To: The Mayor and Members of South Dublin County Council
Introduction
In Circular Fin 24/2004 the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local
Government has prescribed periods for the holding of the Statutory Budget
Meetings of Local Authorities. The prescribed period for County Councils is 25
November 2004 to 13 January 2005. As the first Budget Meeting is 2 December
2004 the final day for South Dublin to consider and adopt the Budget and
determine the rate on valuation is accordingly 23 December 2004.
The Corporate Policy Group was advised of the assumptions made in relation to
income and expenditure in framing this Budget.
Financial Context
This Budget provides for Revenue expenditure of €223 million by South Dublin
County Council during 2005 - an increase of 8.55% on 2004. The Budget is framed
against a background of increasing costs relating to payroll (‘Sustaining
Progress’ general pay agreement), energy and building materials.
The Revenue budget is applied annually to provide a wide range of services and
to maintain and improve the extensive catalogue of fixed assets (with a current
valuation in excess of €3.3 billion), including infrastructure, parks and
properties, vested in the name of the Council. Total expenditure (Capital and
Revenue) for 2005 is expected to exceed €430 million.
Table of Expenditure & Income 2005/2004
The relatively small increase in Roads Expenditure of €407,700 is misleading.
The addition to the Local Government Fund Grant (€1,070,000) which was notified
after the first budget meeting of last year was inserted into the Roads Budget,
when this is omitted the actual increase is €1,477,700 or 4.34%.
Sources of Expenditure 2002 - 2005
Payroll of €70,750,000 representing 32% of the overall budget provides for
benchmarking and sustaining progress. The % of overall expenditure represented
by payroll remains unchanged from last year. As in the previous year
considerable efforts have been made to reduce overtime and overheads. The ratio
of payroll to Revenue Budget is very favourable and is a key indicator of value
for money. The cumulative cost of benchmarking in 2005 amounts to €5,092,300.
An action plan and progress report under sustaining progress has been prepared
setting out a range of initiatives to enhance the level of service in return
for benchmarking.
Table of Sources of Expenditure 2003 - 2005
Major Sources of Income
The Council continues to have a high dependence on the rate base. I am
recommending that an increase of 5% be applied for 2005. The value of rates
included for collection in the 2005 budget is €86,457,410, as compared to
€75,416,699 for 2004. Each % increase in rates yields €822,890.
Table of Sources of Income
South Dublin County Council 1995 - 2005
During the last 10 years revenue expenditure has increased from €76,538,669 to
€222,673,500 (191%) and income from €41,696,548 to €110,360,900 (165%).
Economic Activity has also increased considerably over the last 10 years. The
Net Effective Commercial Valuation has increased from €657,987.27 in 1995 to
€1,349,000 in 2005.
Another indicator of strong commercial growth is the number of commercial
accounts on our rate books. The number of accounts has grown from 3,844 in 1995
to 5,907 in 2004.
The population of the county has increased from 199,546 in 1986 to 238,835 at
the time of the last census of population in 2002 representing a 19.69%
increase.
The number of annual house completions in the county has increased from 951 in
1991 to 2,773 in 2002 which is an increase of 191.59%.
Enhancing the Role of Elected Members
By the end of 2004 members will have participated in approximately 130 formal
meetings, this does not include the informal meetings in relation to County
Identity, Tourism Taskforce, and a range of other sub committees linked to
activities of the County Development Board. In the region of 3890 items have
been processed by the Council and the scheduled time as per standing orders is
approximately 300 hours.
Corporate Policy Group
The Corporate Policy Group continues to meet and process the business of Council
Meetings to identify key issues for consideration by the Strategic Policy
Committees, I have kept the Corporate Policy Group informed of progress in
formulating the Budget. Between now and the end of the year the CPG will be
involved in the preparation of the Corporate Plan working closely with all of
the Directors of Services. Substantial progress has been made in our
communication systems with Elected Members and in monitoring correspondence and
telephone contact. The role of the Corporate Policy Group continues to develop
and impact on policy formation and measuring performance.
Activities of Strategic Policy Committees
Environment S.P.C.
This S.P.C. met four times during 2004. The business of the committee included
the following:
-
Pay by Volume system for refuse collection.
-
Recycling of plastic bottles.
-
Recycling of construction and demolition waste.
