Planning was the issue, says KPA

16 June 1999:

Dear Editor,

Kildare Planning Alliance congratulates the new members of the County Council and Urban District Councils on their election. It especially congratulates its former Secretary, Tony McEvoy, on being elected first in the Clane Electoral Area and also Naas Planning Alliance candidate Mary Glennon on her election to represent the Naas Electoral Area. Together with her colleague Anthony Egan, Mary was also elected to Naas U.D.C. These results represent highly significant choices made by the electorate of Kildare, an increasingly sophisticated electorate who are sending a message to the established parties which they cannot ignore any longer.

In the Clane, Celbridge and Naas constituencies where an independent community or local planning alliance candidate ran, approximately 30 - 45% of first preference votes were cast in favour of non-party candidates. This is clearly a vote of no confidence in the established party system and cannot be interpreted otherwise by any objective observer. Planning, and the antics of the outgoing Council in relation to it, was THE issue on the doorstep for those who chose to recognise it. For too long the people of Kildare have been ignored by the established parties in formulating their grandiose rezoning plans to suit interests not grounded in community concerns. For too long planning in Kildare has not been about people but about land. Witness the one thousand individual submissions on the recent County Development Plan which were scathingly dismissed by now departed councillors. The people have at last had their say. The communities have begun to demand transparency and accountability from their elected representatives.

This election may yet be seen as a watershed in Kildare politics. It will be followed by at least one general election before the next council elections in 2004. During that time, Kildare Planning Alliance will continue to build on the successes it has achieved over the past three years and thanks its many adherents for their continuing support. The lesson of last week is that either the main parties start to work with the people they represent in a transparent manner, and listen to their new representatives, or June 1999 will be viewed as the first of many "Independents' Days".

John Sweeney, Kildare Planning Alliance.

 

Catherine Murphy victim of Labour 'slur and innuendo'?

LEIXLIP, 15 June 1999: by Brian Byrne. Leixlip-based Labour councillor Catherine Murphy says whether she stays in the party or not is 'entirely up to the party'. And she says that allegations that she was responsible for Colm Purcell losing his seat in the local elections are 'utter nonsense'.

This follows reports that Kildare North Labour TD Emmet Stagg has written to the party leader Ruadhri Quinn asking that Ms Murphy's name not be on the party's list for the next general election. She told KNN that the allegations about Colm Purcell are just being used 'to get at her' and that elements in the party are working specifically to make her position as a member of the party untenable. It may well be that they'll succeed and she could have to leave.

"But that's nothing unusual," she said. "Kildare is littered with the corpses of former Labour party people who became victims of slur and innuendo. My interests have always been for improvements in the quality of life of Kildare people and for Kildare itself, and this is what I have always concentrated on in Kildare County Council."

When negotiations for a merger between Democratic Left and the Labour Party were under way it was widely believed that Catherine Murphy would be against it. But at the last minute she came out in favour, leaving Emmet Stagg suddenly facing a very strong competitor in his own backyard who already had her party's nomination for the next election. There is strong speculation that the current events are based on this factor.

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Conway pulls in last seat in cliffhanger Naas Area count

KILDARE GENERAL, 15 June 1999: by Brian Byrne & Trish Whelan. Timmy Conway (PD) (pictured above with his election team) took the last seat in the Naas Electoral Area for Kildare County Council last evening after he achieved 53 more votes than J J Power (Green). Earlier, a full recount at the request of Willie Callaghan (FF) in the early hours of yesterday morning showed 'no significant differences' when the check was completed in mid-afternoon. This left Anthony Lawlor (NP) and Mary Glennon (NP) elected, and on the distribution of Willie Callaghan's votes his party companion Sean Power (FF) was elected with a substantial surplus of 336 votes.

On the 10th count distribution of his brother's surplus, J J Power (Green) came bottom of the poll as more transfers went to Timmy Conway, leaving Billy Hillis (FG) (right) and Conway taking the last seats without reaching the quota. A 25-vote surplus of Mary Glennon's was finally distributed, though they could not have made any difference to the result.

The full lineup of the next Kildare Council is as follows: Athy - Jack Wall (LAB), Rainsford Hendy (FG), Martin Miley (FF); Celbridge - Kathleen Walsh (NP), Emmet Stagg (LAB), Geraldine Conway (FF); Clane - Tony McEvoy (NP), Jim Reilly (FG), Michael Fitzpatrick (FF), P J Sheridan (FF); Kildare - Sean O Fearghail (FF), Fiona O'Loughlin (FF), Fionnuala Dukes (FG), John O'Neill (FF); Senator John Dardis (PD); Jim Keane (LAB); Leixlip - Paul Kelly (FF); Catherine Murphy (LAB); John McGinley (LAB), Senan Griffin (FG); Naas - Anthony Lawlor (NP), Mary Glennon (NP), Sean Power (FF), Billy Hillis (FG), and Timmy Conway (PD).

Pictured below getting the 'Carbury Whoosh' (phrase © Jane Mullins Kildare Nationalist) after his election on Sunday is outgoing Cathaoirleach Jim Reilly. The first meeting of the new council takes place on June 25.

NOTE: The full county council count details are here.

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Last minute recount delays final Kildare result

KILDARE GENERAL, 14 June 1999: by Brian Byrne & Trish Whelan. A request from Fianna Fail candidate Willie Callaghan for a full recount has delayed the completion of the election of Kildare County Council. Mr Callaghan asked for the recount of the Naas Electoral Area poll when he was threatened with elimination with just 40 votes between himself and Timmy Conway (PD). The count will resume at 11 o'clock this morning.

Prior to the call for a recount, the early morning counting saw Anthony Lawlor (NP) (above) elected on the seventh count with 1,576 votes (quota 1,492), along with Naas Planning Alliance runner Mary Glennon (NP) (below) who polled a total of 1,517 votes. Likely to be elected were Sean Power (FF) and Billy Hillis (FG), while those in contention for the final seat were J J Power (Green) and Timmy Conway, should Willie Callaghan be eliminated.

Meanwhile, in a result that will see significant changes to the composition and political colour of the new council, a particular element is the election of a total of six women, including Fionnuala Dukes (FG) (below), tripling female representation. The strong performance by a number of NP candidates, particularly those running on planning-related platforms, also signalled a strong groundswell of concern over the growth in mid- and north Kildare. The final result will see gains for Fianna Fail and losses for Fine Gael, while 'new' Labour got 'new' faces.

The three-seater Athy Area didn't end with any real surprises, with Kildare South TD Jack Wall (LAB) getting through on the fourth count with a total of 1,798 votes. He was followed in on the sixth count by Martin Miley (FF) and Rainsford Hendy (FG), following the elimination of Mark Dalton (FF) who had polled very strongly. The 230 Labour vote for Castledermot activist Mags O'Brien was disappointing to the party.

In the Clane Area, the loss of Sean Reilly to Fine Gael was clearly seen in the result that returned his Carbury-based colleague Jim Reilly on the eighth count but failed to do the needful for running mate Brendan Weld. In the event, retired Clane schoolteacher and planning activist Tony McEvoy (NP) (above) topped the poll and got himself elected on the sixth count. The ninth count brought in newcomer Michael Fitzpatrick (FF), who had styled himself as 'assistant to the minister for finance' on his candidature papers, and also veteran Fianna Fail councillor P J Sheridan.

The Kildare Area saw massive wins by Sean O Fearghaill (FF) and running mate Fiona O'Loughlin (on the second count), but after that it was a long haul before the rest of the winners came in from the field. While the eventual outcome was Fionnuala Dukes (FG), John Dardis (PD), Jim Keane (LAB) and John O'Neill (FF), it was a nailbighting but unsuccessful fight for long-serving Spike Nolan (FG) who has given 32 years of public service in County Kildare (he has been returned to the Newbridge Town Commission). Francis Browne (NP) also failed to hold the seat he had been coopted to following the death of Joe Bermingham.

In the Leixlip Area, newcomer Paul Kelly (FF) was elected on the first count on Saturday night. In last night's concluding counts the winners in short order were Catherine Murphy (LAB), John McGinely (LAB) and Senan Griffin (FG), pictured above with his daughters. Colm Purcell (LAB) lost the seat he had held in the council.

