Cllr Brendan Ryan, Labour Party, is calling for Fingal County Council to reopen its council offices in the Town Hall, Balbriggan. Cllr Ryan said; “the closing of Fingal County Council offices in Town Hall, Balbriggan, has had a devastating impact on the people of the town with no direct local access to council services, particularly housing services, which are located in Blanchardstown.” Ryan continued;” Given there is no direct public transport route to Blanchardstown for the people of Balbriggan it is a challenging commute to access these services. I submitted the following question to a recent council meeting on this issue: “To ask the Chief Executive if consideration can be given to reviewing any formal decision made in the past to close the Council Offices at Balbriggan Town Hall, depriving the people of Balbriggan of local access to Council services, particularly housing services which are located at Blanchardstown, as this is a challenging commute by public transport?”

This is the Council’s reply: “The Customer Care Unit is the subject of on-going review and evaluation in relation to improving and enhancing performance and customer satisfaction. A more in-depth review is currently being considered regarding the services being provided in our buildings. Members will be kept informed regarding the outcome of this review in due course.” Ryan concluded; “I am pleased that Fingal County Council are considering an in-depth review of services provided and believe this review should be carried out without delay. Re-opening the Balbriggan offices has got to be included in the review and I can only conclude from the reply that it will be. Given the population increase in Balbriggan I believe it is imperative that the council reopen its offices in Balbriggan, and I will continue to pursue this much needed service for the people of Balbriggan vigorously. “