Donabate is one of the fastest-growing towns in Fingal. We are proud of our community and welcome new families — but essential services have not been planned or delivered in step with this growth.

Our population has grown rapidly over the past years and is expected to approach 20,000 residents by the end of the decade. Yet many of the services Donabate depends on remain delayed, unconfirmed, or reliant on facilities outside the town.

This petition is not opposed to housing:

It is a call for proper sequencing, coordination and accountability so that growth results in a safe, healthy and resilient community.

 
What the Evidence Now Shows:

Through Freedom of Information requests, Parliamentary Questions and official correspondence, residents have been able to confirm the following:

Policing & Safety:

• Donabate is not included in the Garda Capital Investment Programme (2023–2030)
• No planning or feasibility records exist for a local Garda station
• Policing and first response rely on already-stretched services based outside the town

Healthcare:

• The planned Primary Care Centre for Donabate did not proceed
• No replacement delivery timeline has been confirmed
• Residents are being directed to services in Swords, despite national policy supporting community-based care

Education

• New primary schools are identified in policy but delivery is deferred
• The Gaelscoil site acquisition remains incomplete, with no construction timeline
• No additional post-primary school is currently planned

Transport & Emergency Access:

• Donabate remains a constrained-access settlement
• Local access routes are already under pressure
• Many transport and active travel projects are planned for post-2027 or later
• No settlement-level emergency access or response modelling has been published

Water & Wastewater:

• Treatment capacity is referenced at regional level
• Town-level wastewater network capacity and upgrade sequencing remain unclear

A Structural Problem — Not a Single Failure: 

What residents are seeing is not one missing project, but a systemic issue:

Housing delivery is planned, zoned and accelerated through the Development Plan, while essential services depend on separate, non-binding processes, often delivered years later.

There is currently no cross-departmental mechanism to ensure that:

• Access
• Emergency response
• Policing,
• Healthcare,
• Schools
• and utilities

are aligned in time with population growth at settlement level.

 
What We Are Asking For:
We are calling for a Cross-Departmental Donabate Infrastructure & Services Review, involving:

• Department of Justice / An Garda Síochána
• Department of Health / HSE
• Department of Education
• Department of Transport (NTA, TII, Irish Rail)
• Uisce Éireann
• Fingal County Council (lead body)

This review should result in:

• a published, settlement-level plan
• realistic delivery timelines
• interim measures where services are already under pressure
• annual public updates as the town continues to grow

Why This Matters:

Donabate should never have to choose between new homes and basic services. Both must be planned and delivered together.

Our community deserves transparency, coordination and investment that matches the scale of growth already underway.

 
Your Voice Matters:

This petition is a positive, evidence-based call from residents who care deeply about the future of Donabate.

Every signature strengthens the case for a town that grows with its services, not years ahead of them.

💚 Please sign and share.