County farmers urged to 'take action' on agriculture plan

PUNCHESTOWN, 7 April 2000: by Brian Byrne & Trish Whelan. A report that gathers dust on a shelf is one that ‘might as well not have been done at all’, Dr Jim Phelan (left) of UCD’s Faculty of Agriculture told Kildare farmers and agri-business representatives at the launch last night of a report on the future of agriculture in the county. Dr Phelan had led a research team from the university’s Department of Agribusiness, Extension and Rural Development in the production of Kildare Farming 2000 - Change, Challenge and Opportunity. He urged those who had commissioned the report to make sure action was taken as a result of it.

The report is the first comprehensive study of farming and farm families in County Kildare and was undertaken by the Kildare Agricultural Task Group (KATG). It was launched at Punchestown Racecourse by the minister for agriculture, Joe Walsh TD, and sets out strategies and actions that will underpin the positive development of agriculture, and the viability of farm families, into the future.

Key recommendations of the report include facilitating the establishment of farmer discussion groups, to be developed into producer groups; supporting rural women, whose contribution is ‘almost totally unrecognised’ according to Dr Phelan; undertaking an audit of the training and education needs of the farming community, rural women, horticulture and the equine sectors; and the investigation of labour needs.

“The report is geared to providing us with an awareness of where we’re going,” KATG chairman Michael Cullen (left) told KNN last night. “We’ve already got the implementation of the recommended actions in motion through the focus groups set up for the survey, and they’re looking forward to putting the recommendations in place.” But he warned that the decline in farmer numbers in the county between 1971 and 1996, by 46%, is still a continuing trend and that many farmers are considering their ‘asset rich, cash poor’ situations and wondering if they should get out of the business (audio here).

IFA president Tom Parlon (above) noted that there is a ‘weakness’ in the whole support structure for farming, with ‘massive pressure’ from the Celtic Tiger, from developers, and from ‘Dublin encroaching on all sides’ in the counties around the capital. He said Kildare farmers should use all their political influence ‘to the full’ in working to implement the recommendations of the report.

Dr Phelan (audio here) said there was a particular difficulty in providing farms for new entrants to the sector, to which UCD graduates 230 students each year. The inheritance system and a decline in land availability highlighted that ‘new ways’ must be found for those who wanted to get into farming on a professional basis.

Micheal Behan of Athy, with Senator John Dardis, at the launch.
The members of KATG include development bodies in the county - KELT, OAK, and ASK - Kildare County Council, Kildare County Enterprise Board, Teagasc, Kildare IFA, Kildare ICMSA, Kildare Macra na Feirme, Kildare ICA, Kildare Horse Development Company Ltd and Kildare Nursery Stock 2000 Group.

The study pinpoints the equine sector as hugely important to the county, directly employing 5,500 people – compared to 4,000 jobs in farming. It also highlights the contrasts that exist within the agricultural sector in the county, pointing out that ‘deprivation is real and prevalent’ in several parts of Kildare.

Kildare IFA chairman Michael Dempsey from Castledermot, with his wife Carole.
In all, 290 farmers were surveyed, 91% of which were male and 75% were married. The average area of land owned was 111 acres and the average area of land farmed was 130 acres. Some 40% of the farmers and 85% of their spouses had no formal agricultural education while 74% identified successors who were sons, 6% were daughters. Of those who responded, 47% expect their successors to farm part-time. Beef was listed as their most important enterprise by 41% of those involved in the survey. Other figures were: dairying 18.3%; tillage (17.9%) and sheep (13%).

Rural women are also addressed in the study with the report noting that the significant role of farm women in Irish farming has not been sufficiently recognised. It states women and families are 'key pillars in rural and farming society'.

Against a backdrop where the relative earning power of farm incomes is set to continue to decline, the study shows 19% of the farmers surveyed intended to start or increase off-farm employment in the next five years. Almost 15% intend to sell a site while 12% are considering the sale of land for development. A third of all farmers surveyed said they would consider an alternative enterprise, with the report noting many farmers do not realise the seriousness of their situation and are surviving by asset stripping.

