us and our partners. You can check out at any time. More info Planning permission to to build improved viewing facilities for the public to watch planes take off and land at Dublin Airport has been granted by Fingal County Council. The approval comes after daa recently provided Fingal County Council with additional information regarding a proposal submitted last year to significantly enhance the site of the current informal airport viewing point on Old Airport Road, locally known as "The Mound". When complete, the facility will provide a comfortable, dry and safe space for the community to view aircraft movements, with a clear view of the south runway (10R/28L) and the cross-wind runway (16/34) at Dublin Airport. The site is fully owned by Dublin Airport and daa will pay for the construction of the free-to-access facility as part of its ongoing commitment to supporting and working with the local community. The proposal will see the existing muddy grass mound and the adjacent informal parking area replaced with a dedicated car park. This will include spaces for people with reduced mobility and families, bike parking, and an elevated covered platform with seating. The facility will be fully-lit, with power provided by solar panels located on the site. Gary McLean, Managing Director of Dublin Airport, said: "This news will be cheered by locals, families and aviation enthusiasts all around the Dublin region. The public reaction to our proposal, which we'll pay for, has been incredibly positive and people really want it. This location has been an informal 'plane-spotting' area over the past 40 years and we think it's time to put a more formal facility in place. It's a rite of passage for kids in Dublin to be taken to 'The Mound' to watch the planes landing and taking off at the airport. This new facility will make it safer and more enjoyable for users and we think it's a facility that the local community will really enjoy. "Aircraft observation facilities are a feature of airports around the world, and we want to get on and build this as soon as possible. We look forward to working with the planning authority to deliver this much-wanted public amenity which will be used by locals young and old for decades to come. daa will now begin the process of identifying a contractor to bring our new facility to life and will provide an update on timelines very soon.' Join our Dublin Live breaking news service on WhatsApp. Click this link to receive your daily dose of Dublin Live content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice. For all the latest news from Dublin and surrounding areas visit our homepage.
Irish Independent
5 days ago
- Politics
- Irish Independent
Meath councillor calls for ban on ‘barbaric' fox hunting
Councillor Alan Lawes, who travelled to the Dáil this week to support a bill that would outlaw fox hunting in Ireland, said public opinion is shifting — even in areas where the tradition was once accepted. 'No tradition should involve causing pain and suffering to an animal,' he said. The bill, introduced by People Before Profit-Solidarity TD Ruth Coppinger, seeks to amend the Animal Health and Welfare Act 2013 to state explicitly that 'fox hunting and related practices are banned and therefore cannot be considered as lawful hunting.' Mr Lawes added: 'It's a cruel and barbaric practice; it's a left-over from colonial times and now most people don't want to see fox hunting continue. We want it banned.' 'England has had the ban in for a couple of years and we need to do the same. This practice has no place in the 21st century.' He also confirmed plans to propose a local motion, following the example of Fingal County Council, which recently adopted a measure prohibiting hunting on council-owned land. 'There was a motion passed in Fingal to ban hunting on council land, and I'll be bringing a similar motion before Meath County Council,' he said. A Red C poll found that 77pc of the population wants fox hunting banned, including 74pc in rural areas. The Leas-Cathaoirleach of the Navan district added that not everybody in the farming or rural community supports fox hunting.
Business Mayor
24-05-2025
- Business
- Business Mayor
Smooth ride for Glenveagh as Minister confronts housing crisis
Foam stress balls shaped like hard hats branded with the Glenveagh logo were among the handful of goodies on offer to attendees of the Dublin-listed home builder's annual general meeting in the Westbury Hotel, Dublin, this week. Not that the shareholders and executives present on the day needed them. Why would they? Before the meeting, Glenveagh announced the expansion of its share buyback programme for the second time this year, from €65 million to €85 million. The company reiterated guidance for full-year earnings and said it plans to deliver some 2,600 homes this year, up from 2,415 in 2024, which was a 77 per cent jump from the previous year. [ Has Fingal County Council found a solution to our housing crisis? ] Outside the confines of the plush Dublin 2 hotel, a housing crisis is raging and patience with the Government's glacial pace of progress on the issue is wearing thin if it has not evaporated. Public and political frustration has boiled over in the early months of the new Coalition, exploding into furore over newly minted Fianna Fáil Minister for Housing James Browne's handling of the housing 'tsar' debacle. Reassured, perhaps, by Glenveagh's share price performance over the past 18 months, chief executive Stephen Garvey cut a sanguine figure when asked about Browne's travails. 'I do definitely think the Minister is getting a rough time,' he told a media scrum after the meeting on Thursday. 'The Minister is, what, four months in the brief? I'm 20-odd years [in the industry] and I'm still learning what's involved in housing.' [ Top finance official raises risks to public finances from surge in housing body deals ] But the Government parties – particularly Fine Gael, which has been in office for most of the past two decades – have had plenty of time to get their arms around the crisis. At a glance, the Coalition's response appears to be more of the same plus a new quango or two. That might wash with the wider industry. Politically, however, a rocky road lies ahead for Browne and whoever is named to the top job in the Coalition's new housing agency. Meanwhile, it looks like there is plenty of profit to be made and value to be achieved for shareholders in the homebuilding sector.