The new Celbridge Area three-seater was soundly baptized by Kate Walsh (NP) on Saturday night when she scored 2,167 votes on a quota requirement of 1,256. She was accompanied into the area by Emmet Stagg (LAB) who made it just over the quota. Last night, after six counts, Geraldine Conway (FF) (below) took the third place, boosted by a strong transfer from fellow party candidate Gay Boylan. A feature of this election were the poor showings by Fine Gael's Mark Clinton and Brian Mullarkey.

NOTE: The full county council count details are here.

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Winners and losers in the count - some who know and others who must wait

KILDARE GENERAL, 13 June 1999: by Brian Byrne & Trish Whelan. A significantly changed Kildare County Council and strong changes in Naas UDC are the main elements arising out the first day of counting in the local elections yesterday, with Fianna Fail looking to gain strongly in the county forum and the introduction of a stronger independent cohort there. Big individual winners are Sean O Fearghaill (FF), Fiona O'Loughlin, Catherine Walsh (NP) and Anthony Lawlor (Independent). In Naas UDC, Naas Planning Alliance candidate Mary Glennon swept the boards and outgoing cathaoirleach Paddy Behan (FF) went out all the way in a nailbiting showdown with Evelyn Bracken (NP). The washout in today's next count stages will be interesting, with much attention being paid particularly to the fortunes of Martin Miley (FF), Spike Nolan (FG), Timmy Conway (PD) and Mary Glennon's chances of getting a KCC seat. Fine Gael's representation is also hinging very much on how Senan Griffin fares.

The Fine Gael candidate for Athy Electoral Area, Rainsford Hendy polled the highest individual Fine Gael first preference vote in the county in the local elections. His 1,271 votes were exceeded in his area only by Labour's Jack Wall TD who polled 1,382 first preferences. The third runner in the area so far is Martin Miley (FF) who on consensus last night was tipped to gain the third seat in the area. It's thought that none of the three will make the quota of 1,651 before being elected.

In the Clane area, Fianna Fail's Michael Fitzpatrick (left with minister for finance Charlie McCreevy TD) at 1,352 topped the poll by just one vote from Independent candidate Tony McEvoy. Next in line was Fianna Fail's P J Sheridan with 1,023, closely followed by Fine Gael's Jim Reilly with 944. The quota for the area is 1,567.

The new Celbridge Area three-seater was overpoweringly won by Non-Party candidate Kathleen Walsh (below right being congratulated by Fiona O'Loughlin and her father, retiring councillor Jimmy O'Loughlin) who polled 2,167 votes where a quota of just 1,256 was required. Labour TD Emmet Stagg was also elected on the first count with 1,261 votes. The first order of business this morning will be to distribute Kathleen Walsh's surplus, and this could bring in the Fianna Fail candidate Geraldine Conway or help towards a win by her running mate Gay Boylan.

Leixlip solicitor Paul Kelly (FF) (below)was elected comfortably on the first count in the Leixlip Area with 1,437 first preferences where the quota was 1,336. His surplus to be divided tomorrow could bring in the number two runner here, Catherine Murphy of Labour, who polled 1,284 votes. John McGinley (LAB) at 1,104 while Senan Griffin (FG) waits with 1,023 first preferences to see if he can hold the fourth seat. Hanging on to challenge him is Colm Purcell (LAB) with 922.

In the Kildare Area, Fianna Fail's Sean O Fearghaill (left being congratulated by Senator John Dardis) romped home a comfortable 262 votes over quota at 1,737, closely followed by party colleague Fiona O' Loughlin at 1,492 (who should be elected on the second count). Fionnuala Dukes for FG polled a strong 1,067 and looks sure of a place in the council chamber, while John Dardis (PD) will come back to County Hall with a first count of 970 giving him a sound base. John O'Neill (FF) at 938 also seems safe, and the final seat will probably be a race between Jim Keane (LAB) and Spike Nolan (FG).

Independent Anthony Lawlor (below with friends) topped the poll in the Naas Area with 1,210 first preferences. His election won't take place until this afternoon as the quota is 1,492. Running next down to him are Sean Power (FF) with 1,062, Billy Hillis (FG) with 906, Mary Glennon (NP) with 906, Timmy Conway (PD) at 715, and Willie Callaghan (FF) at 711.

The Naas UDC count was thrown into severe difficulty for mainstream candidates by the landslide victory of Naas Planning Alliance candidate Mary Glennon who was elected on the first count with 653 first preferences, easily over the 462-vote quota. It took until the 10th count to bring in her running mate Anthony Egan, which was also when Labour's Pat McCarthy was elected with 371 votes against Egan's 325. On the 11th count, Fine Gael's Pat O'Reilly took the seat vacated by retiring member Mary French Coughlan. After that it was a marathon session for the remaining seats, which were won respectively by Seamie Moore (NP), Timmy Conway (PD), Willie Callaghan (FF), Charlie Byrne (FF) and Evelyn Bracken after a 15th count showdown with outgoing cathaoirleach of the council Paddy Behan (FF). Losers smiling in adversity (below) also included Louise Burchall and J J Power of the Green Party.

In Athy UDC, those elected were Jack Wall (LAB), Mark Dalton (FF), John Lawler (FF), Frank English (FF), Clifford Reid (NP), Sean Cunnane (FG), Paddy Wright (SF), Michael Foley (FF), and Noel Scully (LAB).

Newbridge Town Commission now has Murty Aspell (NP), Pat Black (FF), Colm Feeney (FF), Seamie Finn (NP), Brian Maginn (FG), Spike Nolan (FG), Ray O'Brien (FF), Fiona O'Loughlin (FF) and John O'Neill (FF).

In Leixlip Town Commission, Teresa Byrne (FG), Bernard Caldwell (FF), Paul Kelly (FF), Breege Lynch (FG), Catherine Murphy (LAB), Kevin O'Connor (FF), Colm Purcell (LAB), Sean Purcell (LAB) and Michael Rodgers (FF) won seats.

In the Referendum in Kildare, 33,939 people voted in favour of the amendmen which gives a constitutional status to local authorities, while 9,408 voted against.

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Early tallies show backlash against excessive development

NAAS, 12 June 1999: by Trish Whelan & Brian Byrne. The extent of the backlash against planning decisions by urban and county councillors in mid-Kildare became evident by lunchtime as tally figures showed strong gains by first-time candidates running on a platform for better planning.

Mary Glennon, sister of Irish Independent journalist Chris Glennon looks set to gain a seat on Kildare County Council, and has already gained a quota and a half for Naas UDC. It is almost a certainty that her surplus will bring in fellow Naas Planning Alliance candidate Anthony Egan to the UDC. Other high pollers for the UDC include Seamie Moore (NP), Pat McCarthy (LAB) and Willie Callaghan (FF). Charlie Byrne (FF) also looks set to hold his UDC seat, as does Timmy Conway (PD).

With all Naas Electoral Area boxes tallied, Willie Callaghan also polled well for the county council, as has Anthony Lawlor (NP) and Pat O'Reilly (FG).

In Newbridge Town Commission, first indications showed Fiona O'Loughlin heading the poll with 555 first preferences according to the unofficial tally. Seasoned election watchers suggest that Fianna Fail could gain a majority five seats on the commission, with Labour losing its seat and Brian Maginn joining Spike Nolan as the Fine Gael team.

In the Kildare Electoral Area, with the Newbridge boxes counted, John O'Neill (FF) headed the tally, followed by Fiona O'Loughlin, John Dardis and Spike Nolan. Seamie Finn (NP) was next in line.

Paul Kelly (FF) headed the Leixlip Town Commission tally followed closely by Catherine Murphy (LAB) and Colm Purcell (LAB). In the Leixlip Electoral Area, Paul Kelly also topped the tally for Fianna Fail on Kildare County Council, followed by Catherine Murphy (LAB), John McGinley and Fine Gael's Senan Griffin.

On Athy UDC Fianna Fail's Mark Dalton easily took top place, followed by Jack Wall TD, and Frank English (FF). In the Athy Electoral Area, Jack Wall has topped the vote, followed by Rainsford Hendy (FG) and Mark Dalton (FF).

NOTE: The above results are purely on tallies of first preferences. Acknowledged top tallyman in the country Charlie McCreevy TD, minister for finance, is pictured above in his element as early estimates come in at the GAA Centre in Naas.

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KNN will bring you the election results as they happen

NAAS, 12 June 1999: by Trish Whelan & Brian Byrne. With an estimated Leinster turnout of around 50% in yesterday's poll, it was at least better than in Dublin City where the percentage of voters who exercised their franchise was in the low 40s. In Kildare the issues were planning and infrastructural facilities to a very large extent and most commentators are looking with interest to see how much they'll effect the shape of the new County and urban councils.

