Mannix Flynn

Independent Councillor, Dublin City Council. Writer, Artist, Performer

Mannix Flynn

Tag Archives: Dublin City Council

Should Local Property Tax be varied?

Posted on by
Reply

Please see attached press release from Dublin City Council.  

Click link below if you are interested in doing the survey.  

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Public asked if Local Property Tax rate should be varied in Dublin city

Dublin City Council has invited submissions from the public and interested parties on whether they think the Local Property Tax (LPT) should be varied in Dublin city.

Section 20 of the Finance (Local Property Tax) Act 2012 allows the Elected Members of Dublin City Council to vary the LPT rate by plus or minus 15 per cent. The council must ask the public for their views on this and take these views into account before making a decision.

Anyone who wishes to take part in the public consultation process can take the user-friendly online survey from Monday 31st July to 4.30pm on Wednesday 30th August at the following https://consultation.dublincity.ie/

Kathy Quinn, Head of Finance with Dublin City Council, says “Local Authorities can vary the LPT. Revenue from this tax supports local services such as parks, libraries and street cleaning that Dublin City Council provides. Any decision to vary this is very important so we are asking the public for their views. These views will inform whatever decision is taken.”

All submissions received will inform a Chief Executive’s report which Dublin City Council will present to the Elected Members on Tuesday 19th September 2017. Should the Elected Members decide to vary the rate, Dublin City Council must inform the Department of the Housing, Community, Planning and Local Government and the Office of The Revenue Commissioners by 30th September 2017. Any variation which may be made would apply from 1st January 2018.

To view FAQs see: https://consultation.dublincity.ie/

Cllr’s on board of BID support private quango

Posted on by
Reply

street cleaningCllr Lacey (Labour) and Cllr Nial Ring (Independent) have come out in support of the privitisation of street cleaning services in defiance of SIPTU, Trade Union, Shop stewards and DCC waste management workers. Both Cllrs are on the Board of the ‘BID/We are Dublin Town’ a private Company and a Quango which has basically been engaged in misinformation and scaremongering in the face of many businesses who wish to end their involvement with this quango.

(See statement here:

http://www.wearedublintown.ie/2017/07/cllrs-reaffirm-council-no-budget-dublintown-cleaning-service/

 

This is the letter, below, that SIPTU issued to Owen Keegan (CEO Dublin City Council) and also to all street cleaning workers on July 10th.

I find it difficult to understand how Cllr Lacey and Cllr Nial Ring who profess to be ardent trade unionists, indeed Cllr Lacey is a member of the ‘Labour party’, can come out against the Dublin City Council workers and Trade union members who have great concerns about losing their jobs to private companies like ‘BID/Dublintown”.

These double standards need to be exposed irrespective of the outcome of Monday’s vote on the BID/Dublintown.

It really is unprecedented that Cllr Lacey and Cllr Ring would issue such a contemptuous disregarding press statement in support of a private company.  A true slap in the face to the DCC workers they are elected to protect!

We all know what happened and what is still happening as a result of privatizing, general waste and the bins.

Let’s keep it Council.

page 1 SIPTU

Letter sent by SIPTU officials to City Manager, Owen Keegan with the concerns their workers have in relation to BID

 

page 2 SIPTU

Letter sent by SIPTU officials to City Manager, Owen Keegan with the concerns their workers have in relation to BID

 

DCC response to missing BID Ballots

Posted on by
Reply

If your business has not received a ballot paper for the BID/Dublintown plebiscite please see instructions below from Dublin City Council on how to have your ballot reissued.

www.notobidcampaign.com

Subject: Ballot Question

Dear Cllr Flynn

 

All 3001 Ballots were posted on the 20th of April to the Billing Addresses of the Ratepayers.  A small no of Ballots were returned to us as An Post could not deliver to the address listed with the Rates Office.  The Rates Office hand delivered these returned ballots  when possible to the billing address of the ratepayers concerned.  As you know in many cases the billing address is different than the rateable property.   Other times the Ballots were delivered correctly but went elsewhere within the companies concerned or a change of billing address had not been notified to the Rates Office.

 

Please ask Mr. or _  and any other eligible ratepayer who has an issue with a ballot to contact us directly at bids@dublincity.ie if he has not received his Ballot and we will either confirm the billing address on file so that the Ballot can be retrieved or issue a duplicate ballot.  Mr will confirm that the Ballots were delivered correctly to his billing address.

