Several Tidy Towns groups around the county received news last week that their annual grant allocation under the Kildare County Council amenity fund would not be approved this year. This news is a massive setback to the Trojan workers and the huge voluntary work they do in every area.
Naas Fianna Fáil representative, James Lawless, said he had been contacted by several groups who were bitterly disappointed at this news.
Local Representative for Sallins, James Lawless, has lashed out at An Bord Pleanala and Kildare County Council for refusing permission for a change of use from hotel to nursing home in the Waterways complex, Sallins. “What was being sought was a change of use, the unit is already there, the only thing that would have been different is that there would have actually been people employed and working and living in it. Better a live centre than a dead building. The bricks and mortar are still standing there either way. And the unit already has permission for a hotel to operate. What is the difference between a nursing home and a hotel that has proved so insurmountable?” James fumed.
Good news for the Sallins bypass last week as consultation recommenced on the exact route and interchanges. The County Council are currently inviting submissions on the proposed route and the plan includes a new motorway interchange at the Millenium ring road which would also provide Naas residents with an alternative motorway exit in between Maudlins (the ball) and the “bundle of sticks” (Newhall) interchange. Take a look at the proposed route here and any feedback, drop me a line or get back to the council directly via this link
The arguments for keeping Irish forestry rights in state hands are many and go beyond pure economics according to Fianna Fáil’s Naas Area Representative and National Executive member, James Lawless.
The government is currently considering a whole scale sell-off of Irish forestry rights into private hands, possibly an overseas conglomerate.
The Property Tax Exemption list published recently bears little relation to reality according to James Lawless, Fianna Fáil’s Local Area Representative for the Naas Area, North Kildare.
James conducted research last year to uncover that 85 named estates within County Kildare had been refused provision of maintenance services by the County Council as they were deemed unfinished. James had anecdotal suspicions of estates being “cut off” from council maintenance and he confirmed this was the case when he pursued the issue via Freedom of Information requests last autumn.