Hopeful of end to water contamination in CarburyCARBURY, 27 September 2000: by Trish Whelan Up to 180 households in the Carbury, Ballyhagen and Kilshanroe areas have been advised to boil water following contamination of the water supply. However a sample taken last weekend proved clear of contamination and Kildare County Council are hoping a second sample will also have similar results. This could mean an end to the problem. |
Naas UDC 'scores' at AMAINAAS, 27 September 2000: by Trish Whelan Naas UDC received loud acclaim at the 87th AMAI Conference held in Clonakilty which adopted two motions put forward by the Council. These will now become the policy of local authorities all over the country. |
NAAS, 27 September 2000: by Trish Whelan Chief Superintendent Sean Feely is to be invited to the October meeting of Kildare County Council to explain the legalities concerning traveller incursions amid a claim that the Gardai are taking a softly softly approach to the problem.
Gardai to be asked to explain legalities on traveller incursions
Three motions concerning traveller incursions were down for discussion at this weeks meeting of Kildare County Council.
Senator Sean O Fearghail wanted the message sent out that if you damage property in County Kildare, the local authority will follow you to the ends of the earth to collect costs incurred. He wanted this to become Council policy. Referring to the cost implications this would present to the authority, Cllr Jim Reilly said it was wrong to ask the county manager to commit himself to this policy.
Deputy Emmet Stagg TD condemned the Gardai for not using existing legislation to deal with the problem. He said it is a crime to damage property yet was happening, often under the Gardais noses and in their presence in some cases without a finger being lifted to do anything about it. To break into anybodys property is illegal ... again that was done with impunity. The culprits didnt need to be found, they were actually there at the time ... and remained there. He added that in many incidents these same people had broken the Public Order Act in almost every aspect of that Act. He said it is an offence to insult or threaten people in any way, yet this had also happened.
He said the full forces of the law must be used to prevent such criminality from occurring. He also referred to the damage caused during recent traveller incursions in Naas and Celbridge. Ultimately in Celbridge when I complained to the Gardai a posse was put together and effective action taken. Why was this not done in Naas and Kill, and now in the case of the Sallins? He believed the Council should set up a Task Force to stop such lawlessness, adding that it is like waiting for an invasion from Mars in Celbridge.
Chairman Cllr Rainsford Hendy said it is unfair that private individuals must pay £5,000 to obtain a court injunction to remove travellers from their property. Cllr Anthony Lawlor said he had written to individual TDs seeking their support to put pressure on the Minister to change the legislation to allow Gardai remove travellers from private or public property.
Cllr John ONeill said the eight Oireachtas members from Kildare, five of which are members of Kildare County Council, should approach the relevant ministers to change the law on trespass. He believed Kildare gets the full brunt of traveller incursions in the country.
Cllr Catherine Murphy suggested the Council should meet with representatives of Pavee Point, the travellers organisation on the issue as they have a responsibility as well.
Cllr Senan Griffin agreed vehicles and goods should be impounded where travellers have broken into property.
Cllr Mary Glennon referred to how Naas UDC had to pay £30,000 in legal fees over travellers incursions in Pairc na nOg and the Caragh Road Sports Centre. She said these travellers know their rights and have no regard for their responsibilities. She demanded to know why proper action had not been taken to prevent the Caragh Road incursion following complaints to the Gardai when the first caravans had rolled onto the site.
Cllr Paul Kelly, who is a solicitor, said there are a number of areas where the law is inadequate to cope with the problem and provision should be made for the seizure of property as a first step. He wanted the balance tipped in favour of local authorities and said the Litter Act should also be enforced in these incursions. He said officials should have back-up in facing any intimidation. He said Kildare is no softer a touch than anywhere else as every local authority in the country has experienced the same problem.
Acting county manager Tommy Skehan said officials agreed with all that had been said. He estimated that the authority would spend £100,000 this year on legal costs in trying to have these travelling merchants moved on.
Naas UDC agrees waiver schemeNAAS, 27 September 2000: by Trish Whelan. Naas UDC has agreed a call for the introduction of a waiver scheme for refuse collections for certain categories of social welfare recipients. The motion was passed by 4-3 at last weeks UDC meeting with Cllr Charlie Byrne abstaining. |
Judges won't pay for parkingNAAS, 27 September 2000: by Brian Byrne. Judges on duty in Naas Court House will not have to pay the 50p an hour parking charges which will be imposed on ordinary motorists as soon as the Bye Laws are implemented. This was revealed by town clerk Declan Kirrane during discussion on the Bye-Laws at last weeks UDC meeting. |
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****Earlier News from this week available here****Around and About the County...NAAS: New assistant librarian in Naas Library, Gillian Allen, comes from Cork and replaces Caroline Collins who has left for Ennis. Gillian has worked in Cork and Dublin public libraries. She is 'absolutely delighted' with Naas library which she says is very spacious and still looks like a new building after ten years. She joins a staff which includes Joan O'Gorman, Marianne Hogan, Ursula McManus, Geraldine Cross and caretaker Andy Kelly. MAYNOOTH: The exit from the Glenroyal Centre to the Straffan Raod is to be widened to allow for left and right turning lanes. Cllr John McGinley has also asked that cycle lane and pedestrian lane crossings be clearly marked on the road across the exit so that motorists will have no doubt that pedestrians have right of way. CELBRIDGE: Kildare County Council is to build a new footpath from St Patrick's Park to the Boys School at Oldtown, Celbridge. Necessary drainage will also be installed during the course of the work. KILL: Pictured after winning the county prize in the national Tidy Towns competition are committee members Nellie Creighton, Jo O'Donovan, Janet Carr, Veronica Bennett, Joan Kerr with Emma Champ (aged 3) and Brigid Jeffrey. MAYNOOTH: Two tenders have been received for the provision of pedestrian-controlled traffic lights at St Raphaels, Celbridge, on the Clane Road. It is expected work will begin on the installation of the lights inside the next fortnight. DERRINTURN: The Office of Public Works is attempting to identify in Derrinturn a site for the Garda Station currently in Carbury, which is to be relocated. The minister for justice, John ODonoghue TD, has told Deputy Sean Power that, when a suitable site is located, there will be no undue delay in moving the gardai to Derrinturn. NAAS: Market House in The Harbour, Naas, was withdrawn from auction at £468,000 and will now be sold by private treaty to one of a number of interested people with a new guide price of £580,000. Meanwhile The Paddock lounge and bar made £2.65m when auctioned last week. It previously made £2.76m in July 1999 when sold by then owner Sean English. NAAS: Gleann Na Riogh Residents Association have just completed their estate internet web site. The association is hoping it will not alone act as an information point for its members, but will be interactive. Secretary Fergal ONeill can be contacted at gleannnariogh@ireland.com, and submissions from the wider Naas community are also welcome.