Despite the rapid growth of County Kildare’s population over the last 20 years, the agricultural population has fallen by 44%. The total number of farms in Kildare dropped from 5,600 in 1975 to 3,300 in 1991 and the consolidation of holdings into larger farms has been more pronounced in County Kildare than elsewhere. Small holdings showed the greatest decline. But, while Kildare has a higher proportion of holdings under 15 acres than the national average, it also has the highest percentage of farms of more than 100 acres. The average sized holding in County Kildare was 93 acres, nearly half as big again as the national average and also higher than the Leinster average.

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New development board inaugurated

NAAS & KILDARE GENERAL, 7 April 2000: by Trish Whelan. The chairman of the new Kildare County Development Board, Cllr Timmy Conway, says ‘it is the most exciting job I’ve ever got and is a blueprint for the future development of the county’.

The Board, which held its inaugural meeting on March 28, was the first County Development Board to be established in the Mid East Region. It is part of a Government programme to ‘mainstream’ local development initiatives and the Board will be responsible for the design and implementation of a long-term county strategy for economic, social & cultural development.

The 27-member Kildare Board is drawn from four sectors: local government, local development, state agencies and social partners. Cllr Conway is chairperson of Kildare County Council’s Economic Development & Planning Strategic Policy Committee and is a former chairperson of Kildare County Council. He said: “There is a genuine commitment to this new process which over the next five years should be most beneficial to the development of this county and its people.”

The job of the new Board will be to map out the way ahead using the expertise of all the sectors on the Board. The outcome will be an integrated ‘Shared Vision’ for the economic, social and cultural development of the county. Clane man Willie Carroll, the director of Community and Enterprise in Kildare County Council, is director of the new Board.

Also representing local government on the Board are Cllrs PJ Sheridan, Catherine Murphy, Sean O Fearghail, Senan Griffin and county manager Niall Bradley. Cllr Mary Glennon (Naas UDC) has been selected to represent the county’s four urban authorities on the new Board - Naas, Athy, Newbridge and Leixlip. She says she will be looking for guidance as to their respective needs.

Other members include Donal Dalton and Paddy Brennan of the Kildare County Enterprise Board Ltd; Justin Larkin and Ciaran Duggan of Leader 2 Company Ltd; Karl Duffy of Action South Kildare Ltd; and Sheila O’Meara of OAK Partnership in Edenderry. Statutory Bodies are represented by: Eddie Prendergast of FAS; Colm O’Ceannabhain, VEC: Kevin McCarthy, IDA Ireland Ltd; Vincent Colman, Enterprise Ireland; Harry Lynch, MERTO; Con Feighery, Teagasc, Kevin Ward, South Western Area Health Board; Maureen Waldron, Dept of Social, Community & Family Affairs; Chief Supt Sean Feely, Naas.

Social Partners are represented by Michael Mullally of Bandenberry Ltd, with trade unions represented by John Delmer of the County Kildare Centre for the Unemployed in Newbridge; Agriculture/Farming representative is Ger Smith from Lewistown in Newbridgbe. Community/Voluntary organisations’ representatives are Gail Maher fromTimahoe West, Coill-Dubh and Aidan Keane, from Ballycahan, Kilcock.

The Kildare Development Board will be formally launched by finance minister Charlie McCreevy on 14 April.

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Athy UDC celebrates centenary

ATHY, 7 April 2000: by Trish Whelan. Athy UDC celebrated its 100th Birthday on Saturday April 2 with a special meeting in the council chamber at midday, with minister for the environment & local government Noel Dempsey as special guest. The present nine councillors and ex-members, together with spouses of deceased members were each presented with a pewter dish to mark the occasion. A plaque showing the names of chairpersons who served on Athy UDC since 1900 was also unveiled.

Travellers urged to 'log' refusals of service

NEWBRIDGE, 6 April 2000: by Trish Whelan. Members of the travelling community in County Kildare have been urged to keep a record of businesses in the area who refuse them entry or service, with a view to taking legal action against the businesses at a later date. The move was suggested by a featured speaker at the first ever seminar on travellers in the county, organised by Naas Equality for Travellers. It was held at Tougher's yesterday.

Thomas McCann (right) from the Irish Travellers Movement - a traveller himself - said the issues of discrimination for travellers are ‘those they experience in day-to-day life’. He said pubs or nightclubs who discriminate against travellers could have their licences challenged at renewal time. He said the names of businesses such as shops or hairdressers which refuse service should be given to the Travellers Group who are creating a log of all such incidents for use as evidence in cases which may be taken against these services.

