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Naas Planning Alliance calls for UDC-hosted public meeting
As a deputation they could only put forward their case on Thursday, without debate. But they had decided to attend 'to express the growing concerns of many Naas people over aspects of the new draft plan for the town'. The deputation consisted of Alliance chairperson John Walsh, Mary McCarthy and Billy O'Connor. Other members sat in the public gallery. Mr Walsh said the NPA consists of 'ordinary citizens of Naas' who have chosen the town as their home over the past 30-40 years and members are not driven by any specific agenda - political or otherwise - except by a deep concern that Naas should develop at a pace and direction acceptable to all. This, he said, had led to the formation of residents associations which have now come together as the Naas Planning Alliance. He said it is not their objective to be confrontational or to condemn the council as uncaring or unconcerned - but rather was 'to provide a forum which will cogently communicate the legitimate concerns of residents of Naas vis a vis the Draft Development Plan'. Naas Planning Alliance is concerned that further areas are proposed for residential rezoning when the population is already set to grow to 19,000 under the existing plan. They pointed out that such a population will exacerbate the already serious problems relating to traffic, encroachment on areas of high amenity, creation of 'rat-runs' along the canal, lack of recreational facilities, overcrowded schools, water reliability and quality, sewage treatment facilities, and the threat to the River Liffey. "In the midst of these difficulties, there is a growing population which needs space and time to become a community and not just a 'people farm.'" Naas Planning Alliance is not
anti-developer or anti-development, Mr Walsh stressed, but says
it must counterbalance the inexorable demand for development
at the expense of the environment, amenities and the town. He
said the alliance is not opposed to the totality of the Draft
Plan, and that the Millennium Industrial Park would be acceptable
and a major asset to the town. "But the canal must be protected
by a 90-metre margin on both sides and this should be stipulated
in any rezoning of this area," he said. The UDC is to consider the idea of hosting such a public meeting as sought by the alliance.
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NAAS,
27 March 1999: by Trish Whelan. Naas Planning Alliance
has again invited Naas UDC to host a public open meeting and
to engage with the public in 'frank and open debate' on the Naas
Draft Development Plan.
Dukes calls for ministerial responsibility for biotechnology issues
Deputy Dukes also said he believed that research into genetically modified crops should be allowed to continue, including field trials, but that there should 'strict regulation by a competent authority'. "Such field trials should, however, be comprehensive in nature," he said, "rather than concentrating solely on questions of yield, specific characteristics for which the genetic modification is carried out and specific traits in the plants or in the resulting products. They should cover also the effects of genetically modified plants on the soils, flora and fauna surrounding them." Outlining the benefits which genetic engineering had brought since the early 1980s in applications ranging from health care to food, Deputy Dukes noted that these included treatments for Hepatitis B, AIDS, and diagnostics for certain forms of cancer ... and well as in various areas of food production. "There are forecasts that as much as 30% of all new pharmaceutical products produced after the year 2,000 will have some form of bio-technology associated with their research and development. In health care and diagnostics, there are more than 600 diagnostic products which are based on bio-technology. Bio-technology has played a role in the cleaning and remediation of soils after environmental disasters. It could have important applications in the management of effluent treatment plants." Deputy Dukes said there were urgent needs to be addressed in terms of research, assessment, information availability to the public, and labelling of genetically engineered products. He welcomed the decision by the minister for the environment to take up a proposal first made by Young Fine Gael that an inter-departmental working group should be formed to deal with bio-technology-related issues. (The full speech is available here.)
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KILDARE SOUTH, 27 March
1999: by Brian Byrne. Kildare South TD Alan Dukes
has called for a specific ministry in Government to be given
the responsibility of dealing with biotechnology-related issues,
including research and development on genetically-modified
foods. Speaking in a the Dail yesterday, the Fine Gael spokesman
on the Environment and Local Government also said there was a
need for an EU agency to oversee the rigorous testing and evaluation
of the application of genetic engineering in the food sector.