Here at KNN we'll be bringing you the count results as they happen. It's thought that the first count results won't be available until late afternoon, but by lunchtime we hope to bring you the views of the tallymen as to the likely outcome.

Our count result page is here.

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Call to work together despite FF candidate tensions

KILDARE ELECTORAL AREA, 9 June 1999: by Brian Byrne. A former Fianna Fail director of elections has appealed to all candidates to work to return as many of the party's candidates as possible, despite the sudden resignation of Peter Gibbons, party director for elections for the Kildare Area of Kildare County Council. Pat Black (left), who is himself a candidate for Newbridge Town Commission, said he understood the difficulties posed by the situation, but candidates shouldn't let it prevent them from making the best effort possible.

Mr Gibbons resigned following tension between Fianna Fail candidates over publicity strategies used by Fiona O'Loughlin, widely expected to take the seat vacated by her retiring father Jimmy O'Loughlin. It is understood that her decision to have her own canvass cards printed and her use of full-page newspaper advertising upset some of the more established fellow-candidates to the point where a letter was sent to Fianna Fail head office threatening their resignation.

Supporters of Ms O'Loughlin said she had no choice but to go ahead with this strategy because of delay by outgoing councillor John O'Neill in deciding whether or not he would run in the election, though he had been selected along with the other candidates at a convention last November. This meant that party canvass cards could not be printed, and a press conference to introduce the candidates had to be rescheduled. "This was most unfair to new candidates who needed time and support to establish a profile," says supporter John Shanahan. "The dice would have been loaded totally in favour of sitting councillors. If we were to achieve our target of three seats out of six in the electoral area, somebody would have to make the running."

Pat Black told KNN that he sympathises with the situation faced by Ms O'Loughlin but said that such conflicts were common enough between members of a party's election panel. "The only way to make sure they don't happen is for the director of elections to sit down with the candidates early on and establish rigid ground rules for what can and can't be done," he commented.

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Candidate admits inaccuracies and errors in controversial plan booklet

NAAS, 8 June 1999: by Brian Byrne & Trish Whelan. Naas UDC candidate Cllr Timmy Conway has admitted that there were inaccuracies and errors in a booklet he had circulated in the town to promote himself and fellow-councillors who had supported the Naas Development Plan. But he denies that there were ‘lies’ in the publication related to some promised benefits which were attributed to the development plan. “They weren’t lies, because they WILL happen,” he said on Monday evening in response to a Labour Party circular outlining the errors in the booklet.

Particular benefits attributed incorrectly to the Development Plan include ‘the acquisition of St David’s Castle and Gardens, the expansion and upgrading of Naas Hospital, the building of a new Fire Station and the development of Monread Park’. “None of those have anything to do with the development plan - they have all come to pass through other work by the UDC,” retiring Cllr Sean English said about the booklet after it was circulated. He also heavily criticised the (unnamed) publishers for including his name as a supporter of the plan, when he had voted against its adoption.

“Putting those benefits in WAS a mistake ... I suppose we should have issued them on a separate flier,” Cllr Conway admitted. “And I have already apologised to Cllr English for the mistake over including his name. But we had the booklets printed before the final vote, and we expected that he would have voted for the plan, as he had earlier voted for the first draft.” He conceded that it had been ‘foolish’ to have the booklet printed before the final vote on the plan.

Cllr Conway also brushed aside possible breaches of the law by failure to include the name of the publisher or printer on the booklet. “If there are illegalities, we’ll take care of them,” he said. Meanwhile, both town manager Terry O’Niadh and town clerk Declan Kirrane have emphasised that the booklet is NOT the Naas Development Plan as purported on the cover, nor had the UDC been involved with it in any way.

The picture of the Town Hall on the cover had nothing to do with him, Cllr Conway also said, when it was suggested that the use of such a picture was designed to make it seem like an official document. “That was the printer’s idea,” he said. “I just wrote the words in my computer and sent them to Millbrook Press. I had nothing to do with the design.” He also disclaimed suggestions that the publication had cost £10,000 and said that when he had claimed to have paid for it himself on local radio that he had been incorrect.

“I don’t know what it is going to cost - the bill hasn’t come in yet,” he said. “But it will be paid for by ALL the councillors who supported the development plan.”

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CHAPMANS OF KILDARE

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'Naas plan' publication row escalates - illegality concerns

NAAS, 8 June 1999: by Brian Byrne & Trish Whelan. Naas UDC has officially disowned a publication being circulated by Cllr Timmy Conway entitled the ‘Naas Development Plan’, which has been described as a ‘fraud on the people of Naas’. In a letter to Labour UDC candidate Pat McCarthy, town clerk Declan Kirrane says the booklet ‘has not been published, printed or circulated by Naas UDC’. This reinforces comments made last week by town manager Terry O Niadh that the UDC had neither produced the publication nor knew officially who had done so.

The booklet has been distributed widely through Naas and has already been heavily criticised by retiring Green councillor Sean English, who has complained that his name is published in it as supporting the Naas Development Plan, when he actually voted against it. In addition, the document takes credit for several projects which have nothing to do with the plan.

Concerns have also been expressed about the legality of the document, which bears neither publisher’s nor printer’s imprint, as required by law. In addition, though the publication is clearly being distributed as election literature, it disregards specific legislation on such literature by failing to have the name of the candidates or their election agent on it as publishers.

“It is a matter of deep concern to me that councillors seeking re-election should use such low tactics,” Pat McCarthy says in his letter (reproduced in full below). “The public is entitled to know the TRUTH before they decide on how to vote.”

Mr McCarthy says he has found on his canvass that many people believe the publication is the OFFICIAL Naas Development Plan, because it has a picture of the Town Hall on its cover and gives the names of councillors who voted for the plan in its final stages (including, wrongly, that of Cllr Sean English). “To correct an error that is being perpetuated deliberately, we have distributed 5,000 leaflets showing inaccuracies and lies that are incorporated in this document. That’s a terrible thing to have to do to answer a fraud that is being perpetrated on the whole population of Naas.”

Mr McCarthy has estimated that the production of the mysterious publication has cost some £10,000. “We must all account for our expenditure after the election. I wonder which of the candidates will claim responsibility for it in their returns.”

On local radio last week, PD councillor Timmy Conway said he had paid for the publication, and that it was produced by the ‘councillors who supported the development plan’.

TIM CONWAY & CO - ACCOUNTANTS

Basin Street, Naas

We offer all accounting services including financial advice, taxation, company information etc. Contact 045 876492 or email at timmyconway@tinet.ie

THINKING OF RETURNING TO IRELAND?

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Challenge on Moat funding not replied to

NAAS, 8 June 1999:

Dear Editor,

Two weeks ago, you published a challenge from me to the Chairperson of Naas UDC, Cllr Paddy Behan. I asked him to produce the minute of the UDC meeting where it was decided to award a Grant of £200,000 towards the Moat Club Project. I am still awaiting a response from Mr Behan. I think that at this stage it is reasonable for me to assume that such a minute does not exist.

Since then you did publish a letter from Cllr Timmy Conway. He suggested that I was against the idea of giving assistance to the Moat Club! How can he draw such a conclusion from my letter?

In the meantime both Councillors’ names have been named in the discredited booklet entitled 'Naas Development Plan' which was widely circulated in the Naas area (see recent editions of KNN News). The booklet is full of extravagent claims, mostly on matters which have nothing to do with the real Naas Development Plan. Only one of those named in the publication, Cllr Sean English, has disclaimed responsibility. Any others wishing to be disassociated with the anonymous booklet such do as Cllr English has done.

It is a matter of deep concern to me that Councillors seeking re-election should use such low tactics. The public is entitled to know the truth before they decide on how to vote on 11th June.

For the record, I am forwarding you a copy of a letter which I received from the Town Clerk. This makes it clear that this booklet has 'not been published, printed or circulated by Naas UDC'.

Yours, Pat McCarthy, Labour Party Candidate for Naas UDC.

 

Plan 'suits developers and speculators' - former councillor

NAAS, 6 June 1999: by Brian Byrne. The recently-adopted Naas Development Plan is one that ‘suits developers and speculators’ according to a former UDC councillor who served on the body for 20 years. Donal Corcoran says also that these developers were being ‘facilitated’ by the majority of members of the present urban council ‘against the wishes of the vast majority of the people who live in the town’.