Another speaker, Ann Scully, said there was a need to establish solidarity with travellers, asylum seekers and other minority groups experiencing discrimination. "We, the settled community, have decided to keep travellers out with big boulders at the side of the road which is a common reminder to me of discrimination every time I see them," she told the attendance. She said power is used 'in a very wrong way' in excluding people from the right to shelter in an area which is available to them.

Ms Scully said discrimination occurs when one's own position is under threat or when a held value is questioned, ‘or when there is a shift in power structure in our society’. She also spoke on the need to ensure national policies do not discriminate against minority groups and said participation by travellers was needed in decisions which affect them.

She also wanted to see halting sites available to travellers, with caretakers on site, where travellers could book their place as they travelled around the country. She also told of a case of a travelling family which had refused the offer of private accommodation, because the 'owner would have access to the house and the family would have no privacy'.

Ms Scully said travellers need to establish their own organisations, to have better access to social services, and to challenge areas of discrimination whether it be in pubs, shops or in employment. "We need to provide exchanges between the two groups so each could experience life from the other person's perspective," she said.

The seminar brought together the travellers of the county along with their representative groups, local authority and public representatives, service providers and those with a role to play in traveller inclusion.

The programme included oral contributions and workshops on issues such as health, education, accommodation and discrimination with a follow-up report and recommendations to the relevant bodies.

Other speakers included women of the Pavee Point Health Project; Gearoid O'Riain of Pavee Point spoke on education issues, while Fintan Farrell of the Irish Traveller Movement talked about accommodation.

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Presented with mementoes

NAAS, 6 April 2000: by Trish Whelan & Brian Byrne. Councillors and officials were presented with commemorative coins marking the Centenary of Naas UDC at the council's celebrations in the Town Hall on Monday last. The presentations were made by the minister for the Environment & Local Government, Noel Dempsey TD, pictured on left giving the first coin to UDC chairman Seamie Moore.

Among the former councilllors who received the coins were Paddy Behan, Teresa Scanlon, Mary French Coghlan, Andy Shirran, Mick Mulvey, Tony McCormack, Tom Connolly, Brinsley Sheridan and Michael Lawlor.

The mementoes were also presented to representatives of deceased members. These included Pat Dowling, Vi Lawlor, Alfie Murphy, George Patterson, Ronnie Kinnane and Mary Healy. Unable to attend the midday meeting were Kitty Guiney, Vera Mallon, Bernard Smith, Cllr Tony Lawlor and Mrs Merrins.

The two Freemen of Naas, Michael Osborne and Gerry Ward were also presented with the coins.

The widows of four former chairpersons of Naas UDC presented with commemorative coins at the recent celebrations of the Council's Centenary: Kay Fitzsimons, for her husband Paddy; Maureen Gilleece for her husband Terry; Aileen Callaghan for her husband Bill; and Margaret Grehan for her husband Ger.
Paddy Behan with the Mayor of St David's City in Wales, John George and his wife Nan and the Rev Michael Wooderson, Naas. St David's and Naas have enjoyed special historical links for over 700 years.
Above: Tony Osborne and his brother Michael, a Freeman of Naas. Right: Cllr Timmy Conway and Vi Lawlor.
Kildare County Council engineer John Murphy from Naas with Cllr Frank English, chairman of Athy UDC and Cllr John O'Neill from Newbridge. John Murphy was town engineer for Naas for 17 years.
Left: Town manager Terry O'Niadh speaking at the centenary meeting.
Above: Seamie Moore receives a painting by local artist Ray Ryan, presented to the UDC by Mary Bhogal, president of the Naas Chamber of Commerce.
Above: Naas UDC councillor Willie Callaghan (centre), who has served on the UDC for 13 years, and followed his father, Bill, who was a member for 40 years since 1950, with his mother Aileen, at the celebration lunch. Naas town clerk Declan Kirrane is signing her menu as a memento of the occasion.
Above: Former Naas councillor Andy Shirran receives his commemorative coin from the minister for the environment, Noel Dempsey TD.

