New road layout poses ‘serious risk’ due to proximity of club
By Mary Dennehy
THE chairman of St Mark’s GAA Club has said that he has “no confidence whatsoever” in South Dublin County Council, following the council’s response to a request to report on health and safety concerns with the newly aligned Cookstown Road.
Independent councillor Dermot Richardson called on the council to erect curtain netting along the road and to report on the “serious risk to health and safety at the new road layout”, due to “close nature of sporting games being played at St Mark’s GAA Club”.
In its response to the motion, the council confirmed that the concerns would have been addressed at planning stage, with no conditions being placed to erect netting in the area.
It said: “Once the area is taken in charge and transferred to South Dublin County Council for maintenance purposes, the council will be in a position to make whatever alterations it sees as necessary. You should raise this matter again once taken-in-charge is complete.”
Chairman of St Mark’s GAA, Neil Ussher, spoke to The Echo about the response to the motion from cllr Richardson.
He said: “It feels like a cop-out from the council. The pitch has been there for the last twenty years. It can’t be said that they didn’t know this that would be needed when they gave planning permission.
“The concerns are still there for us. At the T-junction it’s a blind spot and a danger. A child could run out onto the road when trying to catch a ball.
“There should be a pedestrian crossing there – it’s used by school kids, kids playing and it’s a dangerous bend. It’s appalling that this wasn’t addressed, it’s still a health and safety issue.
“If it was located the far side of The Square, the council wouldn’t have let it go ahead without addressing it.
“The council would tell you that they’ve spent a fortune on the pitches up here, but nobody from Springfield to Fettercairn to Raheen, from St Mark’s GAA or Mark’s Celtic would tell you that it’s improved.
“We pick up bottles and needles every week and now, with this, they’ve exposed the field yet again to cars. We’ve had to spend the past six years working on the new pitch because of this. At this stage, we have no confidence whatsoever in South Dublin County Council.”
It was also confirmed at the meeting that the tenancy of the apartments that are located in Pairc Na Greine is expected to commence in the coming weeks.
The confirmation was made in response to a question from Fianna Fáil councillor Charlie O’Connor, who requested an update on the apartment block situation.
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