Umbrella forum for Naas residents associations is proposed
Mr Kinchella has been involved
with the Naas Tidy Towns association for the past 20 years. He
said in that time four Bord Failte national awards have gone
to local estates for best kept estates 'which is a fantastic
achievement for one town'. But he said that, in general, much
of the work of residents associations fall to a small number
of people. "These are lumbered with an awful lot of work
that should be the responsibility of others, such as grass cutting
or work that should have been completed by the builders - or
the local authority after the builders have left. However, it
is our experience that the local authority can be slow to take
over estates." |
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NAAS,
26 March 1999: by Trish Whelan. The possibility of providing
an umbrella 'forum' for Naas residents associations has been
explored at a special meeting in the town. It was stressed that
the forum will not be 'a single issue organisation' but a place
where ideas and problems common to all residents associations
can be discussed and developed, with no particualr agenda.
Curragh development input demanded by Newbridge candidate
"There are teachers from the former Army Apprentice School who no longer have work, and they have been told that they shouldn't bother looking for further work," he said, recalling that the same minister had previously come down to Naas to say there was a future for the baracks. "That promise died very quickly," he concluded. Note: Naas UDC recently accepted an offer from the minister for defence in relation to Devoy Barracks in which it rezoned 13.5 acres of the site for housing development in return for getting seven acres for its own use. Kildare County Council has the option to buy an acre. |
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NEWBRIDGE,
26 March 1999: by Brian Byrne. Newbridge should play a
part in how the Curragh can be developed as one of Kildare's
more important amenities, according to one of the Fine Gael candidates
for Newbridge Town Commission, Christy Murphy. Speaking
at the recent selection convention for FG candidates for the
commission elections in June, he said that the Curragh had 'great
potential', but that had not been properly realised.
There is nothing like (Newbridge) dames!
NEWBRIDGE, 25 MARCH 1999: by
Brian Byrne. The 'dames' are truly in charge in this year's
production from Newbridge Musical Society ... it's the
first year ever there's been an all-female team running the show,
which is also the society's 20th.
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The show itself is the Rogers and Hammerstein
classic favourite of tragic love, South Pacific, directed
by Mona Conroy from Naas and musically directed by Siobhan
Kehoe. With longtime society dancer Julie Anne McNamara
(pictured left) making her debut as choreographer and the management
of the operation by society chairwoman Bernie Sheehan Leamy
and PRO Esther Crilly, there's hardly room left for a
man.
LOOKING FOR PROPERTY IN LEINSTER? |
Newbridge youngsters a hit in New YorkDear Editor, My name is Veronica Ryan and I live in Orangeburg, NY (about 20 miles north of NYC) with my husband Aidan and three daughters, Jillian, Lauren and Vivienne. Aidan and I are both former residents of Newbridge and Kildare town. Aidan used to teach PE at the Presentation Convent in Kildare and I worked for the Bank of Ireland in both Newbridge and Kildare. We now run a Sports bar and restaurant in Orangeburg called The Orangeburg Tavern and we recently had the pleasure of hosting the Newbridge Patrician School Pipe and Brass Band when they visited the US to march in the St. Patrick's Day Parade. The band was an absolute knockout they played at our local church, St. Catherine's at two masses and received a standing ovation. We only wish they could have stayed an extra day and marched in our area's local parade which is always held the Sunday following St. Patrick's Day and is the second largest parade in the eastern US. The children were a credit to their band leader and to their parents and teachers. Their good manners, conduct and courtesy left a lasting impression on all of us. We hope they will come and visit us again soon. Well done Gang! You can email me at vryan@h-s.com |
Roads allocations welcomed
Meanwhile Cllr Nolan has also asked that six people seeking to be allowed connect to the new sewerage system on the Athy/Carlow Road, should be allowed do so and has made representations on their behalf to Kildare County Council. He told KNN that he has been informed by the Council's Roads Administration Office that the matter is receiving attention and a reply will issue as soon as posible. Other representations by Cllr Nolan include for the upgrading of the road from Athgarvan to Kilbelin Cross. |
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NEWBRIDGE, 25 March 1999:
by Trish Whelan. News that a number of local roads are
to be included in this year's local Roads Restoration Improvement
Scheme has been welcomed by Kildare County Councillor Spike
Nolan and his colleague Cllr John O'Neill. Roads to
benefit include the Ballymany Road, the hard shoulder between
Wyeth's and Old Connell Stud; the Kilbelin to Newbridge Road;
Pollardstown Road (£48,000); housing estate roads in Newbridge
(£40,000); the Blacktrench Road (£125,000); paving
reconstruction in Eyre Street, Newbridge (£40,000); paving
reconstruction at the industrial road in Newbridge (£60,000);
Roseberry (£20,000) and the Great Connell/Hillsboro Road
(£24,000); Kildangan/Crosskeys (£30,000); Suncroft
(£47,000); Iron Hills (£20,000); while housing roads
in Kildare/Monasterevin will benefit to the sum of £60,000.
