COMHAIRLE CONTAE ÁTHA CLIATH THEAS
SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL

south dublin county council crest

MEETING OF LUCAN AREA COMMITTEE

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

QUESTION NO. 23

QUESTION: Councillor G. O'Connell

To ask the Manager to have the implications of the plebiscite that has resulted in the name “Palmerston” being officially applied indiscriminately (by the Council) across the community, e.g. the “Beautiful South Dublin” certificates recently awarded to Palmerstown Court were made out to “Palmerston Court”.  It is unacceptable to residents that the name of their estate is being changed without consulting them.  Can the Manager look into the possibility that, as a result of urbanisation, only residents and rate payers in “Palmerstown Village” need be consulted as to the correct name and/or is it necessary to have a plebiscite in each road and estate that has the name “Palmerstown” lodged with the planning authority when being developed?  

REPLY:

The Council resolved in July 2008 to initiate the procedure to conduct a plebiscite in order to establish the consent of the qualified electorate to change the official place name of Palmerston to Palmerstown.

The process was initiated, the geographical area in question approved, and the list of qualified electors was approved as being the qualified Electors as published comprised of all those electors registered on the Live Register of Electors for the Polling Districts of Palmerston 1(Register Book FJ), Palmerston 2 (Register Book FK), Cherry Orchard (Register Book FI) and development at Coldcut (in Register Book FG) and the Rated Occupiers of premises located within the geographical area in question. 

The plebiscite was held in May 2009 in accordance with the Section 79 of the Local Government Act 1946 and the Local Government (Changing of Place Names Regulations) 1956 (as amended by Section 67 of Local Government Act 1994). 

As the majority of the qualified electors did not vote in favour of the proposed change, no change to the official name of Palmerston could be made and details of the result of the plebiscite was communicated throughout the organisation: that all references to the official place name of Palmerston be made as such.

It is sincerely regretted that an error occurred in the representation of the estate name of Palmerstown Court at the recent award ceremony and the Council can be assured that there was no intent to indiscriminately apply the result of the plebiscite in this instance.    It is acknowledged that there is a totally separate protocol in place for the initial naming of estates / roads etc and that these names represent / reflect local place names, heritage etc.  It is further acknowledged that any proposal to alter or change such name thereafter would require a prescribed process and there is no such process proposed.

A new award certificate has issued to Palmerstown Court and there has been a reissue of instruction regarding the implications of the result of the 2009 plebiscite i.e. that all references to the official place name only of Palmerston be made as such.