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Toll roads 'could swamp Maynooth, Naas'

NAAS, 6 April 2000: by Brian Byrne. A proposal by the minister for the environment that national primary roads would be tolled could have 'thousands' of cars, trucks and buses pouring back through Naas and Maynooth, according to the AA. This scenario was suggested by the organisation's public affairs manager Conor Faughnan, in a comment on the proposals made by Noel Dempsey TD, whose idea is that new national roads, such as the motorway systems proposed in the National Development Plan, would be paid for by the use of tolls on individual motorists.

"Tolls are the bluntest forms of tax yet devised," says Mr Faughnan. "They cause traffic to pour onto unsuitable routes. Imagine how people in Maynooth or Naas would feel if they thought that a toll was going to send thousands of cars, trucks and buses back onto their streets."

Mr Faughnan suggested that 'shadow tolls' could be used to fund the roads, which involves private investors building the roads and the relevant local authorities paying a toll based on the traffic usage.

"This is a win-win situation in which the diversion problem is overcome, yet the energy and resources of the private sector are harnessed. It would work well here if the Government could be shaken from its desire to take more money from motorists."

Eight 'shadow toll' projects are operating in the UK and have proved 'very satisfactory', Mr Faughana says.

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Wyeth project loss a 'bad day' for Newbridge

NEWBRIDGE, 5 April 2000: by Brian Byrne. The loss of a 1,300-job biotechnology operation which had been targeted by Newbridge has been described as a ‘bad day’ for the town, which possibly could have serious repercussions for industrial development in Newbridge in the future.

Town commissioner Spike Nolan told KNN this morning that location of the half-billion project by American Home Products Corporation, parent company of Wyeth Medica, in a green field site in Clondalkin represented a failure on Kildare County Council’s part to provide adequately for industrial development in the town. One of the reasons reported for the loss to Newbridge was that the company wasn’t convinced that adequate services were available in the Newbridge area.

“Myself and Cllr John O’Neill have been fighting for years to have more industrial land available in the town, but we can’t get it,” he said. “I’m sure that the facilities could have been put in place to bring the project through here, and I can’t understand why we didn’t get it, especially with Wyeth already in the town. It seems to me that the council is completely oriented towards the north of the county, and we’re just being left as a town stuck between the railway and the motorway.”

Cmmr Nolan, for many years a councillor for the area, said the loss of such a high-profile project to the town could have a knock-on effect of making other potential investors not considering Newbridge at all.

Through its Wyeth Medica division, AHP already employs 1,700 people in Ireland in locations in Newbridge, Askeaton, Sligo and Dublin. The new investment will involve one million square feet of buildings on a 90-acre site. "Ireland has been selected for this project in the face of fierce competition from other countries around the globe, including Singapore,'' tanaiste Mary Harney said as she made the announcement last night.

The AHP campus will be a new Wyeth Medica complex, complete with a development installation, incubation blocks and final product facility. The aim is to take products from the research idea straight through the development pipeline to commercial manufacturing

Main Rover, Land Rover and Volvo dealers, Kildare town. Phone 045 521203; Fax 045 521785. See our selection here. And read Brian Byrne's review of the new Rover 75.

Kildare has many authors of both fiction and non-fiction. We have a special page available to promote their work, which you can access here. Please support those of your county people who travel the long and often lonely road of the pen and typewriter to tell you stories.

 

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Travellers inclusion seminar today

NAAS, 5 April 2000: by Trish Whelan. Naas Equality for Travellers (members pictured above at a recent press briefing) is today hosting a one-day seminar on traveller inclusion in Tougher's, Newhall, Naas. The seminar aims to create an awareness and understanding of traveller issues and explore ways as to how they can be tackled. It will be formally opened at 10.30am by Philip Watt, director of National Consultative Committee on Racism and Interculturalism.

This is the first seminar of its kind to be held in Kildare, bringing together the travellers of the county along with their representative groups, local authority and public representatives, service providers and those with a role to play in traveller inclusion.

The programme will have oral contributions and workshops on issues such as health, education, accommodation and discrimination with a follow-up report and recommendations to the relevant bodies.

Speakers include Women of the Pavee Point Health Project; Gearoid O'Riain of Pavee Point will speak on education issues, while Fintan Farrell of the Irish Traveller Movement will speak on accommodation.

A major discussion and workshops on all aspects of discrimination as it affects travellers in their day to day life is scheduled for the afternoon. Ann Scully of the Mercy Justice Office in Limerick and Thomas McCann of the Irish Traveller Movement will speak on discrimination.