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Parking problems highlighted again
"Fifteen months ago the Government introduced legislation banning heavy and commercial vehicles from parking in residential areas" he told members. Cllr Catherine Murphy said it may be necessary for the Council to consider how the issue can be managed by the provision of commercial car parks. Cllr McGinley said the reply had to do with parking regulations but not to do with the motion he had put forward. He asked that the matter be left on the agenda. |
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COUNTY HALL & CELBRIDGE,
25 March 1999: by Trish Whelan. The problems caused by
heavy traffic parking in residential area throughout the county
were again raised by Celbridge Area Cllr John McGinley
in County Hall when he asked that the Council be given a report
on the steps that have been taken to introduce bye-laws to prevent
such parking throughout the whole county.
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Any organisation that wants to reach consumers will need to look at ways to promote their products/services via the Internet. And it doesn't have to be complicated. Find out why. |
Sallins, anyone?Dear Editor, I was wondering if you knew the origins for the name of the town "Sallins"? Also, is there anyone in Kildare Co. w/ a similar name Sallins, Sallens, Sullens, or Sullins. There's a number of us here in the States who are stumpped as to where we originated in the Isles. Only clue is family oral tradition that holds we are "scotch-irish." Would appreciate any help you could give us. Thanks, Chris Sullins |
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Density guidelines at odds with Kildare settlement strategy - Cllr Murphy
The Draft County Development Plan, which is currently on public display, proposes the amount of land to be zoned in towns and villages across the county. Many town and village plans in the county have been adopted already the main plans outstanding are in the north of the county where it was intended to stabilise the growth, while at the same time encouraging expansion in Mid to South Kildare. "The result of the increased densities would be to continue the rate of expansion in the North, but pack it more tightly," Cllr Murphy says. "All of this is proposed in the absence of a proper system of local government funding. Yet another study is underway in Galway (The Needs & Resources study) following the ring-fencing of the Motor Taxation fund. This is one more study in a long history of studies, when ahat is really needed is action. Kildare, despite being the fastest growing county in the Country - as demonstrated in the 1996 census - has not had any increase in funding as a result of that growth and must not be further disadvantaged by huge increases in population without the resources for what is very often basic infrastructure."
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KILDARE GENERAL, 24 MARCH 1999: Residential Density
Guidelines to be published tomorrow would seriously alter Kildare's
settlement strategy according to Leixlip-based councillor Catherine
Murphy. Densities could rise from a maximum of eight houses
to the acre to a new maximum of 20 houses to the acre in Outer
Suburban/Greenfield Sites. In effect much less land would be
required to accommodate projected population increases, with
the prospect of even greater growth rates than have been experienced
in the County to date.
KILDARE COUNTY COUNCIL NOTICES
Naas woman helps Romanian orphans
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NAAS, 24 March 1999: by
Trish Whelan. Kirsten Conroy of Ashgrove, Naas, has
a strong personal mission to help sick children in Romania, many
of whom are mentally and physically handicapped or who have contracted
the HIV virus. She is expecting to shortly head back to the Nicoresti
orphanage in Romania, set deep in the heart of rural countryside
and a world apart from her daily life back home. It will be her
sixth time to work with sick children in that country. "I
always wanted to do humanitarian work. I had done social studies
in college and afterwards with my 9-5pm job I found eventually
that life seemed all too cosy ... I knew I wanted to do something
more fulfilling." 
