The Echo Year In Review June 2016: Football fever, Brexit, and signs of development
By Mary Dennehy
FOOTBALL fever hit communities this month, with local people of all ages donning their green both at home and abroad in France to support the Irish team’s Euro 2016 journey.
The green shoots of development also continued this month, with a number of projects kicking off across the area – including work on 24 modular homes in Cherry Orchard.
A substantial planning application for the construction of 184 apartments was also lodged as part of a mixed-use residential and commercial development in the Cookstown Industrial Estate; South Dublin County Council gave the go-ahead for a restaurant and café development with drive-thru beside the Arc Bar in Liffey Valley; and the new Tallaght to M50 cycle track was officially opened.
It was also full steam ahead for two permanent school buildings in Firhouse which, after a lengthy appeal process, and concerns from residents, were approved by An Bord Pleanála, while Whitechurch National School in Rathfarnham also opened its new extension.
Global workforce solutions company Fleetmatics also announced 75 new jobs for its headquarters in Tallaght, with the possibility of a wind-farm development along the Dublin-Wicklow border re-opened with the pending sale of 4,900 acres of distressed assets.
While development continued across communities, the issue of social development was still lacking, with homelessness and mental health issues plaguing local areas.
Amazon received planning permission from South Dublin County Council to redevelop the former Jacob’s site on the Belgard Road into a data centre.
This month, The Echo revealed how more than 110 families were housed in local hotels and we also spoke with a mother who has to “fight” for services for her autistic daughter.
An elderly man, who is partially blind, also spoke with The Echo after being left waiting for an ambulance for over two hours.
While the Euros and Brexit dominated this month, there was a strong need for local authorities and Government departments to look inward at our own communities in June – investing time, care and money into creating a better quality of life for all.
Those living in Monastery Road, Clondalkin, expressed their shock and upset over the tragic death of their neighbour and father-of-three Stefan Andrescu, who died when a lifting system he was using to fix his car, collapsed and crushed him to death.