Mr Corcoran calls on ‘the enlightened people’ of Naas to make sure to vote next Friday, otherwise they will be allowing ‘the continued destruction of our town’.

The full text of his letter appears below.

CHAPMANS OF KILDARE

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Vote to avoid 'continued destruction' of Naas

NAAS, 6 June 1999:

Dear Editor,

The most important duty of any Urban District Council is to produce a Development Plan. This decides the future shape of the Town, its allowable land usage and so that any develoment may take place in a co-ordinated and orderly manner. This should be of benefit to all who live and work in the town.

The present Development Plan for Naas seems to be a plan that suits developers and land speculators who are being facilitated by the majority of the present Urban Council, and who are ignoring the wishes of the vast majority of the people who live in the town, and the professional advice of its planners. To a great extent the people of the town are at fault, because they voted in the present Council, or by default because they did not vote at the last Naas UDC elections.

I would call on the enlightened people of Naas, not to make the same mistake again and to come out on Friday 11th. June and VOTE. Cast your vote to safeguard your future and your children’s future. If you do not vote you are allowing the continued destruction of our town.

DONAL CORCORAN

FORMER UDC COUNCILLOR 1974 -1994

 

Poster defacing claim

NAAS, 6 June 1999:

Dear Editor,

North Kildare Planning Alliance are de-facing posters in this area. They were caught in Johnstown. I reported them to the Garda. I demand an answer from The Naas Planning Alliance. This is their organisation. They have been preaching on control. These people are their members. What action will they take. I demand that all posters interfered with be cleaned up.

Timmy Conway
Candidate for Naas UDC and Kildare County Council

 

New £1.5m Kildare garden 'could dry out' - candidate claims

THE CURRAGH, 5 June 1999: by Brian Byrne. The St Fiachra Garden which was opened on Thursday by the President, Mary McAleese, could dry out if the current controversial plans for the Kildare by-pass are implemented, independent candidate for the Kildare County Council elections Percy Podger has claimed. The plan is currently the subject of an appeal to the European Commission on the basis that it could affect the Curragh acquifer, a situation that threatens to delay the project by up to two years.

Meanwhile, Mr Podger has also criticised what he calls ‘secrecy’ on the part of Kildare County Council, which he claims is not fulfilling a directive to keep people informed about ground water conditions.

“The letter from the Minister for the Environment to Kildare County Council approving the by pass in January 1996 instructed that the Council ‘consult’ with various parties specifically naming ‘private well owners’,” he says. “This consultation was to design and implement a monitoring programme to evaluate the existing ground water conditions. The Council never consulted with me or anyone else I know. To add insult to injury in this travesty of the system, they have even refused me the monitoring results from my own wells. Information flow is the key to good government. This secrecy is now going to cost us dearly in delays, money, and embarrassment.”

TIM CONWAY & CO - ACCOUNTANTS

Basin Street, Naas

We offer all accounting services including financial advice, taxation, company information etc. Contact 045 876492 or email at timmyconway@tinet.ie

THINKING OF RETURNING TO IRELAND?

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CHAPMANS OF KILDARE

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Reiterates opposition to incinerator

CARBURY, 5 June 1999: by Brian Byrne. The outgoing chairperson of Kildare County Council- Carbury based Cllr Jim Reilly has publicly re-stated his opposition to the proposal to site an incinerator at Boycetown in Kilcock. Addressing a meeting of the Fine Gael organisation in Carbury, he said not only would the people of Kilcock become the helpless victim’s of this development, but it would also impact significantly on the wellbeing of everyone living within a twenty miles radius - and this would include Carbury.

“As a parent of young children and a public representative I have made strong written objections to Kildare County Council on my own behalf and that of the community of Kilcock requesting the council not to approve this application and I will continue to support all who are against the application,” he said.

 

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Use of name in plan booklet condemned as 'sharp practice'

NAAS, 3 June 1999: by Brian Byrne & Trish Whelan. An outgoing Naas UDC councillor has condemned as ‘sharp practice’ and ‘stroke-pulling’ the inclusion of his name in a booklet claiming to be the Naas Development Plan being circulated by ‘men in a green van’. Cllr Sean English, who is not seeking re-election, said that, contrary to what is stated in the document, he actually voted AGAINST the adoption of the plan, which has aroused huge controversy in Naas.

The booklet is entitled ‘Naas Development Plan’ and has a picture of the Town Hall on the front, but there is nowhere in the publication an indication of who produced or printed it. However, on local radio yesterday, Cllr Timmy Conway said he had paid for it and that it was ‘produced by the councillors who supported the plan’.

Cllr English said he was ‘pretty annoyed’ about the whole matter. “That’s putting it mildly,” he told KNN. “It is true that I did support the very first draft of the plan, but that was because I had reservations and wanted to get the discussion moving along. This document is a clear example of a group of people ‘pulling a quick one’ and it may well backfire on them.”

Cllr English also noted that some claims made in the booklet as relating to the plan were highly inaccurate, and he highlighted these as ‘the acquisition of St David’s Castle and Gardens, the expansion and upgrading of Naas Hospital, the building of new Fire Station and the development of Monread Park’. “None of those have anything to do with the development plan - they have all come to pass through other work by the UDC.”

Fianna Fail councillor Charlie Byrne also criticised the the circulation of the document, and said that pro-plan councillors were asking people on the doorsteps: ‘Did you get our development plan?’ “This is clearly making it seem that it is an official publication from the UDC,” he said. “I’d like to know what the town manager and town clerk think of this kind of suggestion?” Cllr Byrne consistently opposed the plan in all its stages, along with independent councillor Teresa Scanlon. At the final vote last Saturday, Cllr Sean English also voted against its adoption.

Meanwhile, Naas town manager Terry O Niadh has emphasised that the booklet was not in any way an official document from the UDC. “It was NOT produced by us and we don’t know anything about it. There are no indications of who published it, and we don’t know who did.”

TIM CONWAY & CO - ACCOUNTANTS

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CHAPMANS OF KILDARE

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Criticism of 'book of promises'

NAAS, 3 June 1999:

Dear Editor,

As a candidate in the up coming local elections, I am very disappointed in misrepresentations that are being made to the public with regard to the contraversial Town Plan. The latest ploy is the much talked about "Book of Promises" as it has been labelled- This book makes the plan out to be the greatest thing since the invention of the Wheel! There are gross inaccuracies contained in the book. It doesn't explain that Naas will end up being a concrete jungle sandwiched between industrial parks, with over priced houses, over flowing schools, a water system that won't cope, I could go on and on.

The Naas UDC can't cope with the people here at present, why encourage disaster! There are estates in the town at present that haven't been finished, The UDC have apparently spent the bonds meant for these estates elsewhere! There are older estates that haven't been taken in charge, why build more! This plan is creating a monster for our town, with the people growing up in it now being unable to afford to buy houses in their home town. The UDC's housing policy is a joke and the so called provisions in the new plan is Too little Too late!

The third level centre (RTC ATHLONE) hasn't even been sanctioned by the Dept. of education! How can they say it will be up and running next year?

Let me finish by saying that I am not against building per se, but it MUST benefit the people living here. The infrastructure must be put in place first. We want to be able to live in comfort in our town. We want our children to be able to live in this town if they so choose and not have to move out for financial reasons!

I hope that this e-mail will appear on your web site and that the organisers can be impartial, and give freedom of speech. To allow the people see all sides of the argument is a basic right of the people of our Town!

Yours sincerely,

Martina O'Kelly (LABOUR)

 

Cemetary extension approved

GORMANSTOWN, 3 June 1999: by Brian Byrne. Gormanstown Cemetary is to get an extension which will cost around £90,000, half of which will come from the KCC budget of this year. According to FG Cllr Rainsford Hendy, who has been seeking this work for at least four years, it a very important achievement for the local community.

The graveyard is in the parish of Kilcullen, and there have been no new burial spaces there for some years despite the fact that new building in the area has meant a significant increase in the local population. “This is is also important for old families in the area, as their childrena and grandchildren want to have burial facilities close to their family plots.”

Cllr Hendy was instrumental in having new public lighting erected in the area last year. “It’s the neatest graveyward I’ve ever been in - that’s a tribute to the local committee, many of which are young people.”