Athy goes on-line as a town
Pictured at the launch are town manager Terry O Niadh, Cllr Mark Dalton and county librarian Breda Gleeson. Further information is available from Mark McLoughlin, Secretary, Athy Internet Management Group. Phone 0507 33075 or email. |
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ATHY, 24 March 1999: Athy-on-line
was officially launched on Monday in Athy Community Library by
Cllr Mark Dalton, chairman of Athy UDC. It is the first
town in County Kildare to go on line and can be accessed at
Newbridge housing co-op group told 'success is on its way'
NEWBRIDGE, 23 MARCH 1999: by Brian Byrne. Members of the Good Will Housing Co-op in Newbridge were told to 'keep their hearts up' at a meeting last night where progress to date in their five-year campaign was outlined. "I feel that success is on its way," founder director Marie Harrigan-Mullane told them. "It's been a long drag, but it has been worthwhile ... and perhaps you can now start thinking about the details, such as the kind of kitchens you want in your homes." Pictured above are co-op directors Paddy Costigan and Brendan Clegg with project accountant Michael Joyce (centre). However, Ms Mullane's fellow director Tom Wall TD cautioned that, as yet, Kildare County Council did not have the land to provide for the co-op to build the planned 30 homes, although a special group within the council is actively seeking land both for building the authority's own houses and providing sites for small co-operative estates. "I hope that we will soon achieve our dream to have your houses built," he said. "It is particularly important at a time when it is practically impossible to get private rented accommodation in County Kildare and when there are 600 people on the housing list in Newbridge alone." He said that if land was acquired, the next step was to meet with the county manager and officials of the council and reopen talks which the group had with them last year. The Good Will Co-op was launched in October of 1994 and received approval for funding from the Department of the Environment in July of 1996. The lack of land from Kildare County Council has been their only difficulty since. Marie Mullane says they assured in March 1998 by council officials that 'as soon as KCC was in possession of land, we would receive a portion suitable to our requirements'. According to Ms Mullane, some four acres are required for the project. Of the current membership, about 50% are original founders of the co-op, the others having been replaced for various reasons, including being housed by Kildare County Council. To qualify, members must be on the council's housing list, attend regular meetings at which they are instructed in the responsibilities of small estate management, and not bring the co-op 'into disrepute by argument or aggression'. The membership is broadly based by age and circumstance, though most can not expect housing from Kildare County Council under current regulations. "You need four children before you can get housed," says founding member and mother-of-two Priscilla Fitzmaurice. Her sister Amanda, mother of one child, joined the group two years ago. "I could never afford to buy a house, and this is the only way I can get a home of my own," she says. Co-op members will pay from £10 a week rent for their homes when the project goes ahead, with the average payment being £25-30. Member have been £10 a month since they joined. |
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CKR boss leaves station abruptlyKILDARE GENERAL, 23 March 1999: by Brian Byrne. The chief executive of the local radio station for Carlow and Kildare, CKR FM, has resigned unexpectedly. Hugh Brown was appointed to the position in the spring of 1997 after a period of consultancy to the station. He implemented changes which included his taking over the morning slot that had for many years been presented by Christy Walsh (Mornin' All!) and the dropping of a number of local current affairs and news-based programmes in favour of a pop music-oriented format. CKR, at one time third in a league of 21 local radio stations, has shown a consistent decline in listenership to a point where it has been bottom of the list for the past two years. The most recent JNLR listnership figures showed a lift in audience in the latter half of last year, attributed in the industry to the 'Lily Whites' football performance, during which there were a number of promotions related to the football campaign.