The seminar is supported by The National Consultative Committee on Racism and Interculturalism and Kildare VEC.

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Traffic calming measures funded

KILDARE GENERAL, 5 April 2000: by Bill Trapman. £200,000 has been allocated for Traffic Calming Projects in Kildare, with £100,000 targeted at Urban North Kildare.

This initiative has been welcomed by Cllr Catherine Murphy who has been seeking a special budget for the past two years. Cllr Murphy pointed out that following her success with the Council in getting a special budget for footpaths, which is in its second year and showing signs of improvement despite the long list of work outstanding due to years of neglect, she sought a special budget for traffic calming, the only councillor to formally do so. This was included in this year’s Book of Estimates for Kildare.

Among the first areas to benefit will be: Accommodation Road, Green Lane at both Castletown & Oaklawn Junctions, Parklands, Glendale, Riverforest near Confey College, and Moyglare Road.

"All these areas have a considerable problem with Traffic Calming demands going back years,” Cllr Murphy says. “This is the first time they will be comprehensively addressed. The growth in the level of car ownership and consequent traffic problems has given rise to a huge rise in demand for traffic calming facilities. This fund should be seen as the beginning of a process but with new estates we should learn from poor design features which can be avoided, reducing the necessity for traffic calming."

Cllr Murphy added that her goal for the 2001 Estimates will be a special budget for both open space maintenance and a fund for housing estate roads, many of which are in a deplorable state.

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UDC celebrates its centenary

NAAS, 4 April 2000: by Trish Whelan & Brian Byrne. Almost to the hour, Naas Urban District Council celebrated the 100th anniversary of its foundation with a special meeting yesterday that included a review of the key parts of its history; a congratulations from special guest Noel Dempsey TD, minister for the environment and local government; and the unveiling of a list of the names of all the chairpersons of the council to date.

There was also a presentation of a specially-struck medallion to current and former members of the council, to officials, and to relatives of deceased members. The day concluded with a special lunch held at Naas Racecourse.

Representing other local authorities in Kildare were Cllr P J Sheridan, cathaoirleach of Kildare County Council; Cllr John O'Neill of Newbridge Town Commission; Cllr Bernard Caldwell of Leixlip Town Commission; and Cllr Frank English from Athy UDC. Also among the guests were the mayor of St David's in Wales, Cllr John George, and his wife Nan. Representing the Association of Municipal Authorities in Ireland was Cllr Aileen Pyne of Fermoy UDC, president of the AMAI. The two freemen of Naas, Michael Osborne and Jerry Ward, were also present.

The proceedings were chaired by the current cathaoirleach of Naas UDC, Cllr Seamie Moore, who recalled that through the century, the essentials for the town were provided by the successive councils, who were always seen as 'positive and progressive, and foremost in setting standards for others to follow'. "In a reflected comparison, the community of Naas has always responded positively to the initiatives of the local urban council," he added. "As a partnership we have grown together a town that is both exemplary and exceptional, contributing to the national image and reflecting the positive state of the nation."

Town clerk Declan Kirrane (audio here) read the minutes of the inaugural meeting, from the original Minute Book which actually goes back to 1884 and records the proceedings of the Naas Corporation which preceded the UDC. He noted that the first-ever resolution of the UDC was unanimously adopted, 'that a volunteer fire brigade be established, and that the necessary requirements for extinguishing fires be provided'.

In a presentation on the history of Naas, former cathaoirleach and councillor Paddy Behan (audio here) welcomed the distinguished guests from St David's, noting that there was a 700-year link between the Pembrokeshire town and Naas. He provided a word-picture of the town of 100 years ago, with Queen Victoria on the English throne, street lights powered by gas and lit by the lamplighter, horse and donkey carts up and down the street 'raising dust', boneshaker bikes with solid tyres, and the Dublin Fusilliers billeted in Naas Barracks. Later in his presentation he recalled the 'pail service' which collected sewage from homes and the water cart that damped down the dirt roads of the town in summer.

"The first council were all business-people, unlike the present council," Mr Behan noted, and he recalled the ‘wise precedent’ of the first chairman William Staples to include what the late Cllr Bill Callaghan described as 'whistlers' - non Naas people - as members of the council. He outlined Staples' origins from Wexford and his arrival to set up in business in Naas, among his ventures was helping to found the Leinster Leader newspaper that, along with the Kildare Observer and the Carlow Nationalist, subsequently reported on the doings of the UDC. "Reporting has changed since then ... we still have the Leader and the Nationalist, but we also have local radio, and we have the Internet," Mr Behan said.

