City manager supports water charges

Dublin City manager John Tierney has advocated legislative changes which would allow local authorities to raise additional revenue. These would include giving councils the power to introduce water charges.

The city manager also said he wanted to see high-quality, high-rise buildings being developed to counter urban sprawl and create space for cultural and social activities in the city.

Mr Tierney was commenting in the wake of a new amendment to the city development plan entitled Achieving Sustainable New Apartment Homes.

The amendment advocates a range of priorities including the need for good quality design and "good parks and play areas, good shopping and commercial facilities, good schools, a public library, leisure facilities, safe streets and clean streets and efficient public transport".

Mr Tierney said the intention was to establish a "creative and sustainable" city which would be economically competitive with "family-friendly apartments" close to schools and shops.

While he accepted a contributory factor to urban sprawl was the desire of people to own a garden, he said "attitudes are changing". He believed people did not want to get up at 5am to drop children to childminders and return late in the evening.

Speaking to Seán O'Rourke on the RTÉ News at One yesterday, he said he believed people now appreciated that to live in the city meant having more time for leisure and to spend with family.

Mr Tierney said apartments in buildings of greater height could provide this while creating social and cultural "living room" facilities at ground floor level.

Turning to proposed changes in local government administration being mooted by Minister for the Environment John Gormley, Mr Tierney said he would welcome changes which brought about "a wider funding base" which allowed local authorities to raise additional revenue.

Pressed by Mr O'Rourke on the issue of local authorities raising "taxes", Mr Tierney said he made no secret of the fact that in his opinion "there should be charges for water consumption", which would have the additional benefit of cutting down on waste.

Asked about the proposed sale of Clontarf golf club to a property development company, Mr Tierney said the city council was in the unusual position of being the ground landlord of much of the course as well as being the planning authority.

However, he said neither the property developer, Capel Developments, nor the club had been in advance contact with the council about the deal. News of the agreement in which the members were reportedly offered a new course in Portmarnock and a lump sum of €100,000 each had reached him and council members through the media.

He said some members had taken a stance against the sale of the land at last Monday's meeting, and this had been followed by a letter from the parties involved on Tuesday. The council would not respond until the members had discussed the matter again.