Tony O’Donnell.ie

KCC Scotch Rumours of New Fire Station for Kildare Town

Kildare County Council has categorically stated that they have no plans to locate a new fire station in Kildare Town. According to local councillors, there have been persistent rumours that KCC did intend to locate a new facility in the town, however this has been clarified by KCC at the January meeting of the Kildare Area Meeting.

Committee chairman Cllr Tony O’Donnell put the question of a new station down on the agenda, and has welcomed the clarity of the Council’s response.

“Cllr Doyle and I have been hearing a rumour for some time now that the Council intended to locate a new fire station in Kildare Town. The rumours were so detailed that they even identified the premises that the Council had apparently acquired. As a local representative, I was finding it increasingly difficult to persuade people that no such proposal had come before the Council, so I decided to use this month’s area meeting to clarify matters.

“The Council could not have been clearer that there is no plan to locate a new station in the town, and hopefully this will put matters to rest.

“I also took the opportunity to re-raise my suggestion that that the Fire Service base a water tender in the town to assist with callouts. During periods like last winter’s snow, water pressure became an issue in the town, particularly around the Market Square, and I think it would really help to have a plentiful mobile water supply to cope with emergencies. I hope the Fire Service will look on this suggestion favourably, if resources allow.”

Concerns Expressed at Household Charge Waivers System

In response to a motion from Kildare Town Councillor Tony O’Donnell, the members of the Kildare Area Committee of KCC have expressed serious issues with the list of estates that have been given a waiver from the new Household Charge. The list of estates includes 17 in the Kildare LEA, however members expressed surprised at some of the developments that have not been included. KCC confirmed that the list was prepared directly by the Department of the Environment, and not by the Council. The area councillors have backed a motion to the January meeting of KCC asking for an immediate review of the waivers system and an extension of the payment deadlines pending a resolution.

“At the direction of Minister Hogan, the Department of the Environment has prepared a list of estates that will be given a waiver from the new household charge. As the charge itself is inescapable due to the EU\IMF deal, a waiver scheme is welcome, however the way that estates have been selected appears arbitrary and high-handed. Common sense would surely have seen the local authorities provide lists of estates based on factors like occupancy, availability of basic services and level of completion – instead a very limited set of criteria have been applied mechanically by central government. This hasn’t been helped by the lack of any appeal mechanism.

“My area colleagues have backed my request that as a cross-party committee, we jointly submit a motion to the next Council meeting requesting that the Minister immediately reviews this list and extends the payment deadline in the meantime.

“A just tax is a fair tax, and this tax is not being levied fairly. Estates like the Paddocks in Kildangan or Preston Brook in Rathangan have not been listed for a waiver even though they are missing key infrastructure and have many vacant units, and it is hard to see why they have been omitted. I am confident my colleagues will agree come the next Council meeting.”

O’Donnell Calls for Interagency Approach to Illegal Halting Sites on the Curragh

Cllr. Tony O’Donnell has secured the unanimous backing of the Kildare Area Committee for an inter-agency approach to end the use of the Curragh Plains as an illegal halting site. The Council will be writing to local Gardaí, the General Officer Commanding of the Curragh Camp and the Property Management Section of the Department of Defence requesting that a meeting take place to resolve the issue.

“In recent years, travellers have been arriving onto the Curragh during the summer months in ever greater numbers. I understand that the Department of Defence estimates the number of caravans to be in excess of 100 per annum, and while such camps are specifically forbidden under the Curragh’s bye-laws, this seems to have little effect – in spite of numerous notices across the plains.

“As the responsible agency, the Property Management Section in the Department of Defence handle the maintenance of the Curragh, however they need the support of the local Gardaí to enforce the bye-laws. Garda resources are limited, and this has lead to a situation whereby the caravans can remain for weeks at a time causing damage to the fabric of the Curragh not to mention a mess that the taxpayer must clean up. At a time of limited resources, it is unforgivable that our taxes are going on such unproductive and avoidable activities.

“I believe it is time for the Defence Forces, the Gardaí and the Department of Defence to produce a plan to avoid a return of these halting sites in 2012. The law is more than adequate to deal with this problem, and if the issue is manpower than I think the resources of the Army should be made available to assist the Gardaí. We cannot go through another summer of expensive clean-ups, we need to take action now.”

Questions\Motions for the January Area Meeting

Motions

1. That the council investigate the issues being experienced at Moore’s Bridge due to the increased numbers of HGVs now using that route.

2. That the council provide a report on the powers and options that exist to eliminate the use of the Curragh Plains as an illegal halting site.

