Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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I was, just to agree with Deputy Matthews about the clutter and the poles. I live in Crumlin, along the canal. Works have been done along every single junction and the authorities have put up extra poles, just to make sure. Where there were four poles, there are eight poles now. That makes it difficult for cyclists and people pushing buggies. On top of that, in these locations, there is not that much of what we are dealing with here, but sometimes there are old ESB junction boxes, which are small. They are in the way as well. You cannot move them. If a pole is put next to one, it limits the space. Then there is signage and the other paraphernalia, such as CCTV cameras and so on. There are poles outside shops. Any of us in the city know there are boxes next to the shops for delivery of the newspapers. They would not be allowed in this day and age - well, maybe they would. If you are visually impaired, you walk along and encounter them. This is what this legislation will hopefully address, but it does not address the objects that are already there or the need to encourage shopkeepers or those who own these obstacles to those who are visually impaired to find some way of moving them out of the way. The same can be said of some of the shutters. Some of the shutters on shops have poles sticking up in front of them. Again, aside from the fact that you might trip on the path, you may not expect them or there may be something sticking up out of the ground.

I agree with the amendments. I do not have a problem with any of them. There is definitely a need for more of the material that is there - not the street furniture, some of which has been there so long - to be shared or reutilised rather than putting up additional material. The space that is there already should be used. People are used to it. If there is an old box or whatever, a use for it should be found or it should be taken down.