-
Policy on major recycling centres.
-
Water – Assessment of Needs.
-
Maintenance of Grand Canal.
-
Waste Management Plan.
-
Litter Management Plan.
-
Education Policy on home composting.
-
Enforcement of the Packaging Regulations.
-
Dublin Region Non Domestic Water-Metering Project.
-
Civil Defence.
-
East River Basin District Project.
-
Bye-Laws for the management of water services and the conservation of drinking
water 2004.
Economic Development and Planning S.P.C.
This S.P.C. met three times during 2004. The business of the committee included
the following:
-
Adamstown SDZ
-
Grange Castle Business Park
-
Grange Castle as a location for the proposed National Institute for
Bioprocessing, Research and Training
-
Draft Development Plan
-
County Development Board Strategy
-
Economic Development
-
Dublin Biosciences and Innovation Partnership
-
‘Mo Bhaile”
-
Draft Strategic Planning Guidelines.
Transportation S.P.C.
This S.P.C. met three times during the year and discussed / were updated on the
following matters of Transportation Policy:
-
Dublin Transportation Office Programme 2004
-
Role of the Bus in Public Transport Provision
-
Speed Limit Review
-
Kildare Route Project
-
Metrication of Speed Limits
-
Travel Demand Management
-
Metro Proposals
-
The ‘Interconnector’ Connolly/Docklands/Heuston
Housing & Social S.P.C.
This S.P.C. met three times during 2004. The business of the Committee included
the following:-
-
Homeless Action Plan 2004 - 2006
-
Returning Elderly Emigrants
-
St. Dominic's Housing Association
-
Housing Action Plan 2004 - 2008
-
Overview of Current Housing Policy
-
Disability Federation of Ireland
-
Anti-Social Behaviour
-
Draft Traveller Accommodation Programme
-
Rental Accommodation Scheme
Arts, Culture, Gaeilge, Education and Libraries S.P.C.
This S.P.C. met five times during 2004. The business of the Committee included
the following:
-
Proposed County Arts Centre
-
Proposal for County Arts Plan
-
New Public Art Scheme under the Per Cent for Art Programme
Sports, Recreation, Community and Parks S.P.C.
This SPC met four times during 2004. The business of the committee included the
following:
-
Consultant’s Report on the sustainability of Community Centres
-
Employment of Sports Officers through funding from the Young Peoples Facilities
and Services Fund
-
Proposed update in Parks Bye-Laws
Teamwork Approach To Service Delivery & Policy Development - The Cluster
Groups
Members are aware that Departments are organised to three distinct clusters.
Cluster 1 (Organisational Change) Departments driving organistional change,
members support and customers services.
Cluster 2 (Infrastructure) Departments involved in spatial planning, the built
environment and economic development
Cluster 3 (Quality of Life) Departments delivering community development,
environmental control, interagency co-operation and quality of life issues.
Cluster for Organisational Change, Modernisation Agenda and EnhancedCustomer
Services
This Cluster is attended by staff from Corporate Services, Human Resources,
Finance and Information Technology.
Customer Care
The Council saw its customer care facility open this year in July with positive
feedback from visitors, elected members and citizens. The facility is
underpinned by an array of technology that assists the customer care staff in
resolving issues as they arise.
A to Z of Services
An A to Z of Council related services with relevant documentation and
information is available to staff and via the Internet. Each item has been
selected with the assistance and expert knowledge of department representatives
via the IT Liaison Group.
Frequently Asked Questions
Questions that are regularly asked are 'trapped' and referenced with the
appropriate information on how to resolve the issues for the citizen. This
information is then fed into our online database for use by staff and the
citizen on the Internet.
Scanning and Document Management Capability
The customer care facilities have seen the introduction of electronic document
management utilising scanning and imaging technologies. This is currently in
use in a number of service departments and is in the process of being rolled
out to the entire organisation. The customer care facilities provide the first
line of contact in dealing with post as it enters the organisation.
Management of Customer Care Issues
The customer care system is available both on the Internet and at the customer
care counter and is used to track every issue raised ensuring that an accurate
and timely response is given. Issues logged by the system are managed
effectively and the system ensures that unanswered items are flagged for
attention.