Questions

1. Can the council clean up the verges in front of the Kildare Enterprise Centre?

2. Can the council provide a list of unfinished estates in the area that will be exempt from the new household charge?

3. Can the council provide a report on any plans to locate a new fire station in Kildare Town?

Letter to Minister Shatter regarding future of Magee Barracks

Minister for Defence Alan Shatter TD recently gave an interview on the This Week programme, where he indicated that the Department of Defence might be able to make some of its vacant premises available for an international third level institution. On hearing the interview, I immediately sent the following to the Minister.

Mr Alan Shatter TD

Minister for Defence

Station Road

Newbridge

Co. Kildare

9 October, 2011

Re: Future use of Magee Barracks, Kildare Town

A chara

I am writing to you to bring the status of the former Magee Barracks site to your attention, and to ask that you prioritise a productive use for the site.

As you may be aware, the last Government took a decision in the late 1990′s to close the former Magee Barracks in Kildare Town. This facility was the first new base built by the Free State Army, and formerly housed artillery troops. The site measures some 64 acres and is centrally located in Kildare Town and surrounded by housing estates. It contains some historically significant buildings, as well as a variety of sheds, huts and greenspaces.

The site has not been developed for any permanent productive purpose since its closure. Initially, there was a suggestion that it would house a new young offenders facility – this did not happen. It was temporarily used to house Kosovan refugees in the early years of the last decade, but since the last refugees moved out, the site has lain idle.

Under the affordable homes initiative, the site was identified as a flagship project and Kildare County Council developed and adopted two Area Action Plans which included zoning for some 1,000 housing units. The Department of Defence prepared contracts to transfer the site to KCC to enable this development. Unfortunately, the downturn in the economy occurred before any work could take place. The Council confirmed that the project would not proceed in November 2009.

Staff from the Property Management Section addressed our local area committee in September 2010 and confirmed the Department’s intention to sell the site to maximise the return to the Defence Forces, but they indicated this may not happen for 6 or 7 years, meaning that this strategic site in the centre of our town will be idle for two decades.

In the absence of any productive use, the Barracks has become a haven for a variety of anti-social and criminal behaviour. Anything of value has been stripped, right down to the manhole covers and in recent weeks the cabling around the site. Many of the buildings have been set alight, and one particularly large fire last year generated so much heat that it damaged nearby houses. I understand that substance abuse is a regular occurence, and that animals are routinely abused.

In order to make the site more secure, the Property Management Section erected new fencing around the perimeter, but this has not proved a solution.

The Barracks is a damning indictment of state neglect, and it is a blackspot within our heritage town.

I would ask you to place the site high on the Department’s portfolio of saleable properties. It is a large site, with road frontage on both the north and south perimeters. It is within walking distance of the train station, and enjoys Kildare’s excellent motorway access to Dublin, as well as the south and west of the country. It is centrally located within one of Ireland’s oldest towns; a town with an international reputation for its architectural heritage.

As it happens, I heard your interview on the ‘This Week’ radio show today, and you mentioned the possibility of an international third level institution opening an Irish campus. Magee Barracks would be ideal for such a function. One only has to look at the international advertising that the Kildare Village retail outlet generates to see how our town represents a brand that resonates abroad and exemplifies Ireland’s rich cultural heritage. I also know from my former experience lecturing in Trinity, that many highly qualified academics live in County Kildare, and so there is also a potential resource of teaching and research talent available.

Whatever the destiny for Magee Barracks, it cannot be left idle for an endless period. The State cannot allow its property to become a byword for criminality and dysfunction, and as Fine Gael elected representative, I cannot let this issue drift into the distant horizon. I would ask that you give this site your very best attention, and if I can be of any assistance, please let me know.

Le gach dea-ghuí

Tony O’Donnell, MCC

Cc: Mr Martin Heydon TD

Monasterevin Tidy Towns make their case to the Kildare Area Committee

Cathaoirleach of the Kildare Area Committee, Cllr Tony O’Donnell, has expressed his thanks to the Monasterevin Tidy Towns Committee after they briefed local councillors on a variety of issues around the town. On behalf of the committee, Mr Richard O’Rourke highlighted issues including derelict buildings around the town, the state of the Pass Bridge, the poor state of repair of some walls around the town and a number of smaller issues.

“On behalf of the Kildare councillors, I’d like to thank the Monasterevin Tidy Towns Committee for their thorough briefing to the area committee. I invited the committee to address us as I felt it was very important that we were made fully aware of the issues around Monasterevin. The committee does trojan work on behalf of the community, but they have gotten clear feedback that their ranking can only improve further if a number of issues are dealt with. Some of these are directly within the power of KCC, and I hope action will follow from the meeting.

