04 Jun 2017

OLG – Campaign

If you would like to support this campaign, please contact all DLR Councillors and let them know how you feel about this issue. A copy and paste list of the Councillors’ email addresses, as well as a sample template email, can be found here.

A public meeting was held in The Goat last Tuesday evening to discuss the sale of lands at Our Lady’s Grove Schools. There was a very large turnout of concerned OLG parents and local residents. It was standing room only. Also present were Deputy Catherine Martin T.D. (GP), Cllr. Karen Furlong (GP), Cllr. Seamus O’Neill (Ind), Cllr. Shay Brennan (FF) and Cllr. Sorcha Nic Cormaic (SF). Representatives of Senator Neale Richmond (FG) and Minister Shane Ross T.D. (Ind) also attended.

That evening a “sold” banner was put on the “for sale” sign in front of the school. It is being reported in the media that the 5.4 acre site has been sold to Durkan’s, or at least, contracts are reported to have been signed. The price being reported is €13 million.

It was an extremely informative meeting. After an introduction and background details were given by the group of parents who organised the meeting, all public representatives spoke. This was followed by questions and comments from the audience. You can read the minutes of the meeting here.

There is huge concern among OLG parents and local residents that the development of this land for residential housing will cause multiple problems.

  • No green space for the children of both schools – to play, to do sports, to be outside
  • Existing pre-school & after-care facilities under threat. The OLG after-care facility is a not-for-profit co-operative enterprise, with profits going back to the primary school to pay for such things such as resource teachers and school materials. The after-school will not be able to continue in its current form if the land is sold.
  • No room for the future expansion of the schools. They are currently hugely oversubscribed and there are many new housing schemes that are being built, or will be built soon, in the area (The Dundrum Mental Hospital 20 acre site, Knockrabo, Trimbleston, Hawthorne on Bird Ave etc.) The secondary school is the only non fee-paying girls’ school in the greater area.
  • Congestion on access to school and Goatstown Road
  • Huge threat to the health and safety of the children
  • Divestment of the educational campus of facilities for future generations

Cllr. Karen Furlong proposed that an emergency motion be raised at the next DLR CoCo meeting on June 12th. This motion, which will be a cross party motion (all political parties present confirmed their support) will attempt to re-open the County Development Plan in order to rezone this land, from residential (A) to community (F). This motion will also include the rezoning of Clonkeen College playing fields, which the Christian Brothers in Deansgrange are currently attempting to sell. The is a very unusual and unique attempt by DLR Councillors to use their powers to try to halt the selling off of precious community assets in the County. This action will highlight at a national level, the necessity of the government to step in and deal with this growing problem at a higher level. 93 out of 105 school lands in DLR are zoned “residential”. The vast majority are owned by religious orders.

In order for the motion on June 12th to be passed, there must be a two thirds vote in favour. All 42 Councillors in Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County will have a vote.

If you would like to support this campaign, please contact these Councillors and let them know how you feel about this issue. The Parents’ Association and Board of Management in OLG are fully behind this campaign. A copy and paste list of the Councillors’ email addresses, as well as a sample template email, can be found here.

If you would like to read more about this Campaign, you can visit the OLG Concerned Parents’ Group links:

Facebook: facebook.com/saveourlandolg/

Blog: olglandforsale.blogspot.ie

Twitter: @OLG_SaveOurLand

Petition: Sign the petition

 

Press Coverage So Far

www.irishtimes.com/news/social-affairs/motions-aim-to-protect-school-lands-from-housing-development-1.3112879

www.irishtimes.com/opinion/diarmaid-ferriter-how-did-irish-religious-orders-get-so-rich-1.3105454

www.rte.ie/news/education/2017/0601/879715-school-sale/

www.irishtimes.com/news/social-affairs/parents-at-south-dublin-school-appeal-to-religious-founders-not-to-sell-land-1.3099429

www.independent.ie/business/commercial-property/nuns-secure-13m-in-sale-of-goatstown-school-lands-35775592.html

www.rte.ie/news/Dublin/2017/0529/878795-Dublin-land-schools/

http://jrnl.ie/3409190

barbarascully.com/2017/06/07/religious-orders-are-selling-out-on-our-children-why-we-should-all-be-concerned/

dublingazette.com/news/ladys-grove-land-sale-slammed-locals/

www.irishtimes.com/opinion/letters/religious-orders-and-public-school-lands-1.3017578

www.irishtimes.com/opinion/letters/sale-of-school-lands-and-private-schools-1.3108407

www.irishtimes.com/opinion/letters/religious-orders-and-selling-land-1.3114102

 

This one relates to the Dundrum Mental Hospital. The 20 acres there will go up for sale soon. Hundreds of houses/apartments will be built. This is in OLG’s catchment area.

 

 

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