Category Archives: Kill

Property Tax: “For Local Services” ?

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Property Tax – “A Local Tax for Local Service” ?

Fianna Fáil’s Representative for the Naas area, James Lawless, has this week written to the Minister for Housing seeking exemptions against the property tax for up to 85 Kildare estates in line with maintenance records he received last year under the Freedom Of Information acts.

“As we now know Kildare County Council gave an order last year that 85 estates, not taken in charge, be removed from the maintenance regime, so that when the lights went out, they stayed out, in all of those estates. Broken bulbs would not be replaced and maintenance services were suspended” explained James. (Details here)

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Community Alert Scheme Setup at Public Meetings

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Speakers at the Kill Public Meeting

Three public meetings were held in recent weeks, one in Kilteel and two in Kill, following the Garda station closure, and positive outcomes have been achieved. The meetings were organised by Fianna Fáil’s Naas Area Representative, James Lawless, to allow the community discuss the issues and explore the options.

“We have made some progress” said James “amidst concern and alarm at the outset when the village was left exposed, we have now taken steps as a community to advance measures of self-help”.

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Fallout from Kill Garda Closures

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Garda Stations Shutting up Shop

I was delighted to host a very productive meeting last Tuesday night in the Dew Drop Inn, Kill, to discuss the fallout from the planned closure of Kill Garda Station and neighbouring stations along the Kildare / Wicklow border. I organised the meeting because I have major concerns that the government is taking away Garda resources at a time when commuter belt crime levels are clearly on the increase. People needed real reassurances that they will not be left high and dry. The government are closing stations at Kill, Ballymore Eustace, Hollywood, Donard and Ballitore which to my mind leaves a whole belt of territory wide open and vulnerable to attack.

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Budget Backlash Conceals Kildare Garda Closures

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Goverment tells Kill and Ballymore stations to close down

In the midst of the harshest budget in the history of the state Minister for Justice, Alan Shatter, took the opportunity to announce a raft of Garda station closures under cover of the political distraction.

Despite a growing crime wave across the Naas area and wider commuter belt, with burglaries up again, Minister Shatter has seen fit to close Garda Stations in Kill and in Ballymore Eustace, taking a total of four local Garda resources out of those communities and being recalled to duties in Naas Town Station.

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Service Cutoff to 85 Kildare Estates – No Exemption on Household Charge

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Lights Out – But the Council still want your money for the HHC

Minister Brian Hayes said on The Week in Politics today, 25th November, that a full Property Tax would be introduced in the new year “to fund local services for communities”. Well the Government and every Council around the country better make sure they are actually providing services where they propose to levy the charge or risk the wrath of residents.

I have uncovered figures pointing to a shocking disconnect between public services provided by Kildare County Council and those estates exempted from the household charge.

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