Proposal 2
1. Population growth: According to the Central Statistics Office, Ireland’s growth is now standing at 14.75% per annum, which makes it still the largest growth rate in Europe. The population is expected to rise on these figures alone to nearly 5 million people in the next 25 years. Some other figures not included in these statistics are that we have the lowest death rate in Europe, we are also keeping the 25% of refugees that we consider to be genuine, and the government’s invitation to invite back some 250,000 immigrants who have left Ireland in the 70’s and 80’s before the economic boom. Many of these immigrants are now married and have on average a family of four persons, that is a wife, and two children. Which puts a more real figure of some 1 million people who will return. Our figures would indicate that in 25 years time our population would be closer to 6 million people. 2. Present Irish Cities: Bishop Thomas Flynn of in Ballaghaderreen in County Roscommon quite rightly points out that all Irish Cities are built around water, namely Dublin, Waterford, Cork, Limerick, and Galway, along with towns like Sligo, Wexford, and others, all have water as hinterland, which means that growth can only take place inwards. Galway, the only City in the West, not only has Galway Bay to the South of the City, but has Lough Corrib, some 56,000 hectares, to the North. This means it can only extend West or East, this will create divisions in time both sociologically and politically. Down Town cities cannot expand, simply because all our cities were built about 500 years ago, a 1000 years ago in the case of Dublin. They are medieval cities with narrow streets which are now been pedestrianised. There are major problems of grid-locking in our cities and even more so nowadays by the enormous high sales of additional cars, some 180,000 additional cars on the roads of Ireland in the past six months. 3. Planned satellite towns in the East: The Government is presently planning to have up to 12 major Satellite towns within an hour of Dublin, these towns include Athlone, Tullamore, Portaoise, Mullingar, Navan, Carlow, Kildare, and others within a smaller range that will all be connected by high speed rail links. Purchases of land are well under way to accommodate rail links and housing development to feed Dublin’s growing demand for labour. As the western population migrates eastward, the West will become devoid of strong political representation. (Mayo is down from 6 T.D.s to 5 and projected to 4 and even 3 as the population dwindles.) The West has only 1 Cabinet Minister which came about by default (the early retirement of David Andrews) while the East has some 14 Cabinet Ministers. So the political future of the West looks extremely worrying. 4. Dublin: We believe that Dublin is already facing standstill with traffic congestion which way exceeds what planners had anticipated even five years ago. Daily problems are now emerging which will cause Dublin to seize-up completely. Dublin’s traffic problems are now well known across Europe, and future investment into the city will be under threat due to the lack of free-flow traffic, and availability of land. Not to mention the age old problem of building housing estates with no forward planning, and even less no infrastructure. Housing estates are a thing of the past; they have proved to be disastrous for harmonious dwelling among peoples. Especially now when Ireland is facing multi-ethnicity for the first time in its history. 5. Need for a New City: It is without doubt that Ireland needs to build a new City, purpose built, spatial, well planned and designed, future-proofed with spare capacity, for subsequent growth. A city that will give expression to Ireland as a modern, developed country, with a vision to the world of what it aspires to be. Ireland cannot continue on an ad-hoc basis of building outrageous housing estates that offer nothing by way of a quality of life to its occupants. The New City would incorporate all of what we have said in the first paper, but would include additional feature such as a city with a) all electrical and telecommunications traffic underground, b) an underground rail-network, c) a light rail system, d) under-ground car-parking, e) a complete infrastructure of roads, f) a sewage system especially designed for this city, g) an environmental rubbish disposal system, with emphasis on a re-cycling priority system and facilities in government buildings, and indeed in every home for any NBC emergency. h) three water types: -non potable, used for toilet and other domestic uses, -potable, -spring water on tap, -use of rainwater should be considered as it rains on average 180 days in the year. This is a unique opportunity to get it right first time. This is why we have insisted that the project go to International Tender to the world’s best architects and planners, who will incorporate the best of Irishness into the New City. 6. De-population of the West in favor of the East, in particular Dublin: The West is being de-populated in favor of the East, which is receiving tens of billions of pounds in taxpayer’s money. Dublin has a high demand for labor and as such is becoming a necessary attraction for those who need to work, and as such do not want to spend a life on social welfare as many in the West have to as a result of no employment in or near their homes. Donegal workers are still migrating to Dublin, along with people from Sligo and especially the county of Leitrim, which still loses people on a daily basis and has done for the past twenty years. Galway City has become a destination for many in the Western counties, but Galway has reached its peak in downtown development. As we have said before we can only develop westward and eastward. We have developed westward in an appalling way with Knocknacarra as a sprawling suburb with no planned infrastructure, and no school, community center, nothing really of any use that would give its residents a quality of life that is worthy of human dignity. Space, cultured gardens, springs, ponds and rivers, places where people can be alone, and can walk and recreate themselves. No the approach has always been to build as many houses to the acre as possible, without wondering how people will interact with proximities that are too close. People in this day and age should not have to live on top of one another. The mistakes are there for all to see, Ballymun, Clondalkin, Rahoon, etc. The Governor of Mountjoy prison will tell us that 90% of his clients are from three Dublin postal districts. We do not need to repeat these mistakes, but are destined to do so if we do not build this city. The current Minister for Justice, Mr. John O Donoghue is calling for three major new prisons to be built at a cost of over one billion pounds. The cost of keeping a prisoner now stands at £65,000 per year, (the price of a house). We are building more and more housing estates, there will be more and more crime, and there will be more laws passed to inhibit the freedoms of all the people of Ireland. Galway now plans to build an additional 25,000 homes eastward toward Oranmore. In essence this means an additional 65,000 people over 5 years or the creation of another major housing estate similar to those already in Dublin 7. New City is vital to the West survival: The New City is vital to the overall survival of the West. It can offer population stability to people who will have to leave at some point in their lives, and many will never return. It will provide full employment for the West for the next 40 years, and opportunities for its people unheard of until now. It will offer Ireland a chance to do the biggest project ever undertaken in the state, and it will become the showcase of what Ireland is really about. We will be able to show that we have matured sufficiently to be able to make this statement in ourselves, a statement of faith in our ability to build this magnificent City. It will also be the mechanism whereby we can put history in its place without living the continual tragedy on a daily basis, and move forward as a people together, secure in ourselves, with confidence, and as a people of tomorrow. We foresee full employment in the West of Ireland for the next 40 years. 8. Costing of New City: The costing of this New City could be calculated as between 8 and 10 % of the two main gas fields found off the West coast which will be one and a half times the size of the Celtic field off Cork. Projected revenues from these fields are £ 750 billion. In addition please note that the Irish have invested 11 billion in housing in the past 10 years. We are convinced that there would be no problem in attracting outside investors for this project. 9. Political consensus: We are happy to be able to say that we have discussed this project with all the main political parties and have received wide support for the project especially from the Progressive Democrats (Mr John Higgins), Fine Gael (Senator John Connor), Fianna Fail (Noel Treacy), and are expecting a positive development from Mr Noel Dempsey before the end of June 2000 on whether this city will go ahead or not. We also have support from the Western bishops through their spokesman Bishop Flynn in Ballaghaderreen, in county Roscommon (090-760021). One Final Comment on this City, presently
we seem to have an option on how this city will
be designed and built, and financed, over a
certain period. If we do not proceed with this
City, the population growth of 6 million people
alone will demand a new city, except this time
the government of the day will have to build it
as quickly as possible to house as many people as
possible. It will be a disaster, because like all
major projects in Ireland to-date, it will be
developer-led, and the infrastructure will come
last. Ghettos will be created, and one is
destined to see other Tallaght’s and other
major housing estates with large numbers of
people, with no downtown, and no heart. Now is
the time to get it right, now is the time to do
it.
|