Failure to sell barracks 'is not longterm problem' - councillorNAAS, 14 July 2000: 10pm by Brian Byrne & Trish Whelan. The failure of the public tender procedure to sell Devoy Barracks in Naas should not cause any longterm problems to the development of the site, according to one of the councillors who negotiated its disposal with the minister for defence. Only one submission was received by the closure date for the public tender procedure on Tuesday 11 July. According to a spokesman for the department, that offer was not anything near the guide price of £7 million. Now the department will have to try another route to sell the property, probably by private treaty. Cllr Willie Callaghan said tonight that he expects the site will be disposed of in the not too distant future. "You often see properties failing to sell at auction but deals are done shortly afterwards between the parties," he said. He added that there was no threat to grants made by the council to sports and cultural bodies by the non-sale, because such grants were made from a development levies fund. A £1 million sum expected for the UDC after the sale was completed would be coming from Kildare County Council, as their payment for locating a new County Council HQ on part of seven acres being given to the UDC by the minister in return for rezoning of the site. He said no grant promises had been made in respect of this money, and he expected that the amount would stand regardless of what price the minister eventually got. A month ago, Cllr Pat McCarthy called on the minister to withdraw the invitation to tender, saying it was a calculated insult to the 350 people on the Naas UDC waiting list for houses if the property was sold to a private developer, and equally insulting to the thousands of other couples in the area who dont have a hope of buying a house in Naas at todays inflated prices.
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'Limit travellers' convoys' callLEIXLIP, 14 July 2000: by Brian Byrne. Legislation to set limits on the numbers of traveller caravans who can travel in convoy should be enacted in order to stop invasions of travellers on private property, such is currently happening in Leixlip and which has affected other towns such as Naas (above). Similar difficulties with large groups of traveller merchants have been encountered in Naas, Newbridge, Robertstown (above), and Celbridge in the last year. They have cost local authorities and private landowners many thousands of pounds in court costs to move them on. In Newbridge, a car park behind Penneys store has been permanently closed since a group of such travellers occupied it and had subsequently to be moved by court action. The legal and cleanup costs for last October's incursion at St Gabriel's Place in Naas are estimated to have cost over £11,000, which is unlikely to be recovered. Among the debris left afterwards was a large amount of waste thrown into the canal (below)
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Litter fines activity 'like Communist Russia'
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Dead women had 'obsession with draughts'LEIXLIP, 14 July 2000: by Bill Trapman. Four elderly women who died in their home in Leixlip had an obsession with blocking out draughts, according to garda sources. They were also very concerned about privacy and kept all their windows and doors shut and curtains drawn.
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Planning permission refusedCELBRIDGE, 14 July 2000: by Bill Trapman. Kildare County Council has refused planning permission for a 204-unit development at St Raphaels in Celbridge on the grounds of excessive scale and density. A previous application for 318 apartments on the 10-acre site between St Raphaels Manor Estate and St Raphaels School was refused last August. |
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Ballyoulster to break building records
Finance Minister Charlie McCreevy will be turning the first sod for Ballyoulster today at 6.30pm. |
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Car of the Week |
****Earlier News from this week available here****
Around and About the County...COUNTY HALL: Kildare County councillors have agreed a request for support from Sligo for their resolution that Sligo County Council calls on the government to withdraw its Telecommunication (Infra Structure Bill 1999) which would give increased power to mobile phone companies to enter on to and to compulsory purchase land from private citizens for the provision of these base stations and masts. Cllr Jim Reilly proposed that Kildare County Council support the Sligo resolution and this was seconded by Cllr John ONeill and agreed by all members. LEIXLIP: The 100 signs required for Leixlip's new parking system will be installed by a contractor before the end of July. Some preliminary work is being done at present by the Council and road markings will be applied this week. Councillors have been told that it is expected the bye-laws will be in force once these issues are dealt with, and that is expected to be the end of July early August. NAAS: Naas UDC has agreed to give the local Twinning Committee the sum of £2,000 towards its proposed trip to its twin town of Castleattica in Italy. The trip takes place in August. Cllr Timmy Conway asked if £2,000 was enough and Pat OReilly said they would have very little change out of £10,000. The Council had previously given £1,500 for the Dillengen delegates. It was agreed to give £2,000 subject to availability. NAAS: Naas UDC has agreed to congratulate the Flood Tribunal on its splendid work and to call on the Minister for Justice to extend the Flood Tribunal investigation to cover the greater Dublin area and to congratulate the Flood Tribunal on the splendid work it is doing. Councillors unanimously agreed a motion by Cllr Anthony Egan that this would help allay public concern and restore public confidence in local councils and in the planning and zoning process.