Minister Dempsey (audio here) expressed his appreciation for being present on a 'very special day'. "Many of the tasks that faced the councillors of 100 years ago are still the tasks that face public representatives today," he said, adding that in the various centenary celebrations he has attended during the last year, it has always been a great pleasure to meet former members of local authorities on such occasions. "I have used the opportunity to thank them for their service over the years, and I've always held the view that in the past we have tended to accept the commitment, and devotion in many cases, of public representatives and officials of local authorities, and we've never really publicly acknowledged it."

The minister also acknowledged the families of such representatives, and the sacrifices they have sometimes made for them. "It is great to see here people who have served previously, and the representatives of people who have served in the past," he said.

The cathaoirleach of Kildare County Council, Cllr P J Sheridan, said 'the ancient assembly place of the Kings' could not be a more suitable place to be the seat of town government and the county capital. "Town local government in Ireland is always in close contact with the community, and it is an ideal expression of democracy," he said. "The participation and the lively debate that characterises town local government is a good healthy sign in political life and in the life of the wider community."

AMAI president Aileen Pyne praised the contributions of Naas councillors, present and past, who have been delegates to her organisation and 'who have contributed greatly to the betterment of local government'.

Kildare county manager Niall Bradley said the system of local government in Ireland could not function without the involvement of members. He said the UDC had come a long way in its first 100 years, but the ‘challenges remained the same’. "There have been good times and difficult times, turmoil of wars, the problem of emigration, the new adventure of the sixties put to one side by the oil crises of the seventies and the serious structural unemployment of the eighties, the effects of which are in some ways still with us."

Mr Bradley noted that many things are done by local authorities, but that 'we've not very good at telling people about them'. "We should really be out there making sure that the citizens we are all working for and with are aware at least of what's happening, and have an opportunity to take part in a meaningful way." He concluded by hoping that those who come to look back on the next 100 years will be able to say: 'Yes, they came through the first 100 years tremendously well, with a sense of creativity and a sense of vision and a sense of participation and partnership. They achieved what they set out to achieve’.

Pictured above are Kildare TDs Bernard Durkan and Sean Power, with Tony Osborne of Brown & McCann, Jimmy Cox of Bank of Ireland, and county manager Niall Bradley.

Concluding by leading his fellow councillors in their own thoughts on the day, cathaoirleach Seamie Moore said it was important that they 'not take their eye off the ball' and 'hold focus on the work that has to be done', to ensure that in the many opportunities for progression, particularly in the economic sense, they ‘measure everything by the quality of life’ which evolves from economic progress. He said the town 'needs help' for infrastructural development, and to provide affordable housing for the town's young people, many of whom now have to travel south in the county to buy homes they can afford.

"Together with the minister for finance, you must help us to bring back real community life to our town," he told minister Dempsey. "For ourselves, in as far as any council can look forward within its time, we will continue the proud tradition of our predecessors, to improve the quality of life for all the citizens of Naas, and to give value for money in planning, programming and services."

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Maynooth racer seeks track stardom

MAYNOOTH, 4 April 2000: by Fergus Brennan. Eighteen-year-old Ian Barrett from Maynooth takes his first steps on the road to International Motor Racing stardom this year when he competes in the highly competitive British Formula Vee Championship. Barrett will drive a Kildare-built Leastone chassis with backing from TRITON Showers and Barretts of Maynooth.

Ian, who was the sensation of the 1999 Irish Formula Vee racing season, will graduate to the faster UK Formula Vee single seater series for 2000. Taking in his first full season of international racing, the Kildare student will use this year to learn the British tracks as a springboard to a full time career in motor racing.

Having started in karts at the age of nine, Ian took many race wins and top championship placings before making his car racing debut in 1998. After taking a year to acclimatise to the step up from karts in his first season he dominated his class throughout 1999 taking seven wins from nine races.

His performances attracted the attention of triple British Formula Vee champion Ray Moore from Portarlington, who has provided his championship-winning car for Ian's assault on the British Crown.