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Candidate launches website

ATHY, 3 June 1999: FG candidate in the forthcoming local elections John Lynch has launched an internet site to provide information to the public about his candidature for the forthcoming local elections.

The site includes press statements from John, John's election partners, and John's ideas for the future of the town. The site will be updated daily for the duration of the campaign with comments, and press issues that can be accessed 24hrs a day.

"Information technology has successfully brought people closer together" stated Mr Lynch. "Although I am not always comfortable with computers and the internet yet, I value their importance in the modern world in which we live. For the members of the public that want to know where I stand, and who want to know what I offer to them in terms of representation - they are more than welcome to check out the information on the site." he concluded.

The site is accessable at http://www.iol.ie/~artlynch/lynch99

 

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Kildare Planning Alliance comments on county plan

KILDARE GENERAL, 3 June 1999:

Dear Editor,

The adoption of the County Development Plan by Kildare County Councillors on Monday 24th May will be looked upon in future years as a retrograde step in the social and economic development of Co Kildare. Just as its predecessor in 1985 will be remembered for laying the foundations for many of the problems faced by the county today, so will the 1999 Plan be remembered as one which failed to respond to the needs of the people of Kildare, and as one which was passed in contempt of the wishes of large sectors of its community.

The 1999 Plan has had a long and tortuous history, due in large part to the efforts of councillors to circumvent sensible recommendations made by professional planning consultants engaged by them. Through a series of convoluted manoeuvres, Kildare’s councillors have now adopted at a plan which provides almost a replica of the 1985 fiasco. Fatally flawed and unsustainable, the evidence of the final adoption meetings suggests this is a plan driven by motivations frequently not coincident with professional planning principles. Kildare has, in the opinion of Kildare Planning Alliance, been badly served by the present Co Council, and the legacy left by them is not one of which their successors will be proud.

The Plan as adopted provides for a target increase over the next seven years in the population of the county’s largest 19 towns and villages by 43% over the figures at the last census. Some towns, such as Kildare (4,278 to 12,500) and Kilcock (1,825 to 4,607), have been singled out for special treatment in the form of excessive growth - often by their own councillors. Some villages, such as Johnstown (400 to 1,381) and Ballymore Eustace (potential population similar to that of Clane today), will be unrecognisable in a few years’ time. In other cases, such as Maynooth, councillors have sought to overturn decisions they didn’t agree with at local level by activating the effective coalition among the major parties which has characterised the present Council over the past eight years. Of course the population targets have unfortunately no binding value and councillors have already voted in the case of most towns to rezone 150% of the lands needed to reach these targets. In the present economic circumstances it is likely that most of this additional rezoning will result in housing developments in the short term, making a mockery of the target figures submitted to the Minister for the Environment and Local Government.

Sadly councillors were unwilling to take the advice of their own senior planner on several crucial occasions. Sadly they also felt able to blithely ignore objections from adjoining local authorities to their rezoning plans. Sadly they were afraid to hold all their meetings in public, opting instead to have their electorate ejected from the council chamber on occasions when they wanted to hold secret meetings. Sadly they were unwilling to use up-to-date information on housing, available in the public domain long before the amended plan was discussed. Sadly they frequently showed an unwillingness to take on board hundreds of letters of objection to some of their excessive rezoning proposals from their own constituents. Indeed, they have in the end driven a coach and horses through the government’s plans for a reasonable approach to managing urban growth in this part of Ireland.
Of immediate concern will be the consequences of the rezoning decisions for environmental quality throughout Co Kildare. The absence of waste water treatment infrastructure to cope with grandiose plans for urban expansion means that already overloaded sewage works, such as at Osberstown, may become grossly overloaded. This plant is currently being upgraded to cater for a population equivalent of 60,000 and a maximum expansion to 80,000 is possible. Projected loadings were known by senior council officials to be 92,296 pe before councillors began their rezoning orgy. Now, industrial and residential rezonings approved by Councillors provide a loading commitment of almost twice the maximum capacity of this plant. Downstream of Osberstown is a large part of Co. Kildare’s drinking water supply. This plan is a charter for the pollution of the River Liffey.

Kildare Planning Alliance has grown in vigour and support as the scale of the problems posed has become apparent. It will continue to remind the public that there is another way to ensure that development of Kildare proceeds at a pace which does not compromise the quality of life for its residents and will continue to expose actions which are not designed to achieve this.

Kildare Planning Alliance

 

'Kildare needs shopping centre' - councillor

KILDARE, 2 June 1999: by Trish Whelan. Kildare Town has been identified as being in need of a major shopping centre and an industrial park. Kildare Cllr Sean O’Fearghail said it is imperative that efforts currently underway to develop a town centre shopping complex go ahead. “With Kildare Town set to grow to nearly 12,000 over the next decade the challenge exists to attract one of the major retail outlets to the town.” Such a development would benefit all existing local retail outlets, he said.

Responding to representations from the Kildare Chamber of Commerce he said that as part of the review of the Kildare Development Plan due to commence this year, provision must be made to develop an industrial park in the Kildare area geared towards the extension and setting up of local industrial and service companies.

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Clarification: Naas canal area rezoning

In our report on the rezoning of land along the canal in Naas (May 30 - ‘Anger and tears at UDC plan canal decision’), we referred to a proposal from Lehmex International for a 50-metre linear park, ‘subject to a return to the original 90-metre’ preservation line. Cllr Seamie Moore has pointed out that the Lehmex proposal actually only allowed for a 50-metre preservation line and that he was in fact proposing a 90-metre line which was in excess of the developer’s wishes and less than the 180-metre line which had previously been decided on.

 

'Entire area neglected by Naas UDC' - candidate claim

NAAS, 31 May 1999: by Trish Whelan. Naas Planning Alliance candidate Anthony Egan claims the entire area on the Caragh Road side of the town has been neglected by Naas UDC because it does not have a public representative on the council. He believes canvass promises by sitting councillors to have long awaited footpath and road improvements in the area are years too late.

“We won’t need workmen at all if all these candidates say they will fix them for us. Residents of the original houses here have been looking for good footpaths and road improvements for 20 years.”

He’s also accused the UDC of sitting on development levies of around £250,000, collected from houses sold in the area, which is dropping in value with increased building costs.

Mr Egan, who is seeking election to Naas UDC and Kildare County Council, has also criticized a letter from the Naas town clerk (distributed to homes in the Caragh Road area by a sitting councillor) which he claims contradicts the amended draft town plan. It states the only land zoned for a halting site in the amended draft development plan is a 5-acre site in the townland of Osberstown, adjacent to the land zoned for Millennium Park. However, Mr Egan maintains the amended draft plan states that the site will go in the Osberstown/Ploopluck area.

“I never said it would go on the Caragh Road. The halting site was originally to go on the other side of Osberstown but Caragh Road is in the Ploopluck area,” he pointed out. Town clerk Declan Kirrane confirmed that the site zoned for the halting site is in the townland of Osberstown - 'as appears on the amended plan'.

TIM CONWAY & CO - ACCOUNTANTS

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'Absentee landlords' rapped for poor maintenance

LEIXLIP, 29 May 1999: by Brian Byrne. The current registration system for landlords of rented accommodation which deals with the fitness for habitation of a property only ‘picks up a tiny minority’ of rented properties and needs to be replaced, according to Labour councillor Catherine Murphy, who this weekend hit out at absentee landlords for ‘freeloading’ on residents associations.

“The registration system in 1998 only had 545 properties on its books, a fraction of the rented properties in Kildare,” she said, noting that a specially-commissioned document for the Labour Party describes the system as ‘minimalist’. “It is discredited and should be abandoned. Many landlords are only interested in collecting the rent with little or no effort made to keep grass cut, or the front of the house maintained. Residents associations simply don’t get fees from rented houses and the general area is maintained with landlords’ freeloading.”

She says her party recommends the introduction of a licensing system under which properties would have to be registered and pass fire and safety inspections. Landlords would have to show tax clearance certificates and demonstrate evidence of good practice in terms of letting agreements. In her view, any new system must also address the issue of adequate maintenance of the exterior.

“A change of attitude is needed by these absentee landlords in relation to contributing to the upkeep of the housing estate, all of the maintenance of which is carried out by the residents themselves in the absence in Kildare of a Council Parks Department. With an increasing number of rented houses in the area it is essential this issue is addressed.”