“In particular, we have asked the committee to prioritise their issues under a number of headings.

“Firstly, they are going to prepare a list of derelict sites around the town. The Planning Department in the Council has specific powers to deal with these properties, and once the list is to hand, the Council can get to work.

“Secondly, we have asked the relevant offices to investigate the abundance of illegal temporary signage on the approaches to the town. While businesses are right to take every reasonable opportunity to promote themselves, they are not allowed to blight the entrances to any town with illegal signage. This situation was particularly bad a number of years ago, when the Kildare road into Monasterevin was covered in estate agents’ signs, however the Tidy Towns provided photos showing that there is still a need to clamp down.

“Mr O’Rourke also raised the state of a number of boundary walls around the town. While many of these are in private ownership, he did draw particular attention to a wall KCC erected along Main Street, near the fire station. I have raised this wall at previous area meetings, and it continues to be an eyesore. If a private developer erected a similar wall in such a historic streetscape, the Council would certainly demand improvements and I think KCC need to follow their own advice here.

“Finally, there are a number of smaller projects that Tidy Towns are going to carry out themselves, such as painting the metal barrier near the canal, and I’m sure volunteers would be welcome.

“I have also suggested that the committee approach the Kildare LEADER Partnership to apply for village improvement funding to help cover the costs of any works that are required.”

No more broken red lights at Rathbride Road bridge

Cllr. Tony O’Donnell has welcomed news that camera equipment is to be mounted at the Rathbride Road railway bridge in Kildare Town. The cameras will monitor the signal controlled bridge to identify vehicles that break the red lights.

“Traffic lights were added to the Rathbride Road bridge as part of safety improvements, however, these lights are being broken on a daily basis by motorists who are in too much of a rush to observe the basic rules of the road. This causes inconvenience to oncoming traffic who have to wait for excess cars to cross, and I am amazed that we haven’t seen a head-on collision.

“KCC are set to add cameras to the bridge to monitor these offences. In the short-term, this will be used by the Gardaí to quantify the frequency of offences, and I understand there are plans afoot to make this evidence admissable so that prosecutions and penalty points will follow.

“Hopefully this added feature will discourage people from breaking lights in the future, and will ensure that we have the safest possible crossing for motorists and pedestrians.”

National Stud road repairs imminent

Cllr. Tony O’Donnell has welcomed KCC’s report that the roads affected by the new waste water treatment plant outflow will be returned to their former state by the end of October. The 14km pipe leads from the new treatment plant in Kildare to the Barrow near Kildangan, and has required a significant disruption to the state of roads leading from near the National Stud, through Newtown Cross on past Crosskeys.

“I have received numerous complaints about the state of the road after the outflow pipe has been laid. At the July area meeting, we heard that the current finish is temporary and that the final surface would be laid after the temporary one had settled. Many residents were concerned that this would be some time in the distant future, so I am delighted to report that the contractor will finish this work by the end of October.

“The repair work will involve a significant improvement around the National Stud. After the construction of the Kildare bypass, this road and the adjoining kerbs were left in an immaculate state. Many local people were worried that they would not be returned to this condition after the current project. I was relieved to hear that the prior condition was heavily photographed and documented before work commenced, and that the surface will be completely restored to its former glory.

“The contractor must also restore any drains to their former state. Again this was an issue raised by locals who feared that the silt from the works would cause blockages.

“KCC have also confirmed that the contractor is obliged to maintain the road for 12 months after the work finishes. I have asked the Council to provide a designated contact during this period, and this will allow locals to monitor any issues and report them directly.

“Finally the Council also confirmed that they will be in a position to carry out the realignment of Newtown Cross that I requested previously. This will be an important safety improvement at this busy junction, and work will be co-ordinated with the resurfacing due to the pipe project.”

Christmas parking holiday an early gift for Kildare businesses

Cllr Tony O’Donnell has hailed a decision to change Kildare Town’s pay parking system as a an early Christmas present for local businesses. Kildare area councillors voted to grant a parking holiday in Kildare Town from Thursday December 15 through to New Year’s Eve. Pay parking will not be in force from noon each day during this festive period. The decision followed a motion from Cllr. O’Donnell asking KCC to suspend pay parking as a support to local businesses.

Welcoming the decision, Cllr O’Donnell said the following:

“I am delighted with today’s decision to give a break to shoppers in the run-up to Christmas. It is good for local businesses too, and I am confident that it will attract extra customers into the centre of town. It is especially important this Christmas due to the impending opening of Tescos. Hopefully local shops, cafés and restaurants can make the most of the opportunity the break will provide.”

Items for the September Kildare Area Committee Meeting