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the weekly roundup of Irish views and stories presented by Brian Byrne and Trish Whelan and broadcast from Vancouver on the Celtic Voices programme carried by Canada's largest independent radio network. You can stream it at 56k, or download to listen to later. Changed every Sunday. |
'Phantom' traffic warden 'deserves a medal' - town clerk
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IT business park 'will rival City West'JOHNSTOWN, 12 July 2000: by Brian Byrne. A proposed new business park outside Naas will be totally geared towards information technology businesses, and is expected to become an equivalent to City West in Dublin, according to the project management team for the venture.
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Silliott dump will become rubbish 'transfer station'KILCULLEN, 12 July 2000: by Trish Whelan. Despite the expectation that the life of the Silliott Hill dump is now measured in months, it now seems that lorries of rubbish will for the forseeable future be both going in and out of the site, as it becomes a sorting centre for the countys waste.
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Link road 'could fragment community' - residentsMAYNOOTH, 11 July 2000: by Bill Trapman. The proposed link road at Meadowbrook in Maynooth could fragment the nine-year-old community which has developed in the housing estate, according to a deputation of residents which met recently with the area councillors.
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Can't get drivers for sweepers
The Council make great play about the fact that Maynooth is a University town indeed it is a thread that runs throughout the new development plan, Cllr Catherine Murphy said afterwards. But the practical issues such as an adequate street sweeping service is as important is many infrastructural projects. We were told the council advertised for temporary people to drive these machines, but at some point the Council will have to realise the real world offers permanent jobs, and that is partly why the Council is having problems with recruitment.
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Council 'can't enforce' bins bye-laws
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Officials 'will attend' residents' meetings
Cllr Paul Kelly told of similar problems in the Leixlip area. It seems were going around in circles, he said.
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Living in hostel after eviction from Naas home
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Rainsford is new Cathaoirleach of Kildare County CouncilCOUNTY HALL, 10 July 2000: by Trish Whelan. Cllr Rainsford Hendy of Timolin has been elected as the 56th Cathaoirleach of Kildare County Council. He succeeds Cllr P J Sheridan. Cllr Hendy is currently a member of County Kildare VEC, the Midlands-East Regional Authority, the South-East Regional Assembly, the Barrow Drainage Board and the board of management of Coláiste Chiaráin, Leixlip. He also represents Kildare County Council on Kildare Fáilte and the Kildare Horse Development Company. Prior to the election at the AGM of the council on Friday, three Special Olympians were made a presentation by the council. Pictured below are: (front) Bernard Campbell (Rathcoffey), Eileen Campbell who won silver and bronze medals for swimming; Noel Short (Celbridge) who won a gold medal for swimming; Mary Fulton (Coill Dubh) who took silver for horseriding and Eileen Campbell, also from Rathcoffey. Back - Joe and Una Fulton, Noel Devine (Celbridge) and Liz Callery of KARE. On behalf of the people of Kildare, outgoing chairman Cllr P J Sheridan praised the three, saying we can all learn from the work they put into achieving their personal goals.
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Moat Club perform in WalesNAAS & WALES, 10 July 2000: by Trish Whelan. The three-man cast of the Moat Clubs A Bench at the Edge spent last weekend in the Welsh town of Llandudno where the finals of the British Festival of One Act plays was taking place. |
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Many mourn railway deathsLEIXLIP, 10 July 2000: by Bill Trapman. Large crowds of mourners gathered in Our Lady of Nativity Church in Leixlip, Co Kildare, at the weekend for the funerals of the two teenagers killed at Louisa Bridge on Wednesday night. Jenny O'Reilly (15) and David English (17) were killed when they were hit by the Sligo-Dublin train at about 9.10 p.m.
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the weekly roundup of Irish views and stories presented by Brian Byrne and Trish Whelan and broadcast from Vancouver on the Celtic Voices programme carried by Canada's largest independent radio network. You can stream it at 56k, or download to listen to later. Changed every Sunday. |
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