 

The process for the issuing of a duplicate ballot if the ratepayer can confirm non-delivery is as follows:

 

  • A signed letter from the ratepayer on Business Paper (or other business documentation) stating that ballot papers have not been received for the properties in question and requesting a Duplicate Ballot.
  • On receipt of this letter which can be posted, hand delivered to the Chief Executive’s Department or scanned and emailed to bids@dublincity.ie , a duplicate ballot will be issued.
  • The Duplicate must be collected from the Chief Executive’s Department Block 4, Floor 4 Civic Offices, Wood Quay, Dublin 8.
  • Once a Duplicate Ballot is issued the original Ballot paper becomes invalid and will not be counted if returned.
  • Please state in the letter who is authorized to collect the Ballot. That individual should have photo ID

 

 

We will only deal with the ratepayer themselves on any inquiry regarding their ballot.

 

Regards

 

Deirdre Ní Raghallaigh

 

Senior Executive Officer / Oifigeach Feidhmiúcháin Sinsearach

  1. 01 222 6738 M: 0868150582  E.Deirdre.niraghallaigh@dublincity.ie

 

Chief Executive’s Office, Civic Offices, Wood Quay, D.8

Oifig an Phríomhfheidhmeannaigh, Oifig na Cathrach, An Ché Adhmaid, BÁC 8

ATTENTION all BID voters

Posted on by
Reply

www.notobidcampaign.com

Please see press release below from Paul Allen PR in relation to the BID/Dublintown plebiscite on July 17th.

We are involved with the Dublin City businesses who are campaigning against the Dublin Business Improvement District (operating currently as Dublin Town).

There is a vote among the businesses in the district on the 17th July.

This is a vitally Important issue for around 3,000 businesses in Dublin City Centre.

If you need any further information, please do not hesitate to get in touch.

Many Thanks,

Paul.

Press Release

 Wednesday 5th July 2017

Missing Ballot Papers and Complete Confusion Ahead of Vital Dublin City Vote

The No to BID Campaign group businesses has today (Wednesday, July 5th) called on Dublin City Council CEO Owen Keegan to take action and investigate the status of lost and missing ballot papers ahead of the vote on the future of the Dublin Business Improvement District (trading as DublinTown).

The No to BID Campaign has received dozens of complaints from businesses in the District that they have not yet received ballot papers for the vote on July 17th.

Commenting on this, No to BID Campaign spokesperson Kim Condon said; ‘’we are now in the 11th hour of this campaign and all we have been hearing from many businesses is that they have not yet received ballot papers. They were supposed to have received them last week and have been continuously requesting them from Dublin City Council. We have also been notified that Dublin BID representatives have been approaching businesses asking to collect their ballot papers. This is totally unacceptable and the No to BID Campaign is calling on Mr Keegan to investigate this situation immediately.’’

The No to BID Campaign has been gathering momentum, with the Restaurants Association of Ireland, the Irish Hotels Federation, the Convenience Stores and Newsagents Association and the Irish Hairdressers Federation all declaring their support for the No side in recent days. The Licensed Vintners Association and the Dublin Chamber of Commerce are staying neutral on the issue, but many of their leading members have also declared their support for a No vote.

Dublin BID (operated by DublinTown) is a company which was set up in 2008 following a vote of Dublin city centre businesses. It is charged with improving Dublin City as a commercial district. Businesses in the district pay a compulsory levy of 5% of their commercial rates. DublinTown is renewed every five years by a vote of businesses in the district. The vote this year is overshadowed by a groundswell of anger and mistrust from businesses over a proposed 34% increase to the levy and highly-contested footfall figures.

ENDS.

Notes to the Editor:

Please Note:

Kim Condon is available for interview.

For more information please contact:

Paul Allen                                                                 Rory Sweeney

Paul Allen & Associates                                         Paul Allen & Associates

18 Fitzwilliam Square, Dublin 2                            18 Fitzwilliam Square, Dublin 2

01 676 9575 / 087 257 5700                                       01 676 9575 / 086 897 6442

 

‘No to BID’ campaign invites ‘DublinTown’ to a Public Debate

Posted on by
Reply

PRESS RELEASE

Monday July 2nd  2017

Traders demand true facts to emerge on finances and footfall figures
The campaign seeking to disband DublinTown (formerly Dublin BID), the company set up by Dublin city centre businesses, has today (Sunday 2nd July) invited a representative of DublinTown to a public debate at Dublin City Hall ahead of the plebiscite vote to disband DublinTown on Friday, 17th July. The No to BID campaign will extend an invitation to all traders affected by the DublinTown levy to attend the debate event.