We have integrated the online channels of Internet, intranet, and telephone in
terms of logging items into a properly managed system of tracking/tracing and
issue management. We have further enhanced the facilities available by enabling
a map referencing system that provides the capability for the citizen to
pinpoint the location of any issue that they wish to raise with us.
Phase I of this development is implemented and functioning. Further enhancements
are now being made and proposed to integrate further into the processes of the
organisation. This includes linkages to iDocs, team based staff assignments,
links to the members net, expansion of personalised issue tracking via online
resources, and integration of the elected members representations systems, with
and 'on behalf of' capability.
Corporate Content
The Council has purchased a content management system, for use with the South
Dublin County Council Internet website www.sdublincoco.ie, the Council's
extranet site for elected members (membersnet), the Council's intranet site,
the South Dublin domain (www.southdublin.ie), and generally for use in sites as
yet to be determined.
Such a system will provide for efficiencies in the process of content handling
while fulfilling technical requirements in relation to making accessible and
multilingual content. Multi channel delivery is included in the purchased
system as are workflow features to the content publishing task.
Seamlessly content will integrate across all web sites on a controlled basis.
MembersNet
The membersnet (http://membersnet.sdublincoco.ie/) has been provided as a
central repository of information and reference library for the elected
members.
The membersnet gives quick and easy access to Departments, phone and contact
lists, integrated search facilities, CMAS - the Council Meetings Applications
System, and functional as well as policy information.
CMAS
The Council Meetings Applications System is provided to greatly enhance the
previously published agendas and minutes of all Council meetings. Phase I of
the system was rolled out during the second half of 2004 and significant
enhancements are being delivered in a process of continuous improvement, driven
by the requirements of the elected members.
Development of Policy
The membersnet is an important link between the administrative and technical
functions and the elected members in terms of policy development. During 2004,
the membersnet has provided the elected members with essential information
relating to the Development Plan preparation process. All documentation is
provided and where relevant, information within the strategic documents has
been interactively hyper linked to ensure the most efficient operation for both
the members and staff.
Census
The South Dublin Small Area Census has been provided with access via the
membersnet. We have installed the PC-AXIS application which provides
interactive querying of census information. This includes the ability to graph
or download the results for use within spreadsheets or databases.
Electoral Register
Query facilities are available to the elected member through membersnet on the
live register detailing the voters name and location details and spatial
details including mapping of their polling stations.
Planning and Planning Lists
The Council has developed its web based planning computer application which
gives the elected members access on a spatial basis to application and decision
information, file documentation, and planning register details in the form of
interactive mapping.
We will continue to develop our capacities and simplify the user interface
during the coming year to bring intuitive information to the end user.
Ongoing Development
The key to enhancing the facilities for the members and staff alike is to make
it easy to get to information relative to the task being undertaken. For this
reason, we will continue to develop the user interface and enhance the end user
experience while adding new functionality that will assist the members. Where
possible, information will be displayed within the one window/browser.
In particular the elected members can expect access to online service facilities
that will be personalised to the individual member and will integrate to the
organisation in an attempt to provide up to date information on any issue
raised by the elected member.
PressNet
South Dublin County Council has become the first local authority to produce an
extranet as a media initiative for use by the press, and in the process gained
efficiencies and economies in terms of the processes employed in disseminating
relevant and timely information to the press. We have established a media
database with keyword tracking capability for internal use. Efforts will
continue to ensure an appropriate range and volume of information is provided
and this is integrated on a controlled and timed basis between the intranet,
membersnet, pressnet, and Internet.
Administrative Information
The Council has expanded the core database application, APAS, used in the
processing and monitoring of a planning application to include automatic output
to the Internet of data and information as is relevant. The facilities are used
internally as well as on the Internet and it forms the basis of the planning
facilities used on the membersnet.
Managing the Documentation
The Council has implemented the iDocs system of document management and by the
end of 2004, every planning application will be imaged into this system. We
have expanded the facilities available to link the documentation scanned to the
Internet ensuring 24hour access for the public.
Spatial Representation
The Council's mapping system OASIS has been established for some time and
additional data sets have been added this year. We have also developed the
digital planning register and made it available internally, on the membersnet,
and to the public via the Internet.
