COMHAIRLE CONTAE ÁTHA CLIATH THEAS
SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL

MEETING OF SOCIAL, COMMUNITY, EQUALITY AND INTEGRATION SPC

Wednesday, February 11, 2026

HEADED ITEM NO. 1

HEADED ITEM: Community

Minutes of the previous meeting held on Wednesday 12 November 2025 @ 3pm.Hybrid Meeting – Managers Conference Room and Via Microsoft Teams

REPLY:

In attendance:

Cllr Emma Murphy (Chair); Cllr Alan Edge; Cllr Kay Keane; Cllr Niamh Whelan; Noel Gavin PPN; Daire Henessy, PPN; Lorna Maxwell, Director of Community; Edel Clancy, SEO Community Department; Fionnuala Keane, AO Community Department; Paul McAlerney, ACO Community Dept, Thomas McDermott, Local Sports Coordinator; Maria Nugent, AO Community Dept; Catherine White, SSO, Community Dept; Brian Carroll, SSO Community Dept; Elizabeth Dunne, SSO Community Department

Other attendees: Two work experience students with Cllrs Murphy and Edge.

Apologies: Cllr Alan Hayes; Cllr Baby Pereppadan

*The Chair, Cllr Emma Murphy opened the meeting at 3pm*

Agenda Item No 1: Minutes of the previous meeting

The minutes of the previous meeting held on 10 September 2025, were circulated in advance of the meeting. They were proposed by Cllr E Murphy and seconded by Cllr A Edge and agreed.

Agenda Item No 2: Matters arising

There were no matters arising.

Agenda Item No 3: Capital Program Update

Paul McAlerney delivered a summary of the capital program:

• Balgaddy Community Centre: Construction complete; centre handed over in July. Regional Board and temporary manager in place, with services now being rolled out.
• Belgard All-Weather Pitch: Completed and handed over in June. Officially opened in September; management licence updated.
• Lucan Swimming Pool: Gym and activity rooms opened in July with positive feedback. Original contractor removed; new contractor being appointed and timeline to be updated.
• Ballyroan Community & Youth Centre: Planning approval received. Design updates underway, with construction targeted to start Q2 2026 and last 9 months.
• Citywest Community Centre: Revised planning application submitted; decision due 12 November. Construction aimed to begin Q1 2026 and complete late 2027.
• Kilcarbery Community Centre: Phase 1 construction underway and due to finish Q1 2026. Phase 2 tender in preparation.
• Other Facilities:
  • Jobstown: Upgrade works due to begin Q1 2026.
  • Newcastle: Discussions ongoing with planners and developers.
  • Citywest Youth Facility: Planning change required before fit-out.
  • Whitechurch: Designs revised and awaiting approval before public consultation.

Questions and comments were raised by Cllrs. K. Keane, A. Edge and E. Murphy regarding the Citywest Centre fit-out, gym membership levels at Lucan, the bowls club in Ballyroan, and the youth facility in Whitechurch.Responses were provided by E. Clancy and P. McAlerney.

It was noted that: it is still to be determined who will do the fit-out of the Citywest centre; membership and attendance figures for the new Lucan facility are included in the monthly statistics and they are positive; in relation to the Ballyroan bowls club, it was confirmed that concerns regarding the bowling green are recognised and are currently being addressed, with another meeting scheduled shortly between SDCC Architects and the group involved.

Cllr. Keane sought clarification on works at the Jobstown Community Centre, particularly regarding reported fire safety concerns. Mr. McAlerney advised that the Board of Management was fully aware of the issues and temporarily closed the building until assurances were received that the concerns had been resolved.

Regarding the Whitechurch facility, it was reported that all preparatory work has been completed and colleagues are awaiting redesigned plans. Once reviewed, the Part 8 process could commence in Q1 2026.

The report was noted.