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GAA agrees Oldtown moveNAAS, 26 September 2000: 8.30am by Brian Byrne. Naas GAA members have agreed a move to a site at Oldtown negotiated over the last four months with the help of a group of UDC councillors. The agreement last night was by a very substantial majority of about half the membership which attended an extraordinary general meeting of the club. |
Parc na nOg compound to be closedNAAS, 26 September 2000: 8.30am by Trish Whelan. Naas UDC is to seek the immediate closure of the builders compound at Pairc na nOg which has been an eyesore for local residents. The council is to write to the builder stating that if he doesnt pull out within seven days we will go down and remove it ourselves, UDC officials said last week. |
Consultants appointed for Celbridge upgradesCELBRIDGE, 26 September 2000: by Brian Byrne. Consultants Ove Arup have been retained by Kildare County Council to design cycle lanes, footpaths and traffic calming measures for the Maynooth Road, Celbridge. Upgrading of existing junctions regarding sightlines and safer access for motorists and pedestrians will also be included in the study. |
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Call for moratorium on residential rezoningLEIXLIP, 26 September 2000: by Brian Byrne. A moratorium on residential rezoning should be imposed for the duration of the next development plan for Leixlip. That's a strong view expressed by the Leixlip Planning Alliance in a substantial submission to Kildare County Council on the next draft plan. According to the alliance, the targeted population of 15,500 people by 2006 has already been exceeded with an estimated population of 15,900 now living in the North Kildare town. "The 2006 targeted population projection is abstracted from the 1999 County Development Plan, which sets out an overall strategy for the development of the county," the authors of the submission write, "and to which all individual town development plans must conform if the overall county strategy is to be adhered to." The LPA says a moratorium on residential rezoning during the period of the next plan would, at the very least, allow the infrastructure to catch up with developments which have already taken place.
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Taxi rank to remain 'for now'NAAS, 26 September 2000: by Trish Whelan. The taxi rank in Market Square, Naas, is to remain in situ for now. |
Parking charges for Naas to come in at 50p per hourNAAS, 25 September 2000: 8.30am by Trish Whelan. New Parking Bye-Laws proposed for Naas include a charge of 50p an hour for parking, through a Pay and Display system. The draft Parking Bye-Laws were approved at this months UDC meeting and, when some amendments are made, will go on public display. The Bye-Laws are aimed at helping to deal with the currently chaotic parking situation in the town which, combined with difficulties of delivery by suppliers to businesses (above) are discouraging people from shopping in Naas. |
GAA club to decide on latest Oldtown offerNAAS, 25 September 2000: by Brian Byrne & Trish Whelan. An extraordinary general meeting of Naas GAA will tonight decide on the latest proposals for the moving of their club to a new location at Oldtown. Members and trustees will discuss the plans and financial implications of negotiations carried out with the help of a Facilitator Group of three UDC councillors - Willie Callaghan, Seamie Moore, and Timmy Conway. According to the GAA negotiating team, the property now on offer will provide room for four pitches, two of which will be designated for juvenile use. The total property is made up of two sections, the second of which is close to the canal and will be accessible by a walkway from the main grounds. The juvenile pitches will be located here. Entrance to the complex will be via the area where the current green gate on the Sallins Road is (left). The actual primary area will be approximately 100 metres from the Sallins Road. Pictured at the site on Saturday morning are Jerome Higgins, County Board delegate; Ger Lanigan, club chairman; John Clarke, club member; and Mick Enright, club trustee. |
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Leixlip should get 'heritage status' says planning watchdogLEIXLIP, 25 September 2000: by Brian Byrne. Leixlip should be given status as a heritage town both because of its strong Viking and Norman connections and because it has a strong relationship with the change of the course of the River Liffey 16,000 years ago.
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Ministers asked to provide Devoy for social housingNAAS, 25 September 2000: by Brian Byrne. The ministers for the environment and defence have been asked to review their positions in relation to the use of Devoy Marracks in Naas for social housing purposes. Naas UDC has submitted a proposal to the minister for defence to purchase the site (below), which only attracted one submission when put up for tender earlier this year. |
Clane goes for 'Me and my Girl'CLANE, 25 September 2000: by Trish Whelan. Clane Musical Society are putting on 'Me and my Girl' as their production for 2001. The show is best known for such songs as 'Leaning on a Lampost', 'The Lambeth Walk' and 'The Sun has got His hat on'. Above: enjoying themselves at a recent Clane Musical Society event are Noel, Olga, Fran, Olive and Brendan. |
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