Barrett heads into round two of the championship at Snetterton, Norfolk this weekend full of confidence following his performance in round one where he battled back from last on the grid to finish 11th in the shortened race. His speed and ability to overtake his much more experienced rivals would have meant a much higher finishing position had the race not been shortened due to an accident.

Long term, Ian has his sights set on the top step of the Motor Racing ladder but for now his focus is on bringing home the British Championship to Ireland for the fourth time in five years.

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Council seeks to regulate takeaway outlets

COUNTY HALL, 4 April 2000: by Trish Whelan. Under current legislation, local authorities in County Kildare are prohibited from introducing new bye laws to regulate the opening hours of fast food outlets in the county. Officials of Kildare County Council have written to the Department of the Environment and Local Government asking them to come up with a means of remedying the situation.

A recent meeting of Kildare councillors was told of the need to regulate such opening hours to minimise opportunities for disturbances at night. County secretary Tommy Skehan explained a bye law may not be introduced for an activity which can be regulated under other legislation. He said the Shop Hours of Trading Acts provide that the Tanaiste and Minister for Enterprise can make bye laws to control the opening hours of shops. He said it is possible to regulate the opening hours by means of conditions in planning permissions but these are impractical to operate and would not cater for existing takeaway outlets.

During the discussion Cllr Jim Reilly (left) said a report presented seemed to ‘hone in strongly’ on urban areas but takeaways are now in every village and hamlet in the county. He believed some of the outlets to be ‘suspect’ in relation to matters of hygiene with many not providing toilet facilities for members of the public.

Cllr Sean O Fearghail felt takeaways to be one of the principle generators of litter in the county and he suggested the litter wardens might focus on litter outside such premises.

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Residents up in arms over trees vandalism

NAAS, 3 April 2000: by Trish Whelan & Brian Byrne. Irate residents who live close to the Monread District Park are considering setting up a Community Watch Group to try and stamp out vandalism in the area.

This follows the mindless destruction of over 100 trees recently planted in the Monread area, some of which had been specially selected to form an avenue of trees in the new parkland. Other trees on green space at the junction of Dun na Ríogh Avenue and Monread Road, had also been vandalised.

Locals want to stamp out this kind of behaviour and to get the park back into shape by keeping an eye out for such vandalism, UDC chairman Seamie Moore said while inspecting the damage (above). He had received numerous calls from irate residents of the area voicing their utter disgust over what had happened.

"Many residents would have been familiar with similar parks in Dublin and had asked the Council to complete this park to the same high standards. The Council had got the best designer group in Ireland, the South Dublin County Council Parks Section, to lay out the area," he told KNN. He was disappointed for the residents over what had happened. "Each tree cost at least £60 to buy, plant and secure, and a beautiful avenue of trees is now ruined."

The trees will now have to be replaced, at considerable cost to the Council.

Main Rover, Land Rover and Volvo dealers, Kildare town. Phone 045 521203; Fax 045 521785. See our selection here. And read Brian Byrne's review of the new Rover 75.

Kildare has many authors of both fiction and non-fiction. We have a special page available to promote their work, which you can access here. Please support those of your county people who travel the long and often lonely road of the pen and typewriter to tell you stories.

PROFESSIONAL COUNSELLING

Noreen McCabe, MNAPCP

Anxiety, depression, loss, phobias, childhood trauma, eating disorders, relationships, personal growth, coaching for work-related stress. Strictly confidential.

Moorefield Clinic, Newbridge. Phone (045) 432111 or call Noreen at (045) 431936; mobile 086 2496823; email dmccabe@tinet.ie

Motoring News, Views and Reviews here

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Seeks new Engineering Area in county

LEIXLIP, 3 April 2000: by Bill Trapman. Cllr Catherine Murphy is seeking the immediate creation of a new Engineering Area in North Kildare. This follows complaints by her about the low level of staffing and unequal road funding the North of the county receives.

Currently the County Council, which has six electoral areas, only has five Engineering Areas to service them. The two North Kildare Areas Celbridge and Leixlip are combined. With a total population in these areas in the region of 40,000 people, they share just 20 outdoor staff.

Two other factors compound the disparity: both Naas & Athy have Urban Councils and employ additional outdoor staff, and road money has been allocated on the basis of the number of staff employed. “So it’s a ‘double whammy’,” Cllr Murphy claims.