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Candidates all confirmed to run

KILDARE GENERAL, 26 May 1999: by Brian Byrne. There will be 62 candidates chasing seats in the next Kildare County Council on polling day, June 11. Of these, 17 are Fianna Fail, 12 each for Fine Gael and Labour, four Green Party, two Progressive Democrats, one Sinn Fein and 14 independent or non-party.

Fifteen of the candidates are women, and the occupations of all contenders range from 'public representative' through farmers, teachers, a journalist, a fitter, nurses, a psychotherapist, community workers, technicians, sales agents and a TD, to businessmen and a sheep farmer. Perhaps the most unusual descriptions are a butcher/writer, a cemetery caretaker, and a candidate who describes himself humbly as 'Assistant to the Minister for Finance'.

They are contesting six electoral areas (not including Athy and Newbridge UDCs and Naas and Leixlip Town Commissions). The areas and contenders are as follows:

ATHY: Vincent Corcoran, Castledermot, FF; Mark Dalton, Athy, FF; Rainsford Hendy, Timolin, FG; John Lynch, Cloney, FG; Martin Miley, Fontstown, FF; Mags O'Brien, Castledermot, LAB; Paddy Wright, Athy, SF.

CLANE: Seamus Davey, Kilcock, FF; Michael Fitzpatrick, Allenwood, FF; Bernie Holton, Enfield, NP; Tony McEvoy, Clane, NP; Joan Mooney, Robertstown, LAB; Rose Murphy, Kilcock, LAB; John Nealon, Donadea, NP; Jim Reilly, Carbury, FG; P J Sheridan, Clane, FF; Garry Stynes, Enfield, LAB; Brendan Weld, Donadea, FG.

CELBRIDGE: Gay Boylan, Celbridge, FF; Mairead Byrne, Celbridge; Mark Clinton, Celbridge, FG; Geraldine Conway, Straffan, FF; Brian Mullarkey, Celbridge, FG; Marie Percival, Celbridge, GR; Emmet Stagg, Straffan, LAB; Kathleen Walsh, Celbridge, NP.

KILDARE: Murty Aspell, Newbridge, NP; Francis Browne, Nurney, NP; Breda Connolly, Monasterevan, FF; John Dardis, Newbridge, PD; Fionnuala Dukes, Kildare Town, FG; Tom Ennis, Newbridge, LAB; Seamus Finn, Newbridge, NP; Allan Foxe, Monasterevan, FG; Jim Keane, Curragh, LAB; Michael 'Spike' Nolan, Newbridge, FG; Sean O Fearghaill, Kildare, FF; Fiona O'Loughlin, Newbridge, FF; John O'Neill, Newbridge, FF; Percy Podger, Frenchfurze; Henry Price, Rathangan.

LEIXLIP: Leo Armstrong, Maynooth, GR; Laura Canning, Maynooth, FF; Senan Griffin, Maynooth, FG; Paul Kelly, Leixlip, FF; John McGinley, Maynooth, LAB; Catherine Murphy, Leixlip, LAB; Colm Purcell, Leixlip, LAB.

NAAS: Louise Burchall, Naas, GR; Willie Callaghan, Naas, FF; Timmy Conway, Naas, PD; Anthony Egan, Naas; Mary Glennon, Naas; Billy Hillis, Brannockstown, FG; Liam Kelly, Kill, FF; Anthony Lawlor, Kill, NP; Paddy MacNamara, Sallins, LAB; Seamie Moore, Naas, NP; Pat O'Reilly, Naas, FG; J J Power, Caragh, GR; Sean Power, Caragh, FF.

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Call for equality in home help pay rates

NEWBRIDGE, 25 May 1999: by Brian Byrne. Some 385 ‘home help’ employees in South Kildare are being paid the lowest rate in the country for their services - £3/hr and no travel allowance - which is an inequitable situation that makes them feel undervalued, according to FF candidate for Newbridge Town Commission Fiona O’Loughlin, who is also running for a seat on Kildare County Council.

“This EHB rate compares very unfavourably with the £8/hr and 75p/mile travel allowance paid by the Mid-Western Health Board. It is time that the Government and health boards showed in a practical way their appreciation for a service that gives wonderful care to our elderly and means a huge level of public savings to hospitals, nursing homes, housing and social welfare, by standardising rates.”

She also called for training schemes in the EHB area and noted that such employees in the region have no extra allowance for weekend work, and no paid holidays, sick pay or pension schemes. “I want the government and the boards to commit themselves to developing and improving the home help service as a hey service in supporting dependent people in their own homes.

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Moat 'a facility undreamed of'

NAAS, 25 May 1999:

Dear Editor,

The Labour party are against all industry in Naas. They want Naas to go back into the 50s and remain there. They are attacking us on the grant to the Moat Club. This grant will ensure a facility only dreamed of in Naas. Is it possible [Pat McCarthy] is against this grant as well? The Labour Party have been roaring for facilities and as soon as the Council do something a large photograph of Pat McCarthy appears condemning us. As far as I am concerned the Council will stick to their decision to give the Moat Club in excess of £200,000 towards their extraordinary development, and let the Labour Party vote against this, as I am sure they will.

Timmy Conway

ED's Note: This letter relates to an article below where UDC Labour candidate Pat McCarthy suggests that no official decision was made by Naas UDC members to grant a specific figure of £200,000 to the Moat Club. Cllr Conway is a PD member of the UDC seeking to retain his seat.

 

Foothpath suggestion to deal with 'death trap'

NAAS, 24 May 1999: by Trish Whelan. A Naas urban councillor is to ask the UDC to look for a 60-metre strip of land from developer Pat Fadden alongside the Caragh Road, to provide a temporary footpath between Caragh Court estate and the canal bridge, so that pedestrians can get safely to the town. Cllr Willie Callaghan says both he and the Caragh Court residents feel ‘frustrated’ at inaction by Kildare County Council on the provision of a proper footpath for the road, which they say is a death trap.

“Five months ago our council was told that the county council’s engineering department would do a costing and produce a plan for the proper footpath, but still nothing has happened,” says Cllr Callaghan, who is also running as a Fianna Fail candidate for the county council in the coming elections. “I am very disappointed with the county council, which seems to do very little for the people of Naas.”

He told KNN that residents from the older part of Caragh Court had come to him with the idea of getting a strip of land between the road and the development, land which has already been fenced off from the estate by the owner. “It’s a small request from people who have been waiting a long time for a footpath and I think it could be done at very low cost. And it would mean that children could walk safely from their homes without having to go near the road at all until they come to the bridge.”

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'Speed up' Maynooth health centre development

MAYNOOTH, 24 May 1999: by Brian Byrne. A call for the development of a 50-bed unit attached to the Health Centre at Maynooth to be expedited has been made by FG councillor Senan Griffin, who says the facility is ‘progressing slowly’. He has asked the Eastern Health Board and the Department of Health to speed up matters.

“It is a welcome and much-needed development,” he said of the facility, which will be located at the Harbour, “but I would also like the EHB to include in their plans a minimum of 6/8 palliative care beds which could accommodate both adults and children. A respite and palliative care unit is urgently needed in the North Kildare area, particularly in Maynooth. This could include the catchment areas of Leixlip, Celbridge and Kilcock, and the provision of such a unit would alleviate hardship and suffering to those caring for aged parents, cancer patients and those nearing the end of their lives who are deserving of top quality care.”

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UDC cathaoirleach challenged to show proof of grant amount

NAAS, 23 May 1999: by Trish Whelan & Brian Byrne. The cathaoirleach of Naas UDC has been called on to show proof of a decision by the council to provide £200,000 to the Moat Club, amid claims that no such decision has been made.

Cllr Paddy Behan said at the recent launch of the fundraising programme for a new theatre at the Moat that he was ‘reaffirming’ a £200,000 grant to the project, as an indication of the longtime cooperation between the club and the UDC. But Labour candidate for the council Pat McCarthy (pictured above) says it is his understanding that while members agreed in principle to help the club’s project, no decision on any amount was made.

“Cllr Behan is giving out the same £200,000 figure on his canvass, but unless such a decision has been made, he has no right to do so,” he says. “If it WAS decided, I want to see the minutes recording it.” However, KNN understands from two other councillors that no decision on the value of the grant has been made at any public meeting of the council.