Commenting on this, spokesperson for the No to BID campaign, Kim Condon said ’’We propose that the debate be held on Wednesday 12th July at Dublin City Hall. It will be an important opportunity for both sides to engage in proper debate about how effective DublinTown has been and why it should be disbanded. It is also a chance for DublinTown to answer important questions about how they have spent the money they collected from Dublin businesses and serious concerns about the footfall figures.’’

Ms Condon went on to say; ‘’This is a critical time for Dublin city. It is essential that the truth emerges as there are high levels of misinformation and fakery of facts on the campaign. We feel that this is a huge vote for the future of Dublin city and it is imperative that the public get a chance to hear both sides of the campaign. We urge all traders to vote No.’’
​
DublinTown (formerly Dublin BID) is a company which was set up in 2008 following a vote of Dublin city centre businesses. It is charged with improving Dublin City as a commercial district. Businesses in the district pay a compulsory levy of 5% of their commercial rates. DublinTown is renewed every five years by a vote of businesses in the district. The vote this year is overshadowed by a groundswell of anger and mistrust from businesses over a proposed 34% increase to the levy and highly-contested footfall figures.

The No to BID group comprises of over 800 businesses in Dublin City centre, illustrating a diversity of business interests dedicated to shutting down the DublinTown operation.

Chart traffic dublin png

 

 

No to BID Campaign Welcomes Major New Support from Industry Associations

Posted on by
Reply

Press Release

4th July 2017

No to BID Campaign Welcomes Major New Support from Industry Associations

The No to BID Campaign, who are seeking to disband Dublin Town (formerly Dublin BID) at a vote on 14th July, have today welcomed major new support from industry associations including the Irish Hotels Federation, the Restaurants Association of Ireland, the Convenience Stores and Newsagents Association and the Hairdressers Association of Ireland. Alongside this, leading members of the Dublin Chamber of Commerce and the Licensed Vintners Association have also joined the campaign.

Spokesperson for the No to BID Campaign Kim Condon said; ‘’We are delighted to have the support of these trade associations, and this support highlights the huge amount of support we have been receiving from Dublin City Centre businesses over the last several months. We have been out canvassing support and there is hardly a business we call to that doesn’t support a No vote on July 17th.’’

However, the campaign to date has been rocked by allegations that campaigners on the Yes side are playing ‘dirty tricks’. Commenting on this, Ms Condon said ‘’we have been notified by a sizeable number of businesses that people in support of DublinTown have been asking to collect votes and deliver them to the ballot box on behalf of the business. It is our understanding that this is illegal and we strongly urge all businesses not to hand over their votes. These allegations, if true, are a perfect example of the kind of dirty tricks we have come to expect from the Yes side in this campaign.’’

DublinTown (formerly Dublin BID) is a company which was set up in 2008 following a vote of Dublin city centre businesses. It is charged with improving Dublin City as a commercial district. Businesses in the district pay a compulsory levy of 5% of their commercial rates. DublinTown is renewed every five years by a vote of businesses in the district. The vote this year is overshadowed by a groundswell of anger and mistrust from businesses over a proposed 34% increase to the levy and highly-contested footfall figures.

The No to BID Campaign comprises of over 800 businesses in Dublin City centre, representing a wide range of business interests dedicated to shutting down the DublinTown operation.

ENDS

如果你在都柏林市中心做生意，你可能已经收到一封就BID是否继续延期的投票信。

Posted on by
Reply

If you have a business in the centre of Dublin, you may have received a ballot paper for the vote on the renewal of the BID.
如果你在都柏林市中心做生意，你可能已经收到一封就BID是否继续延期的投票信。
The BID is a private company to which city centre businesses pay a tax every year.
BID是一家要求都柏林市中心的商家们每年付税的私家公司。
We don’t get value for money for this tax so we are voting NO.
我们没有得到所付税应得的价值，所以我们投否决票。
Please vote NO; if a majority of businesses vote NO, the BID will be disbanded and businesses will save over 4 million a year.
请您投否决票，如果绝大多数的商家投否决票， BID公司将会被解散，商家们每年会省下超过四百万欧元（4000，000 euro）的资金。

This tax is set to increase by 34% over 9 years but we can only vote every 5 years so vote NO now.
这项税务在这九年里已经涨了34%！但是我们只能每五年投票一次， 所以请您现在就投否决票。

Click here to access our website 请点击这里进入我们的网站
Click here to access our Facebook page 请点击这里进入我们的Facebook网页

 