More than 20 staff have left the station in the last few years, most of them during Mr Brown's stewardship. A number of legal cases are pending against the station from former staff members. Cases taken by Christy Walsh and DJ Tommy Greene were settled prior to legal judgement. |
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Council outlines £65m spendCOUNTY HALL, 23 MARCH 1999: Kildare County Council is to spend £65 million in its infrastructural development programme in 1999, part of a larger projected investment of over £100 million in infrastructural and social services. The plan includes includes investment of £33 million in the development of water and sewerage services to extend and improve Leixlip and Osberstown Sewage Treatment Plants (£13.75 million and £15 million), replace much of Kilcullen's sewerage system (£2 million), replace Prosperous Sewerage Plant (£0.9 million), and provide a new reservoir at Monasterevin (£1.6 million). Also contained in the programme is the commencement of a two-year project which will see the provision of 300 houses county-wide over the next two years at a cost of £18 million, including housing developments at Ballymore Eustace, Ballyroe, Broadford, Castledernmot, Clane, Clogherinkoe, Derrinturn, Kilberry, Kildangan, Kildare Town, Kilmeague, Leixlip, Newbridge Nurney, Rathangan, Robertstown, Sallins, and Suncroft, as well as participation in remedial works schemes, the provision of improved residential caravan parks, and continued co-operation with voluntary housing groups. Road construction and restoration projects valued at £23million include Kildare By-Pass (£8million), improvements on the Moone-Timolin-Ballitore stretch of the Kilcullen - Carlow Road (£2million), crash barriers, junction improvements and road strengthening on the national roads to the South and West ( £0.5million), further improvements on the Kilgowan stretch of the Kilcullen - Carlow Road (£0.9million), advancement of the Athy Relief Street Projects (£50,000), design and other preparatory work for Celbridge Interchange, Monasterevin By-Pass, Interchanges at Kill and Johnstown, and further improvements to Kilcullen - Carlow Road at Timolin, (£1.4million), continuation of the Road Restoration (Improvements) Programme at several locations around the County (£3.9million), continued participation in the European Union's programme for co-financed road improvements, involving projects at Shaw Bridge Kilcock, Punchestown/Beggars End, Painstown - Mainham, Barberstown - Maynooth, Kildare Bridge on the Maynooth-Dunboyne Road and at Ardreigh Athy (£1.9million), and special projects to facilitate availability of building land at Clane and Maynooth (£0.4million). The spending will also involve the construction of a new County Arts Centre and Library Headquarters in Newbridge at a cost of £2.3 million; the modernisation and renovation of swimming pools at Athy and Naas, and major improvements at Newbridge Sports Centre (£170,000), and town and village improvement works with an estimated value of £450,000.
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Need for road junction changes at Naas are highlighted
"There should be a slip
road on both sides of the motorway bridge between Sallins and
Naas. People in Sallins say it's stupid to have to go the long
way around. If you go the narrow road from White City over the
canal bridge, by Osberstown and Lawlor's Cross, it's used as
a rat run in the mornings and people are afraid to drive on it,"
Cllr Byrne said following a recent report on his October 1998
motion highlighting the problem of speeding cars along the Monread
Road. |
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NAAS, 23 MARCH 1999: by
Trish Whelan. To alleviate the burden and traffic problems
being experienced by drivers who have to travel from the Clane
and Sallins direction to Dublin or Newbridge, the most obvious
thing to do is to run two slip roads onto the motorway. That's
the view of Naas UDC Cllr Charlie Byrne who says that,
at present, drivers travelling from Sallins to Newbridge have
to first go up Monread Road before turning left at Donnelly Mirrors
junction and 'going back down the way they've come up'.
Hi to home from GermanyDear Editor, Hello to all in County Kildare, especially in Naas and Caragh. I was very pleasantly surprised to find this site. It will become part of my daily routine to check in and see the news. I'm over here working for Mercedes-Benz with my sister Rachel and we're having a whale of a time. Hello to all and we'll see you soon. |
 Any organisation that wants to reach consumers
will need to look at ways to promote their products/services
via the Internet. And it doesn't have to be complicated. Find
out why. |