Money for helping organisations such as the Moat Club will come from a portion which will accrue to the UDC of the proceeds of the sale of Devoy Barracks for housing development and new public offices for the UDC and Kildare County Council. At a recent meeting the matter of such grants was discussed in relation to a sports club, but town manager Terry O Niadh told members that the incoming council should prepare a five-year programme of grant-aiding rather than dealing with any one application in isolation.

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Rural post offices 'at risk' from EU directive - commissioner

LEIXLIP, 23 May 1999: by Brian Byrne. The danger to the existence of rural post offices if An Post loses the contract to deliver social welfare payments is to be highlighted by Leixlip FF town commissioner Paul Kelly, who says the issue can’t be regarded solely in economic terms. The payments are currently administered by 1,911 post offices throughout the country, but under an EU Directive the State must put the provision of the payments out to tender.

“An Post can, of course, apply for the contract but if it is unsuccessful it could mean the closure of many rural post offices,” he said this weekend. "Post offices, particularly in rural areas, are a social necessity. They are the collection point of the main source of income for many people and should be within easy access. I accept that there could be savings in the cost of delivery of Social Welfare payments if it was open to competition and other agencies brought in, but I feel strongly that this social service should be retained by the post offices and I suggest that ways be examined to make the cost of delivery cheaper."

He suggested that technological advances and computerisation provide scope for reducing costs, but that there are some services so important that the social aspect of them should be viewed with equal importance as the economic aspect. “The delivery of services at local level, particularly through post offices, is a perfect example and I will be asking the government to consider this very seriously before it makes any decision.”

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FG candidates sign up for poll

COUNTY HALL, 21 May 1999: The Fine Gael contenders for the county council elections filed their nomination papers this week at County Hall in Naas. The party’s candidates are as follows: Fionnula Dukes, Michael Spike Nolan and Allen Foxe (Kildare/Newbridge); Brian Mullarkey and Mark Clinton (Celbridge); Jim Reilly and Brendan Weld (Clane); Senan Griffin (Maynooth/Leixlip); Billy Hillis and Pat O’Reilly (Naas). Christy Murphy, Brian Maginn and Michael Spike Nolan are contesting the Newbridge Town Commission and Denis Logan, Conor O’Keefe and Pat O’Reilly are running for Naas UDC.

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Naas Planning Alliance launches candidates

NAAS, 20 May 1999: by Brian Byrne. The Naas Planning Alliance candidates for the local UDC elections are Mary Cahill and Anthony Egan, who will be basing their campaign on tapping the growing sense of unease recently evident about the rapid growth of the town and the effects on the population’s quality of life. Their key concerns are that the people of Naas have not been getting adequate information from their current councillors on serious issues, and that there are inadequate infrastructures for the existing population, let alone a massively expanded one.

Anthony Egan lives in Caragh Court and has been involved with NEDI and other community activities, including his local residents associations, and he says the local politicians ‘are not representing the ordinary people who are paying their mortgages and trying to live’. “Their agenda is set outside Naas, driven by something that they don’t seem to have any control over. We’re not against planning as such, but we favour a gradual and organic growth and a 56% increase over a very short period of time is unrealistic. As it is, people cannot get their children into schools, and the health service is Dickensian. Year after year, particularly at election time, we get promises that things will be fixed, and they aren’t. Before adopting a new plan we should concentrate on getting the previous plan right ... we need the time to for the town to develop as a community and not just a big monstrosity houses and houses.”

Mary Cahill is a member of one of only three families in the town which still have third generation businesses in the town - the Glennons. “I’m in a unique position in that I was born and bred in the town, left here for ten years to work in Dublin, then came back in 1986. I have the benefit of being able to see the changes, a lot of which are very good, but I was quietly seething at the sudden, unprecedented development going on in the town, without any corresponding infrastructure.

"Why are all the councillors so committed to all this development in the face of so much opposition? I don’t understand it, because if I was a councillor and 3,000 people wrote in to object, I would think that a third of the population had some point. Older people in particular feel completely alienated about what’s happening in the town, and I’m confident that they too will be out voting for me on the day. At least we’re an independent voice and we will communicate with people, let them know what’s happening - which hasn’t happened up up to now - and respond accordingly.”

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Parties 'having difficulty' in getting election candidates - Tanaiste

KILDARE GENERAL, 19 May 1999: by Brian Byrne. The difficulties of getting candidates to run for local authority membership were noted by Tanaiste Mary Harney when she officially introduced the Progressive Democrats candidates for County Kildare this week. “All the parties are having the same problem,” she said. “It may be partly due to a cynicism with politicians because of situations currently coming out, or it may be that when times are good people don’t feel as strong a need for the work of politicians.” She particularly regretted that the party had not been able to find a candidate to contest the Athy UDC elections, where she was sure there was a seat for the Progressive Democrats.

The candidates presented (pictured above with the Tanaiste) were Senator John Dardis and Cllr Timmy Conway for the County Council elections, both sitting members, and current member of Leixlip Town Commission Annette O’Toole. Cllr Conway is also seeking to retain his seat on Naas UDC. Newcomer to the electoral fray is Meda Carey for Newbridge Town Commission.

Senator Dardis commented that electoral boundary changes were having their effect, and he personally had lost Kilcullen and Allenwood, both areas where he enjoyed significant support, and he was this time particularly relying on Newbridge voters. He also noted that despite long-standing perceptions that the party was ‘going out of business’, it was in fact larger than both Sinn Fein and the Greens, and that in the last general election it had achieved 12.5% of the vote in Kildare South, the highest level in the country.

Cllr Conway said he was basing his campaign in Naas on his support for the Naas Town Development Plan, of which he was a main promoter ... he said that ‘hype’ being generated against the plan was a result of ‘the people not understanding it’ and he said he was confident that he would be able to survive the opposition to it. “I’ve been on the council for 25 years and have always been reelected,” he said.

Annette O’Toole said that the prime issues in Leixlip were parking and street cleaning, with a requirement for 400 public parking spaces urgently needed in the North Kildare town. “Traders are losing out to Liffey Valley and Blanchardstown as people just drive on instead of trying to find parking,” she pointed out.

Meda Carey, who has a strong record of commitment to Newbridge through the Tidy Towns and the Newbridge Access Group, said her canvassing showed a strong feeling that the Town Commission ‘should reflect the people who are now living in the town’. “It’s clearly a time for change on the commission,” she said.

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Pat Black is new FF face on town commission electoral joust

NEWBRIDGE, 15 May 1999: by Brian Byrne. A new face was shown for Fianna Fail this week in Newbridge when the party's candidates for the town's commission were presented to the public and press. Pat Black, though, is not new to local Fianna Fail, having worked for the party much longer than he'd care to detail. Now he's going ‘out front’, joining in the coming fray with outgoing commissioners Colm Feeney, Ray O'Brien, Fiona O'Loughlin and John O'Neill.

His particular interests as outlined at the function in the Eyre Powell Hotel are traffic management, town development, and the 'need to make new people feel a part of the community'. "We also need to get local voluntary organisations into a position where they feel they have a part in the decision-making that affects them," he told an audience who included several representatives from such organisations.

Colm Feeney gave particular attention to the possible social fallout if a significant number of people found themselves unable to fund their mortgages on their homes, at a time when no new house in Newbridge is selling at less than £100,000. "I'm not trying to be alarmist, but we'd be on course for serious social unrest in the near future if it happens," he said. "The Government should be prepared to provide relief in the event. People on the average industrial wage, and even teachers, have no way to buy houses at these prices."

Ray O'Brien noted that the commissioners had very little real power given their budget of £80,000 a year. "I could turn that over selling four cars in a morning," he said. "It's a situation in stark contrast to the German town we're twinned with, which has a smaller population and an annual budget of £8 million." But he warned that if Newbridge ever achieved UDC status, that its business people could be faced with funding a 'huge' debt because the County Council would demand payment for infrastructures put in place. "Whatever our future status is, we will not pay for what the Department of the Environment has put in with our already-paid taxes," he said.

Fiona O'Loughlin said that as a teacher she daily came into contact with children and parents and was very aware of their needs and problems. "There are almost 3,000 children under the age of nine in Newbridge and there's no playground for them, for instance," she said. "Yet, the best way for new young families to meet and interact is through their children, and they have nowhere to do this." She also highlighted that fact that there is no centre in Newbridge for young people to meet apart from those involved in sports, which are well catered for."