Current and Future Developments
Facilities are currently being developed to enable the making of submissions
online via the Internet including e-commerce payment options. These submissions
are work flowed through the Council's computer systems to minimise the
administrative process associated with the data entry and filing of such
additions to a planning file/application.
Further efforts will be made to improve integration of our current range of
systems. It is intended that the user will be able to produce the
administrative database, list the files, and view an embedded map or spatial
representation of the application from a single screen. We will work with other
data providers that have valuable data sets to offer to complete the spatial
framework.
Infrastructure Cluster
This group consists of staff from Planning, Roads and Transportation, Economic
Development, Community Services incl. Parks, Architects, Housing and Finance.
Physical Environment
Following extensive consultation with the public and the Members as provided for
in the Planning & Development Acts, the new County Development Plan for the
period 2004-2010 was adopted by the members at a special meeting of the Council
held on the 10th November 2004.
It is intended to progress a number of the projects included in the Plan in 2005
which include the Tallaght Masterplan, the Naas Road (N7) Study and the Liffey
Valley Masterplan.
During 2004 progress was made on the implementation of the Strategic Development
Zone Scheme at Adamstown. The first planning permission for 407 residential
units was granted in September 2004 and work is due to commence on site before
the end of the year. A planning application for the proposed railway station is
expected to be lodged in the near future. Work also progressed on a series of
detailed design issues and a design manual has been drafted to co-ordinate hard
and soft landscape design throughout the scheme. The Adamstown website is now
up and running (www.adamstown.ie) and the steering group is operational.
The planning of the Adamstown Link Road, design work for the District Centre and
the Airlie Park design competition are due to commence in 2005.
Economic Development
Commercial and industrial development continued apace within South Dublin, in
2004, with many new commercial and business developments being completed and
others under construction. The Luas red line is now operational. Construction
work is complete on the Wyeth BioPharma Campus at Grange Castle and
construction work is also nearing completion on Takeda’s bulk pharmaceutical
plant in the Park. Construction is well advanced on a number of IAP sites in
Tallaght and Clondalkin arising from tax designation under the Urban Renewal
Scheme. The developments proposed for these sites include residential units or
a mix of residential and commercial units with completion dates expected up to
2006, depending on the scale of development.
Tourism Audit
The Tourism Audit was completed in 2004 and the recently formed company, South
Dublin County Tourism Limited will maximise the tourism potential of the County
during 2005 and beyond. A Tourism Officer will be appointed in 2005 to develop
and implement a sustainable tourism policy on behalf of the industry and
enhance the image of South Dublin County as the place to visit.
Key Projects Co-ordination Group
As indicated in my report last year, I have set up a Key Projects Co-Ordination
Group encompassing the various disciplines within the organisation to fast
track strategic projects within South Dublin County:
§ Clondalkin Town Centre Framework Plan
§ Grange Castle Golf Course Lands (Hotel, Clubhouse and Residential)
§ Corkagh Housing Lands (Energy/Ecological Project)
§ Tallaght Town Centre (Expansion and Framework Plan)
§ Tallaght/N81 Environmental and Landscape Strategy
§ Adamstown Implementation Plan
§ Kildare Route Project
§ County Arts Centre
Planning and design work is continuing on many of these projects to ensure their
early delivery and they are continuously proofed against available financial
resources.
Transportation & Mobility Issues
The Transportation strategy is focused on the provision of strategic new links
and the maximisation of available road space through the implementation of
Traffic Management and Travel Demand Management measures. Viable public
transport alternatives are fundamental to the strategy. The commencement of
operation of LUAS on September 28th last marked the start of a new era in the
whole area of transportation provision and LUAS will be used as a building
block to improve mobility and transport links in the county.
The route of the LUAS from the Long Mile Road Junction along the Naas Road
through the Red Cow serves the business and industrial centres of this area as
well as quite crucially the residential areas of South Clondalkin. The
Kingswood and Kilnamanagh areas are also served as is the Cookstown Industrial
Estate. The residential areas west of Cookstown Road and Tallaght Hospital are
all within walking distance of Luas stops. Since its commencement the average
daily number of trips on Line ‘A’ alone has been 23,250 with the total LUAS
trips for 2004 expected to reach 2,000,000. The average journey time between
Tallaght and Connolly Station is 48 minutes and plans are in place to achieve a
shortening of this time in the future.