COMMUNITY NOTICESNEWBRIGE ACCESS GROUP - The AGM of the Newbridge Access Group is to be held in Hotel Keadeen next Thursday. The event, which starts at 8pm, will includ a discussion on the theme of 'Lifetime Homes'. Speakers from the DraWare Group are Finnoula Rogerso and Ruth Morrow. The proceedings will be 'signed' for those with hearing difficulties. Further information from Ger McLoughlin at 432166. NAAS GAA FOOTBALL JUVENILE SECTION - The section's Annual Table Quiz and Presentation Night takes place on Friday, March 26 in the main GAA club at 8pm. As well as the usual table quiz, with questions to suit adults and juveniles, a well known GAA personality will be on hand to present Players of the Year and presentations to winning teams in the county leagues in 1998. VOLUNTEER STROKE CLUB - Meet Wednesday March 24 in the Canal Stores at 8.15pm. NAAS GOLF SOCIETY - Next society outing to Killeen Golf Club takes place on Saturday, April 3. Tee time: 11.30-1.45pm. Time sheet in Lily's Bar. LEARN TO DANCE - Take to the floor every Friday evening in the CBS Secondary School Naas. Salsa 7pm; Jive and Rock and Roll 8pm; Ballroom 9pm. Further details from Kieran & Breda Kelly at 866083. ASSESSMENT TESTS - For incoming First Year students for September 1999 will be held at St. Patrick's Post Primary School on Wednesday March 31 from 1-3pm. MUSICAL EVENING - The Millicent Singers, under the leadership of Michael Weedle, will present a Musical Evening in the Camphill Community, Dunshane House on Friday March 26 at 8pm. Guest artist is well-known cellist Vincent Hunt. Adm. is £7. Tickets available from D. Marron Pharmacy in Clane and from choir members. ASSOCIATION OF RESIDENTIAL GROUPS - A meeting has been organised with the aim of setting up a steering committee to co-ordinate the efforts of all residential groups in the town. The organisers ask those involved in a Residents Association to ensure that their committee is represented at the meeting to take place Wednesday March 24 at 8.30pm in the Monread Lodge. People living in estates where there is no association are also welcome to attend. ST. CORBAN'S PRIMARY SCHOOL - The Parents Council would like to thank all those who helped them and who supported their recent flag days. ROSEVILLE RESIDENTS ASSOC AGM - The AGM takes place in the Monread Lodge on Wed. March 24 at 8.30pm. KILL LADY WINS CREDIT UNION CAR - Eilish Kehoe from Kill village is the winner of Naas Credit Union's February Car Draw. She was informed of her win by Liam Kelly (also from Kill) who is chairman of Naas Credit Union's Promotions & Development Committee. Eilish's prize was a brand new Renault Clio supplied by Joe Mallon Motors, Naas. NAS NA RI SINGERS CONCERT - 'Music for Easter' is a concert in the Church of Our Lady & St. David in Naas on Sunday March 28 at 8pm presented by the Nas na Ri Singers musical Director, John Francis Murphy with soprano Alison Roddy; baritone Owen Lynch and Orchestra. The concerts includes Allegri-Miserere; Tavener-Funeral Ikos; Handel-Messiah. Proceeds in aid of St. Brigid's Hospice and local charities. Tickets £8, concessions £5 from Nas na Ri Bookshop or from choir members. NAAS COMMUNITY GAMES - Art competition - Sunday March 28 in the Parish Centre, Sallins Road, Naas. Naas East 2-3pm; Naas West 4-5pm. All age groups welcome but bring your own materials. Entry fee £1. Contact Margaret (East) 876470 or Ann (West) 874789. KILDARE SUICIDE BEREAVEMENT SUPPORT GROUP - KSBSG is a team of people who have been specifically trained to help those who have been bereaved by suicide or by tragic sudden death. It is a non-denominational service. A rota of trained facilitators are available to conduct group or one-to-one sessions at the Parish Centre in Ballycane (tel. 895629) every Thursday evening from 8pm. Alternatively, an appointment may be made in confidence by contacting tel. 086-8554852. UDC SKIPS IN 1999 - Naas Urban District Council will provide skips to Housing Estates to assist with their estate maintenance/management during this year. Applications will be considered on a first come first served basis and should be made by Residents Associations in writing to the Town Clerk's Office, Naas UDC, Town Hall, Naas. There will be a limit of one skip per estate at present but an extension of the scheme may be announced later. |
Celbridge concern grows about recycling facility
CELBRIDGE, 22 MARCH 1999: by Brian Byrne. The prospect of a recycling centre opposite the Salesian College in Celbridge is not going down well with parents who travel there to deliver and collect their children. The site at Moortown is designated as a 'civic amenity site' and local TD Emmet Stagg has suggested that such a 'civic amenity' would be 'of great benefit to the residents of the area and would lead to the enhancement of the environment'. "But if there was the kind of traffic that it would generate on this road, we'd never manage it," was a typical reaction from one of those parents. "I don't think it's a good idea to have it just opposite a school." The chairman of Celbridge Community Council, Tony Maher, also has reservations. "The plans we've been shown don't look very comprehensive," he told KNN. "In particular, we're very concerned that it is a facility which will be in the open ... it's really just a concrete stand. We wouldn't be in favour of anything that isn't completely covered in. If they want this here, they're going to have to spend proper money." The facility as proposed includes provision for recycling white goods, textiles, paper and plastic as well as bottle and can banks. There will be two compactors, for waste and cardboard, and a waste oil tank. The site is also close to the planned access road to the motorway, which is being built to give access from Intel, Hewlett-Packard and Celbridge itself. This is also the basis for local concern, as people feel that the facility will be used by people from much further away than the immediate hinterland. In the proposal, Kildare County Council says it is designed to serve a population of 44,000 people, including the towns of Kilcock, Maynooth, Leixlip and Celbridge. The facility will also be open only to people with cars, trailers and light vans, with no commercial waste being accepted, and the council says that any material which might cause litter will only be accepted if properly bagged. |