The longest-serving member of the commission, John O'Neill, concluded the presentations by the candidates, recalling how much Newbridge had improved since he first took his seat 35 years ago. "I remember when it was a town of 5,000 people solely dependent on Irish Ropes," he remarked. "Now Irish Ropes employs about 60 people, and Newbridge is one of the most powerful towns in the county, if not in Leinster. We have achieved an awful lot without having urban status, and what we have achieved has been done with enormous help from Kildare County Council."

He finished by saying that the party had won five seats before on the commission, and if it 'works as a team' is in with a good chance of doing so again.

The meeting was chaired by the party's MEP candidate Jim Fitzsimons.

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Fianna Fail says 'thank you' to Jimmy O'Loughlin

RATHANGAN, 14 May 1999: by Brian Byrne. Fianna Fail members, and friends of Cllr Jimmy O'Loughlin's from every political hue, and even of none, turned out this week in Rathangan's Community Hall to see him honoured for his 25 years of service to public life in County Kildare.

The evening was particularly special because the guest of honour was Taoiseach Bertie Ahern, the first holder of the office to visit Rathangan. After recalling how he himself knew well the headaches of politics at grass roots - the election work, the meetings, the 'local arguments and hassles' which had to be dealt with, he commended Jimmy for 'a dedicated voluntary service' which only provided the reward of 'a personal satisfaction with a job done to help one's community'. "I don't know how he did all he did and raised a family and earned a crust in the real world," he concluded, "but if Jimmy wants something to do in his spare time, I could suggest that he give courses in time management for our TDs."

Recalling some aspects of his quarter of a century in local politics, a continuation of the work of his own father who was a founder member of Kildare County Council 100 years ago, Jimmy O'Loughlin used the occasion to remind the Taoiseach that 'the best hope for the country in the long term is the strengthening of its community'. "My one message to you, Taoiseach, is that any resources which can be put to bringing together the community - in a time when such resources are available - will pay rich dividends for the quality of life of the country."

He admitted that he had nurtured ambitions to go to Dail Eireann, but after 10 years realised this was not to be. "I then established two new ambitions," he noted, "to eat a Chinese meal with chopsticks, and to learn to play golf. I managed the chopsticks ..."

The evening was also a tribute from his family, and for his wife Mary who had supported him through a lifetime in politics. "As we grew up in the area we would hear him sometimes called 'Councillor O'Loughlin' and sometimes 'Jimmy' or 'Mr O'Loughlin'," his daughter Fiona (pictured on left with the Taoiseach) said. "But to 13 of us, he was simply called 'Dad'."

And Dad and family, and all their friends, had a whale of a night in Rathangan.

 

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Fulsome praise for Joe as he bows out after a quarter of a century

NEWBRIDGE, 13 May 1999: by Brian Byrne. Newbridge Town Commissioner Joe Kearns broke convention this week by making his 'bow out' speech early - thanks to some sage advice from former Kildare county manager Gerry Ward.

"He advised me not to wait until the last meeting because what I'd say would be lost in every thing else that would be happening," the retiring FG Commissioner said with a grin. "So I slipped it in early." The ploy caught his fellow commissioners by surprise, but that didn't stop them heaping fulsome, genuine and deserved praise for a colleague who had given 25 years of service to the town, carrying on a tradition begun by his grandfather. "Joe is one of the best commissioners this town has ever had," FF representative John O`Neill said. "He always thought through what he was intending to say and what he wanted to get done."

"Joe was always a guiding hand and always supportive of any project," said FF Cmmr Fiona O'Loughlin. "I know he has still a lot to give to the town in some way and I'm sure he will." FF Cmmr Ray O'Brien said the contribution by Joe Kearns had been exemplary and he was a man of great heart with a genuine love for his town. Joe's FG colleague Spike Nolan was the only one who seemed to be - uncharacteristically - lost for words and was visibly overcome. "We've gone through a lot together," he said. "And one thing about Joe is that 99 per cent of the time we all came to agree with him. He was always level-headed and a great adviser and the town of Newbridge is the better for his service."

Town Manager Terry 0 Niadh Said Joe Kearns was responsible for his 'knowing every pothole in Newbridge by its first name'. "But more than that he showed vision, and his concept of and pitching to get the County Arts Centre to Newbridge was a vision thing. If we were in England, he would now be in line for a place in the House of Lords." Town clerk Charlie Talbot said Joe Kearns had taken on his family tradition as something very important to him. "I came to think of him as a kind of 'proprietor' of the town, a wise old owl to whom I could come for advice and to 'take the local temperature'."

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Too few councillors in Kildare?

KILDARE GENERAL, 11 May 1999: by Brian Byrne. Kildare could have too few councillors when the number per head of population is checked against the ratio in many other local authority areas. While the neighbouring council in Carlow has one member per 2,017 people, Kildare has more than twice as many people per representative at 5,400. At other ends of the scale are Leitrim at 1,139 and South Dublin at 8,413 per councillor.

“Kildare could be losing out because of lack of representation,” says Kildare area FF candidate Fiona O’Loughlin. “As councillors make up the majority of the electorate of the Seanad, this obviously gives certain areas better representation than others when it comes to electing the Upper House of the electorate. Also, in terms of arguing for funding for local development, it is easier where there are more local representatives to put the case.”

Cllr O’Loughlin says there is a need for a set ratio of councillors to population along the lines of that set out for Dail elections.

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Kildare area Fianna Fail council candidates are introduced

NEWBRIDGE, 6 May 1999: by Brian Byrne.The Fianna Fail candidates for the local elections in the Kildare electoral area were introduced to local press at a function in Keadeen Hotel last evening. Pictured above are Cllr John O’Neill, Breda Connolly, Cmmr Fiona O’Loughlin and Cllr Sean O Fearghaill.

Cllr John O’Neill has been a member of Kildare County Council since 1974. His particular interests have always been in housing and roads and the improvement of Newbridge, where he lives. John recently retired from his job with Kildare County Council and will have more time to devote to his duties as a member of the authority when re-elected.

Breda Connelly of Monasterevin comes from a family long associated with Fianna Fail, the Rowans, and the headliner issue in Monasterevin is the reopening of the railway station, for which there has been a very strong campaign over a number of years.

Fiona O’Loughlin is the daughter of retiring councillor Jimmy O’Loughlin from Rathangan and if she gains her first county council seat her family will have served on the council in three centuries, as her grandfather was a member of the founding council which sat first just over a century ago. A member of Newbridge Town Commission since 1994, Fiona’s particular interests are proper planning for sustainable development, education - particularly education for children with special needs - and childcare.

Cllr Sean O Fearghaill has been a member of KCC since 1985 and particularly represents the interests of Kildare town, where he lives. Current highlight issues include how the 50 acres of the former Magee Barracks will be developed to make up for what he terms the ‘huge loss’ which its ‘unnecessary’ closure means to the town’s economy. “At county level, I hope that on June 11 we will have a team of 25 councillors elected who will challenge the system and push out the boundaries and work very hard to make Kildare a better place to live for everybody.”

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The race for local elections is on!

DERRINTURN, 29 April 1999: by Brian Byrne. Kildare County Council’s normal April meeting was held at the GAA Centre in Derrinturn, in the heartland of current cathaoirleach Jim Reilly’s Carbury electoral patch ... and to make the point that the election race is now officially started, Cllr Reilly had his car ‘decorated with intent’ to gain voters (see above)!

After the meeting, Cllr Reilly thanked the GAA for hosting the meeting of the authority and he acknowledged the cooperation he had received from club officials Aidan Crinnegan, the chairman of Derrinturn GAA club, and club secretary Tommy Nally ... and those who had provided the eats!

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Power ratified for council run

NEWBRIDGE, 16 April 1999: by Brian Byrne. Kildare South Fianna Fail deputy Sean Power has been ratified by the party’s constituency organisation to run as a candidate in the fortcoming local elections. He will be based for the campaign in the Kilcullen area, joining Willie Callaghan from Naas and Liam Kelly from Kill in the contest for the Naas Area seats. If elected, he will replace his father Paddy, who is retiring. A brother, J J Power, is currently also a member of the council.

The party’s decision to run Sean Power has caused some unrest in the Naas area, with UDC councillor Charlie Byrne feeling aggrieved that a local commitment that two candidates for the county council elections would be from Naas has not been carried through. He blames a ‘whispering campaign’ against him for the Fianna Fail Headquarters decision, a campaign based, he says, on his opposition to aspects of the current Naas Draft Development Plan.

 

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