The Irish Sun
23-05-2025
- Sport
- The Irish Sun
Killian Phillips shows popular FAI schools course can be template for League of Ireland academies among funding push
NEW Ireland call-up Killian Phillips visited his alma mater as a guest of honour on Monday night. The Football and Fitness Courses for Boys and Girls run by Fingal County Council and the 2 Killian Phillips received his first senior Ireland call-up for the friendlies against Senegal and Luxembourg Credit: Brendan Moran/Sportsfile 2 He and Andrew Moran both came through the TY Football and Fitness Course Credit: Seb Daly/Sportsfile Started in 2016 as a one-year pilot scheme for boys, it is now in its ninth year, with a girls' course added following the It is a proven success as the numbers speak for themselves. In the nine years, of around 225 boys, there are 66 underage internationals, of which 37 made their Ireland debuts after joining the course. If Phillips makes his international bow against next month, he would join Read More on FAI Those three are among the 12 past pupils on professional contracts abroad. In addition, 38 are students are still in school though 16 Ireland internationals and five debuts speak volumes for its early success. When the course started, England . Course director Denis Hyland was involved in developing the programme and got the support of Fingal County Council, which took a punt that has paid off. Most read in Football I attended the graduation ceremony in 2021 when guest of honour Out of personal choice, O'Shea did not move to Manchester United until after his Leaving Cert but acknowledged he was then physically behind his peers at Heimir Hallgrimsson gives first call-up to four Ireland players in squad for friendlies vs Senegal and Luxembourg But those on the course get both education and full-time training which O'Shea admitted would have helped him — and likely helped Omobamidele and Moran. Yet the course has more than just success stories on the field. As O'Shea referenced during his talk in 2021, not everyone can be a professional and there are other jobs in the wider football industry — an industry the FAI want to grow. Given that 75 of the boys are either just out of transition year or still of Leaving Cert age, there are around 150 alumni who would be in that category. And the numbers are staggering. As well as those 50 in League of Ireland first teams and abroad on pro deals, 43 are in third-level education and 21 are on US scholarships. There is a 94 per cent attendance record on the course — a headline figure in a week when the Minister of Education has spoken about alarming school absenteeism numbers. Several League of Ireland clubs have TY courses or established links with schools so promising players' educational and football needs are balanced. The push for funding for League of Ireland academies continues, with the FAI now conducting an audit. The signs are the Government is receptive. Up until now, more time has been spent talking about the checks and balances of where funding would go rather than why it is needed. But when it comes to doubts about the success of academy models , there is effectively a nine-year pilot programme in Dublin 15 that proves they can work .
Irish Post
20-05-2025
- General
- Irish Post
Dublin Airport operator donates eight-hectare wildlife sanctuary to the public
THE operator of Dublin Airport has donated eight hectares of land it owns to the local authority to provide public access to the wildlife sanctuary. Daa, which operates both Dublin and Cork Airports, gifted the land in Kilsallaghan in North County Dublin to Fingal County Council for the nominal cost of €10. The firm had previously purchased the land at market value, they confirmed in a statement, as they announced the donation at the start of Biodiversity Week, which runs from May 16 to 25. 'We are delighted to gift the compensatory habitat at Kilsallaghan to the people of Fingal,' Andrea Carroll, Group Director of Sustainability at daa, said. daa has gifted the eight-hectare wildlife sanctuary to the public 'This initiative underscores our dedication to supporting biodiversity, nature regeneration, and fostering the connection between community and the natural environment.' This site is located at Thornton, near Coolquay, approximately six kilometres northwest of Dublin Airport. Daa was required to remove 15.8km of hedgerow at the site and develop the area to support a variety of native flora and fauna, under conditions imposed when it was granted permission for its North Runway project. Up until now the compensatory landscape, which has since been effectively rewilded, was not open to the general public. Now, following daa's donation, Fingal County Council will provide managed and supervised access to the site by arrangement - mainly for educational purposes, to 'ensure the ecological value of the habitat is not compromised'. The habitat is made up two-thirds woodland and one-third native grassland, while a specially constructed bat roost has been installed to encourage the bat population. 'Fingal has a rich and varied biodiversity and one of the challenges for the Council is to manage the development and growth of Fingal in a way that maintains and enhances our biodiversity for future generations,' Kevin Halpenny, Senior Parks and Landscape Officer with Fingal County Council, said. 'This compensatory habitat, which replaces 15.8km of hedgerow, is a good example of how we can align the protection of our biodiversity with development.' Áine Kirrane, daa's Group Environmental Manager, explained the collaborative efforts involved in developing the habitat. "This project has been a collaborative effort involving various departments and local stakeholders, especially Fingal County Council,' she said. 'We are proud to see it come to fruition and to offer this valuable resource to the community.' See More: DAA, Dublin Airport, Fingal, Kilsallaghan, Wildlife Sanctuary