#voteno #notobidcampaign #notobid #voteno2Dublintown

Hidden Cultures, Public Platform

Posted on by
Reply
Big thanks to Rosaleen Mcdonagh and the cast of Mainstream at The Project Theatre, Dublin tonight, a very relevant socio-political play.
Many layers, many themes, many betrayals, including the betrayal of one’s own body. This play needs to be taken on tour to educate this nation about our collective cruelties, our indifference, our racism and the crimes we perpetrate on each other.
This is a brave courageous work by a fantastic playwright, who has travelled the long road of prejudice. She operates in her own uniqueness and compliments the great work of Christy Brown, Paddy Doyle, the Pecker Dunne and of course Sean O Casey.
While the work is about class, prejudice,Travellers, mainstream society written by a female playwright, it’s literary scope is universal and all-embracing. While disability is also a theme that runs through this work it is extremely intelligently portrayed and given expression of great integrity and is not reliant on any gimmicks or tricks. These are proud people, strongly portrayed by some of the finest acting I’ve seen anywhere. (Donal Toolan, John Connors, Grainne Hallahan and Neili Conroy – cast)
These characters are human beings like ourselves different and equal and their pain is like our pain. It’s a deeply humanising piece and sparks off the idea in us all that we all have a bit of a flaw. We all have our abilities and disabilities. We are all prejudice to one another.
mainstream

Cast of Mainstream – Donal Toolan, Grainne Hallahan, John Connors, Neili Conroy – Written by Rosaleen McDonagh

But Rosaleen McDonagh is a great playwright who won’t remain silent and fights that prejudice. Won’t be stereotyped. Won’t be pigeon-holed or marginalised, no matter what. She takes on feminism, male prejudice, class divide, racism, disability, traveller culture, child abuse, body betrayal and gay identity in one great lash of the pen. Excellent.
 
The centre of the work is about exclusion, prejudice and marginalisation but she manages to bring us as an audience and a public right into her fold.
I felt great coming out of this play even though its themes were dark. This playwright has kicked the door open into the light, and it’s very welcome. Anybody who has any prejudice or any doubts about the Travelling community or any ‘othered’ member of society should get to see this work.
Arts Council, Dublin City Council and all ye people out there with the public purse make sure this play gets out on a National tour – Please – for all our sakes.
This is a work of national importance.  
Outstanding honesty.

Petition to Disband the Artane Band

Posted on by
2
home-of-the-artane-boys-bandphoto-artane-1969
I just started a petition: Disband the Artane  Band.
It is no longer appropriate, with what we now know, about residential institutional child abuse at St Josephs Artane, that this band, should be still in existence, wearing the uniform of that institution – St Josephs Industrial School Artane, and making statements that they are proud of their history when in actual fact, the vast part of that history was engulfed in horrendous human rights breaches upon children, including child sex abuse at St Josephs Industrial school, Artane, where the band was founded.
screen-shot-2016-09-14-at-15-01-48
We who are the survivors should not have to endure the ordeal of this band in that uniform, parading around Croke Park, or any other public place. This is a constant active reminder of our ordeals and every effort should be made for this to stop.

Our lives, in those institutions, matter. What happened to us matters. We have a right to get on with our lives to recover and to heal. The Artane Band, in its present form, is a major obstacle to that process. No other band of its type would be allowed to get away with what they are getting away with. The band is still under the control fo the Christian Brothers through the Artane Music School.

If enough people sign my petition, we can make a difference.

Here’s a link to the petition: http://www.care2.com/go/z/e/Awo8W/zoyY/CRT_0
And here’s a link to share it on Facebook: http://www.care2.com/go/z/e/Awo8x/zoyY/CRT_0

If there’s anyone you know who might be able to help me spread the word, please let me know. Thanks so much — I really appreciate your help!

Kind regards,  Gerard Mannix Flynn
Artistic Director,
Farcry Productions

 www.farcryproductions.ie

disband-the-artane-band

Bike Stuff n’ Gadgets awards

Posted on by
Reply

Five Smart Projects Receive Funding to Improve Cycling in Dublin

Dublin City Council and Enterprise Ireland announced the winners of the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) competition at The House of Lords, Bank of Ireland, College Green this evening.

The competition, which was launched by Smart Dublin last March, sought to find smart technology solutions to help improve and scale up cycling across Dublin. The challenge generated 98 expressions of interest, 23 proposals with 14 dragons den style pitches.