The construction of the strategically important Orbital and South Clondalkin
Quality Bus Corridors is at an advanced stage, these corridors will provide the
first public transport link from Lucan to Tallaght. A Quality Bus Corridor is
also being provided on the Outer Ring Road.
Significant advances have been made in the application of new technologies to
the area of Traffic Management. The Traffic Management Centre (TMC) now
monitors 32 junctions with CCTV and can accesses data and send information
remotely to a further 17 locations. Real time traffic information is now
available on the Council’s website from the M50/Red Cow Interchange and the
Newcastle/N4 junction.
Regional Traffic Management has advanced with centralized SCATS control of key
junctions now operating from the City Council.
Developing a Mobility Management Plan for Council staff is in progress. Focus
Groups are being established to advance to the next stage of the plan.
The Council is committed to continuing a programme of MID (Mobility
Impaired/Disabled) Schemes and implementing Low Cost Safety Measures. We are
conscious of the need to embed Social Inclusion in all our actions and safety
issues are a priority.
A programme for the construction of a number of key Non-National Roads is being
formulated at present. The programme will focus on the provision of roads
already identified in the County Development Plan.
Bioscience
Dublin Bioscience and Innovation Partnership is an initiative commenced by the
Haughton Institute, Tallaght Hospital and South Dublin County Council to
attract Research & Development to the County. The initial steering group
has expanded to include IDA Ireland, Growcorp and eEolas representing City West
Business Park.
The objectives of the Partnership are: -
§ To identify a centralised driver to bring together all the constituent players
to develop and implement strategies aimed at establishing a biotech cluster in
South Dublin.
§ Create an innovation hub, which would facilitate greater integration between
hospitals, academia and businesses.
§ Provide a single location/facility for information required by researchers and
entrepreneurs.
§ Market the resources available in Dublin on a worldwide scale.
The Council has been actively supporting the Partnership and has facilitated the
project by making an office available in the County Hall extension and it is
hoped that the Partnership will be instrumental in attracting Research and
Development projects to the Grange Castle Business Park.
The ongoing commitment of IDA Ireland i.e. Enterprise Ireland is critical to the
success of this initiative.
Quality of Life Cluster
This group consists of staff from Housing, Environment, Community and Legal
Departments.
Common Quality Standard of Housing
Work commenced on the accelerated Central Heating Programme in 2004. All Council
housing should have heating installed by mid 2006 well ahead of the targets in
the National Development Plan. This programme is substantially reducing fuel
poverty and ensuring the life experience of tenants in their homes is enhanced.
This programme is being followed in 2005 with a window replacement programme
and a smoke alarm programme.
Traveller Programme
South Dublin is one of two local authorities participating in the Central High
Level Group on Travellers. At County Level the Council initiated a County
Management Group comprising all of the senior managers of the state agencies.
Two sites were identified for the piloting of an integrated services programme
– Old Castle Park and the new group housing in Kiltipper. Active engagement of
all agencies has been key to reducing anti-social behaviour on the site.
Illegal dumping has now ceased at Old Castle, a training and education survey
has been completed and cross-agency responses are being developed. All services
are now in place for the families about to move to the new group housing in
Kiltipper.
An employment and training initiative has been developed between the Council and
FAS and through a Traineeship scheme 15 positions are being created in the
Council for Travellers.
White Goods Recycling Project
The Council has supported the establishment and running of a social economy
enterprise which promotes recycling, reduces casual dumping and facilitates
skills training of local people in a growing market. This project, while
located in Clondalkin, provides a county wide service.
The Tagging (Pay by Volume) System of Refuse Collections Charges
The Tagging System has been in operation for nearly a year now and after some
minor initial difficulties, the system is now operating well.
All but 8% (7,000) households are now availing of the system and this 8% is
subject to spot checks with regard to disposal of household waste. The Council
is continuing to pursue the recovery of arrears due.
The blue label used in 2004 for waiver cases will be replaced by the issue of a
standard label and 26 complimentary tags to qualifying householders.
Householders who are in the position of paying Income Tax on income will not
qualify for a waiver in 2005.
Households will be circulated with a newsletter in December, 2004 giving full
information, new annual labels, etc.
