I was in Kilteel hall the other night for a candidate debate. Good event and pity there aren’t more of them around the constituency. Five of us attended (me, Willie, Tiernach, Paddy Mac and Tony Lawlor) and we all were given an opportunity to introduce ourselves at the outset. There followed a Q & A session and we discussed various local matters. Noone won or lost politically but it was a very worthwhile exercise to understand the local issues.

I’ve been canvassing the area for some time now so I had a reasonable grasp of the issues already. Roads, roads and broadband. Yep they’re the big ones. Roads such as the red big lane are in dire straits whilst the N7 improvements were a mixed blessing with the road from the turf bog lane down through Rathmore and Eadestown becoming an exceptionally busy rat run. Schools are an issue and I outlined my suggestion for a shared second level facility in “North Naas” i.e. between Sallins, Johnstown, Kill and of course Kilteel / Eadestown too.

I had already worked on getting broadband to the area with the exchange upgrade earlier this year. Well it turns out half the places aren’t covered and the school has to share with another line. A lot done, more to do me thinks. We’ll be back to this one, all going well next Friday.

Crime is also an issue as I knew from my canvass. A few unpleasant incidents recently.

Lot of things for me to get stuck into if I get that chance.