Five companies were selected to receive funding of up to €12,500 and supports from Dublin City Council to research and demonstrate the viability of their smart solution.

bicycle-keating

The chosen companies and their smart solutions are:

 

  • Ambie introducing BikeLook which monitors bicycle usage and deters and detects bicycle theft

 

  • Fluidedge introducing Liberty Bell, a bell that allows cyclists to record actual or perceived obstacles to aid safe cycling in Dublin

 

  • Hindnseek presents a low power device attached to a bicycle that generates real time data with can be integrated with other data sources

 

  • Limeforge Ltd. offers the See.Sense Tracker providing a ‘find your iphone’ like capability allowing cyclists to easily track their stolen bikes

 

  • M2C Smartcharge Ltd. introduces a tracking, logging and data harvesting system for use with bicycles in an urban area aiding the cyclist in predicting the ease of a journey, safety along the way and creating a secure parking facility and the end of the journey

 

Commenting at the announcement Dublin City Council’s Chief Executive, Owen Keegan said “A key aspect of our Smart Dublin initiative is to test new ways for the Dublin Local Authorities to pilot and understand the possibilities of using innovative technologies to solve city challenges.  We are genuinely impressed with the level of ideas that were presented through the SBIR process and look forward to working with these entrepreneurs to pilot and hopefully scale their products using Dublin as a test bed.”

Kevin Sherry, Divisional Manager, Enterprise Ireland commented “Enterprise Ireland is excited to work with Dublin City Council on this initiative, and we congratulate the phase one winners on their innovative solutions which will improve the cycling experience and safety of bicycle users in urban areas.”

David Timoney, Dublin Cycling Campaign who are supporting the initiative added “There are real opportunities to use these new low cost innovations to better understand cycling patterns and experiences.  This in turn will allow for more evidence based decisions by the City on cycling infrastructure. The data will hopefully strengthen the already strong arguments for increased transport spends on cycling.  Furthermore solutions to address cycle theft in Dublin through smart tracker devices have the potential to dramatically reduce bike theft levels currently estimated at a staggering €20,000 per annum in Dublin alone.”

The companies have three months to develop their solution to pre-prototype stage, after which some will be selected for further funding (up to €25,000 each) to complete their prototype solutions.

ENDS

 For further information contact:

Jamie Cudden, Smart City Programme Manager, Dublin City Council M 087 783 5411

Notes to the Editor:

Details of the successful proposals are:

Ambie: BikeLook is a smart city solution to monitor bicycle usage and to deter and detect bicycle theft. Using low power radio (Bluetooth Smart) to track bicycles in the city. Bluetooth trackers’ effectiveness is usually limited by the radio range between the sensor and a mobile phone, but through strategic location of listening posts at bicycle parking, junctions and on street sweepers, the opportunity exists to monitor the volume and direction of cycle traffic in the city.

 

Fluidedge: ‘Liberty Bell’ – A smart bicycle bell that allow citizens who cycle record actual or perceived obstacles to safe cycling in Dublin. Hotspots are highlighted in real-time and authorities are alerted to poor road conditions or poor behaviour by other road users.

 

Hidnseek: A low power device attached to a bicycle that has the ability to generate real time data which can be integrated with existing data sources and information to create an overall accurate picture of the cycling experience in Dublin. The device can measure GPS co-ordinates, speed and environmental conditions using the low cost sigfox network.

 

Limeforge Ltd – See.Sense: The See.Sense Tracker will provide a ‘find your iphone’ like capability using LPWA and GPS, allowing cyclists to easily track their stolen bike anywhere across the city. At the same time, our patent-pending use of sensor technology enables the crowd sourcing of real-time data about cyclist’s journeys over a wide range of variables. Two variants will be created – one for use on personal bikes and one for integration into city bikes alongside our ICON intelligent bike light.

 

M2C Smartcharge Ltd: A tracking, logging and data harvesting system for use with bicycles in a metropolitan area. The system will endeavour to aid the cyclist in predicting the ease of a journey (front end), safety along the way with geographic analysis (Journey Safety) and create a secure parking facility at the end of the journey (destination management)

_________________________________

 

Smart Dublin is an initiative of the four Dublin Local Authorities to engage with smart technology providers, researchers and citizens to solve city challenges and improve city life.

 

Enterprise Ireland is the government organisation responsible for the development and growth of Irish enterprises in world markets. It supports sustainable economic growth, regional development and secure employment.

 

Dublin Cycling Campaign The Dublin Cycling Campaign is an independent, voluntary cycling advocacy group that has been working to improve the city for all cyclists since 1993 www.dublincycling.ie

 

What is Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR)? SBIR refers to the public procurement of research and development on new innovative solutions before they are commercially available. It involves different suppliers competing through different phases of development, while the risks and benefits are shared between the procurers and the suppliers under market conditions.