Mo Bhaile
Mo Bhaile creates a unique opportunity for local communities and business to
embrace the potential of Information Technology in the knowledge society. All
groups in the Community and Voluntary Sector and local businesses in South
Dublin will be enabled to develop websites. This will lead to greater
information networking through which new approaches to public consultation
between local government and its key stakeholders will be enhanced. Advancing
the e-Democracy agenda coupled with targeted e-Inclusion initiatives will be an
integrated objective of Mo Bhaile.
Review of Council’s Community Grants Scheme
The Council has operated a community grants scheme for many years. A review of
the Scheme was approved by the Council in December 2003 and the new Scheme
became operative from January 2004 and has been operating successfully.
CCTV
The Development of CCTV will create a safer environment for people living,
working and visiting the County. Tallaght and Clondalkin Town Centres were
designated nationally as areas for the installation of CCTV. The systems will
be installed in the Town Centres and will be monitored by the Gardaí. It is
understood from the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform that tenders
will be invited in the near future.
County Statistics Office
A major element of the County Development Board strategy is the compilation of
countywide statistics which will facilitate the integrated planning of
services. All Agencies on the County Development Board have agreed to engage in
the statistical collection of data. The Council is leading this project and the
County Statistics Office web-site was launched in 2004.
Partnership
The National Strategy – Deepening Partnership – is being implemented in South
Dublin County Council through the establishment of Departmental structures.
Workplace Partnership has become the established way of doing business and will
deliver positive significant outcomes for all stakeholders – employees,
management, unions and customers.
Agenda items may include:
· Corporate Plan consultation
· Business Process Improvement
· Departmental issues
Staff Achievement
Members of staff and teams were recognised for outstanding achievement and an
overall prize was also presented.
Work life Balance
A number of Work life Balance initiatives were successfully implemented, for
example 120 of the staff’s children attended Summer Camp this year.
Tallaght Partnership Forum
A forum of Workplace Partnership groups from other public sectors in the
Tallaght area – Fás, VEC, Hospital, Department of Social & Family Affairs -
met with the Partnership committee from South Dublin County Council to form a
learning and sharing support structure and provide an improved service to a
common customer base.
Safety in the Workplace
A safety video – South Dublin County Council, Working at Safety – was produced
as a training and induction tool for staff.
South Dublin – A Case Study
The National Centre for Partnership & Performance is using South Dublin
County Council as a case study in the area of Return to Learning and the use of
technology.
Development Contribution Scheme
The Development Contribution Scheme was adopted by the Council on the 8th
December 2003 and applied to planning decisions from 1st January 2004.
Staff Development
The Council, through its Human Resources department, has recently been
awardedthe “Excellence Through People” Fás National Award. This is a tremendous
achievement for the organisation and reflects the department’s determination to
ensure that staff are provided with the training and resources necessary to
allow them to deliver value for money services to our customers. The
establishment of a new Attendance Unit and the introduction of the new Time and
Attendance clock-in system represents a huge step forward in providing
statistical information to managers, allowing them to maximise the efficient
use and deployment of staff and to identify any deficits that may require
attention.
Business Process Re-engineering (B.P.R.) which involves examining all our
processes and streamlining them, has been successfully piloted in Human
Resources and will be rolled out over the next twelve months to every
department as part of the Modernisation Agenda.
E-Working, where certain staff will be able to work part of their time from home
will also be rolled out by H.R. over the next few months. S.D.C.C. is one of
four local authorities piloting E-Working under the guidance of the Local
Government Management Services Board.
The new “Performance Management and Development System” being introduced
nationally, will be rolled out to all departments in 2005. This involves the
setting and attainment of goals, not only for every section of the
organisation, but also for each individual staff member.
An Environmental Education Officer has recently been appointed for the first
time, and the new Irish Officer has also taken up duty.
Conclusion
I would like to thank Mayor Ardagh and Mayor Dowds and the Members of the
Council for their valued contributions during 2004.
The preparation of the Annual Budget is a detailed and demanding task so I would
also like to thank all of the directors, heads of function and staff who worked
with me on this budget and in particular Clodagh Henehan, Patricia McLoughlin,
Linda Maloney and Tanya Kee who managed and co-ordinated the process.
I recommend the adoption of the Budget for 2005 as presented and the
determination of the general annual rate on valuation of 64.09
Joe Horan
County Manager