Electoral Area Councillors Electorate Outdoor Staff
Athy 3 12,461 22
Clane 4 16,438 26
Kildare 6 25,040 23
Naas 5 22,432 27
Leixlip 4 16,315 20 (Share with Celbridge)
Celbridge 3 11,182 20 (Share with Leixlip)

Cllr Murphy made complaints about this situation at a recent meeting of Kildare County Council, which was allocating road funding. She pointed out that the funding for Council’s now comes from Road Tax and there is a complete absence of equity in the handling of both staffing and funding. She also noted that the number of councillors relates proportionately to the population and both staffing and funding should broadly do the same.

Cllr Murphy has tabled a motion for the Leixlip Area Committee seeking a date for the installation of a new Engineering Area together with staffing levels which would be on a par with other parts of the county.

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'Community suffers' from absentee landlords

MAYNOOTH & COUNTY HALL, 3 April 2000: by Trish Whelan. Up to 50% of houses in one new estate in Maynooth are owned by absentee landlords with many of the houses, and their frontages, not maintained to a proper standard, according to Celbridge Area Cllr John McGinley. He believes the whole community suffers in this situation.

He had previously asked Kildare County Council to contact all residents associations in the county for a list of absentee landlords, many of whom have not paid their £40 registration fee to the local authority. He wondered if any such landlords had been brought to court for non payment of the fee.

Assistant county manager Terry O Niadh said only a small percentage of the 2,500 owners have registered. He said officials must be conscious of the unintended consequences that may occur if someone renting a property supplies the owner’s name to the council. He told members a letter had been sent to all residents associations seeking the names of landlords in their estates, without much success.

Deputy Jack Wall (right) said he believed some rented accommodation to be totally unacceptable and he asked the Council to request the county manager to present a report on the registration of private rented accommodation to members, and that it be discussed. He said the Council should produce a register of such accommodation to members which would also ensure that landlords are brought into the tax net.

Mr O Niadh said the Council is obliged to carry out, on an individual basis, an examination of all rented properties to ensure they are up to standard.

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New contract signed for Rathcoffey houses

RATHCOFFEY, 3 April 2000: by Brian Byrne. A contract for 14 new family homes in Rathcoffey has been signed by Kildare County Council and work is expected to begin on the project in a few weeks. It is the second phase of a 34-house project, and is part of a £50 million programme for local authority housing in Kildare over the next four years.

The Rathcoffey houses were designed by Lorcan Greene and Associates of Howth and will cost £1 million Construction will be done by Pat Moore Builders of Emo, Co Laois, who have almost completed the first phase of 20 houses in the development.

The colour scheme for the houses so far built has been a source of some controversy in Kildare’s Council Chamber.

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UDC details letting priorities

NAAS, 3 April 2000: by Trish Whelan. Naas UDC's scheme of letting priorities 2000 will be more transparent than the previous scheme and each applicant will be able to see how many points they have and where they come on the housing list. This was the view of UDC officials when the scheme was discussed at a recent meeting of the council.

There are currently some 300 people waiting to be housed by the Council. To be eligible for consideration, an applicant must be in need of such accommodation, in the opinion of the Council, and anyone who refuses two reasonable offers within a two-year period by the UDC will not be considered for another house for two years after their refusal.

Officials said the first priority will be to separate the 'urgent and priority cases' before proceeding to the other categories using a points system. Urgent and priority cases include those displaced by fire, flood, dangerous buildings; people who are homeless; those living in overcrowded conditions; people sharing accommodation with others and who have a reasonable requirement for separate accommodation; young people leaving institutional care or without family accommodation; those in need of accommodation for medical or compassionate reasons; the elderly, disabled or handicapped; those who are or have pursued a nomadic way of life and those who are not reasonably able to pay their rent or get suitable alternative accommodation.

Officials said the points system is used by six other local authorities, but the difference is that local residents, if they qualify, will be awarded a point for each year they have lived in the area in the last five years. While councillors felt this figure was too low, town manager Terry O Niadh said it was as high as they could go 'within the law'.

Cllr Timmy Conway stressed that priority should be to house Naas people before others and Cllr Willie Callaghan formally proposed the 5 points refer to applicants within the urban boundary. There will also be points awarded for the length of time applicants are on the list.

The scheme will be considered further at the Council's April meeting.

 

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