Elected as Mayor of Naas

Cllr James Lawless Mayor of NaasOne of the greatest honours of my political life came this week when I was elected Mayor of the Naas municipal district. In assuming the role at our meeting on Tuesday 21st July 2015, I thanked my predecessor, Cllr. Seamie Moore, as outgoing Mayor who has laid the foundations for many of the projects I hope to pursue. I thank my party colleague Cllr. Robert Power for proposing me and I also remembered a recent Mayor, sadly no longer with us, Cllr. Willie Callaghan.

The town of Naas has a proud tradition of Mayoralty and I believe the role is very important, befitting its status as county town, a proud town, a trading town and one I will work hard to represent. Also now for the first time the wider Naas district can also lay claim to a Mayor as the new local government district includes Sallins, Kill, Johnstown, Kilteel, Eadestown, Rathmore, Ardclough, Ballymore, Kilcullen and Caragh.

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Thank You

I am overwhelmed by the support I received in last Friday’s local elections. I would like to say a huge thank you to all the many people involved in the campaign and to everyone who supported me at the polls. With the highest vote in the county it is quite a mandate and I am humbled to have received it. It is a great honour to now formally serve the Naas area and I look forward to getting stuck into the job. Please do not hesitate to contact me on any issue and I look forward to a busy term of office ahead. Thank you.

Asking You For Your Vote

Vote no1 James LawlessFriday May 23rd is polling day and I would respectfully ask for your no. 1 vote. If you have been following my updates on this site, you will know that I have worked very hard as a community activist on a wide range of issues for many years now. However there is a limit to what can be achieved without a seat at the table. If I can secure election to Kildare County Council I will have a far greater influence and greater direction over the course of events locally.

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Irish Water Still Delaying TIC of Kildare Estates

I asked Deputy O'Feaghail to raise this matter in the Dáil. There's still no conclusive answer to the Irish Water and TIC issue.

I asked Deputy O’Fearghail to raise this matter in the Dáil. The Minister’s response is at odds with what Kildare County Council are telling us.

Recently I had questions raised in the Dáil seeking clarification regarding the stalling of taking-in-charge of estates since the set up of Irish Water. Kildare South Deputy, Sean O’Fearghail, tabled a number of questions to the Minister on my behalf to clarify the situation on water and taking-in-charge. I raised this issue initially in early April.

Minister Jan O’Sullivan responded stating there is no specific legal impediment preventing the taking-in-charge of estates by local authorities.

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Call for Progress Report on Kildare Broadband

broadband cabinetI have ask for a progress report on the implementation of the National Broadband Plan and the Rural Broadband Scheme in County Kildare. So far there seems to be little evidence on the ground of any significant progress with these schemes and large areas of the county remain without access to a quality broadband service.

This is something I have been campaigning for locally for many years. The National Broadband Plan, published by the Minister for Communications Pat Rabbitte in 2012, promised to ensure that high speed broadband was available to people all over the country. But so far it has not delivered. Kildare is being left far behind and many communities still don’t have access to a decent broadband service.

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