Agenda Item No 4: LECP Update

The LECP Summary – 2024 – 2030 was delivered by Maria Nugent

• The South Dublin LECP is a six-year statutory plan adopted in December 2024, aligning economic and community objectives with local, national and international strategies.
• The plan is available as gaeilge also.
• The plan sets out six high-level goals focusing on improved quality of life, education and skills, health, inclusion, community empowerment and a fair transition to a low-carbon county.
• 120 actions support these goals, with a two-year implementation plan in place to track progress.
• Work is underway to introduce IT systems to support reporting and reduce administrative demands.
• Progress updates will be presented to the LCDC twice per year.

 Ms. E. Clancy noted that the implementation plan spans two-year periods and is structured to ensure that milestones and key achievements are clearly identified.

Cllr. N. Whelan raised a concern regarding an outcome outlined in the LECP relating to the Drugs debt intimidation services through the Drugs Taskforce, noting that funding for the relevant organisation is currently at risk. It was agreed to explore all available options to ensure the continued funding of the organisation.

Cllr. Murphy inquired about the possibility of producing a ‘plain English’ version of the document.

M Nugent noted the issues and agreed that they would be brought forward to the next meeting of the LCDC

The report was noted.

Agenda Item No 5: Active South Dublin  - Local Sports Plan

Thos McDermott, Active South Dublin Coordinator, delivered an update on the local sports plan.

Strategic Plan 2023–2028

The focus areas include:

• Active Communities & Clubs
• Active Spaces & Places
• Active Communications
• Active Partnerships & Systems

Committee Representation: Elected members, SDCC (cross department), ETB, HSE, Tallaght Hospital, TUD, SDC Partnership, and Secondary School/Active Schools representatives.

Strategic Actions:

• Total of 52 planned actions across all themes – each theme and their action are reviewed by the committee during the year.
• Progress to date:
  • 2 actions fully completed
  • 40 actions ongoing
  • 8 actions started
  • 2 actions yet to begin (Infrastructure audit & linking in with ETB about audit schools facilities/usage)

Participation & Engagement:

• Almost 95,000 participation opportunities delivered or supported as of October 2025 – including through facilitators/co-funded officers in the FAI, IRFU, Athletics, Basketball, GAA, Cricket (excluding grant-related participation where some €150,000 has been awarded to various clubs/organisations for them to build programs or purchase equipment).
• Brand Awareness Survey was completed across Rathfarnham, Citywest, Tallaght, Clondalkin, and Lucan and results were positive.
• The introduction of the Omnigym in Perrystown was very well received and there have been 1500 uses to date in the past few weeks.
• Photos in the presentation gave an overview of the activities that have taken place – including the Colour dash, events under the disability program, events with older people and the Emerging Talant bursary.

There were questions and queries from N Gavin, PPN; and Cllrs Edge, Whelan and Murphy.

T McDermott responded to the queries on whether the possibility of providing a shelter on the likes of the Omni gym had been considered. He said this hasn’t been fully considered yet or fully costed. He also responded to a query about the Education bursary, where he confirmed that the full budget was spent.

Agenda Item No 6 – SPC Work program

E Clancy, SEO shared the proposed work program for 2026 with the committee. This included:

• Local Economic and Community Plan 2024-2030
• LCDC update incorporating SICAP, Sláintecare and Healthy Ireland
• Implementation of Active South Dublin, Local Sports Plan
• Community & Leisure Facilities - Capital Programme, Strategy & Governance
• Community & Sports Grants
• Community Development, Social Inclusion and Health & Wellbeing Initiatives
• Comhairle na nÓg Work Programme
• Integration Strategy 2025-2029
• South Dublin Age Friendly Strategy 2025-29
• Local Community Safety Partnership
• Equality Officer Programme

Cllr Edge asked if it would be possible to have an update from G Meehan, Equality Officer regularly and this was agreed. Cllr Murphy suggested a presentation from South Dublin Partnership, and this was also agreed.

 The report was noted.

Any other business

The Chair thanked the committee for their positivity and hard work over the past year, and she also thanked the Community administration team who took over the running of the meeting mid-year.

**The meeting concluded as there was no other business**