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Welcome for second teachers decisionHALVERSTOWN, 22 MARCH 1999: St Joseph's School in Halverstown, Kilcullen, will get a second teacher from 1 September under the recent decision by the minister for education & science, Micheál Martin TD, to reduce the number of pupils required before a second teacher can be granted to a one-teacher school. Minister Martin dropped the requirement from 18 to 14, and under his Action Plan for the Millennium all such schools with 10 or more pupils will receive a second teacher. This decision, in this school year alone, means that 67 schools are now two-teacher units. The move has been welcomed, in the Kildare South context, by Fianna Fail deputy Sean Power. He also applauded the minister's decision to develop science in schools with a £15 million investment in modernising school laboratories and developing teacher skills. The three-year plan is aimed specifically at developing the teaching of physics and chemistry.
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Councillor checks public's twinning knowledgeI wondered how many people in Naas knew about twinnings and so I took to the Naas pubs on a recent Saturday night and did a survey of two - the Paddock Bar and Manor Inn. Poll: 103 people interviewed. Question put: What towns are Naas twinned with abroad? These are the results of the Naas 'Jury': Only two people got all the towns right. I do appreciate it was a very difficult question and drink definitely was taken. Some people told me to give them five minutes and they would drive out to the entrance of Naas and look at the sign. Some were aware that a sign existed, but said if you took time to read it you would end up causing an accident because there are so many towns twinned. In all, only 2 people got all the towns right. St Davids, Wales, came out top of the poll with 8 people knowing about it. Public knowledge of the other towns was definitely more embarrassing. The above are the results of my 'unscientific' survey. I believe that most would go along with one or two relevant twinnings, but when it gets to more than that maybe questions should be asked. My point being - twinnings should permeate much more through our Community. Suggestions put forward by the public (admittedly some may have been over the limit): · Probably two representatives from the Urban Council should attend (not the whole Council). · Schools should be the main focus of twinnings. Competitions could be held in the schools re projects on the twinned towns and the winner sent on the twinning trip. · All Committees throughout the town should be contacted and encouraged to put forward a representative. · Representatives going on the twinning trips should not always be the same people whether it be councillors, ex-councillors or would-be councillors. It must be recognised that some people put a lot of effort into organising twinnings but my point is that it is usually for the select few. Twinnings must be seen to be representative of the whole community and the above unscientific survey result would prove what most people believe, that this is unfortunately not so. Teresa Scanlon |
Disability motion carried unanimously
Senator Dardis told how a friend in a wheelchair had been abused by an able-bodied person when he sought to park in a designated disabled space in a car park and said it appears this sort of thing happens often. He praised the the dishing of footpaths in Newbridge and said a recent report on disability access in Newbridge had made for 'some very disturbing reading'. He said there had been recent criticism that the swimming pool in Athy is unsuitable for proper wheelchair access. Seconding the motion, Cllr Catherine Murphy said the Council should consider doing a disability audit where work is being undertaken to make people more conscious. "It's an area we have under-focused on." |
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COUNTY HALL, 22 MARCH 1999:
by Trish Whelan. A motion by Senator John Dardis
on the need for people with disabilities to be able to move freely
and comfortably in the county received unanimous support at a
recent meeting of Kildare County Council. This included
standards for disabled access in respect of roads, pavements,
parkways and buildings and that the authority further resolves
to take a pro-active approach to creating a public awareness
of these issues.
Spike will continue to 'play a sweet tune' in Kildare County Council
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Commenting on the need for
new blood from the party on the council, he said he would 'give
every help he could' to fellow candidate Finnoula Dukes
and the other FG runners. "But I'd ask you all to remember
that 'the older the fiddle, the sweeter the tune' ... and I've
got a lot of good tunes in me yet."