SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY Council (SDCC) has announced a new approach in the naming of the N7 Newlands Cross flyover.
A new recommendation by the chairman of the council’s Land-Use Planning and Transportation Strategic Policy Committee, Fine Gael Councillor William Lavelle, aims to bring about a process of public consultation.
This would affect the future naming of public infrastructure and aims to be “sensitively-managed, non-political and inclusive”.
Controversy
This comes after controversy last week when a proposal was put before the council to name the Newlands Cross flyover after late journalist Veronica Guerin.
The proposal to rename the flyover was tabled by Labour TD for Dublin Mid West Robert Dowds.
This was followed by Sinn Féin Councillor Jonathan Graham calling for a public consultation to take place before naming the structure – similar to the process used for Dublin’s Rosie Hackett bridge.
Graham stated that he thought “there are many families from Clondalkin who have lost loved ones from gangland violence” and he did not want the council to be perceived to as “focusing exclusively on one family to the exclusion of others”.
Request withdrawn
The family of the late journalist asked that her name be withdrawn from consideration after concern that the issue “was becoming a political football”.
On the matter of naming public infrastructure in the SDCC area, the new recommendation states that a new naming process needs to be put in place, as currently there is a “lack of both precedent and set protocol in the County, unlike Dublin City where there is a well-established tradition of naming bridges”.
The recommendation has asked for draft proposals to be created and for these to be considered at future meetings of the Strategic Policy Committee.
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