Category Archives: Kill

Calls for Pedestrian Safety at Kill Village

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Pictured in photo are Mia Flynn, Ben Flynn, Alex Foley, Mr. Foley, Larry Byrne, Liam Kelly, Pat Reid and James Lawless.

Local Area Representative James Lawless is supporting local residents calls for a pedestrian or zebra crossing to be installed in Kill village. The volume of cars through the village makes the road hazardous for shoppers, school children and elderly residents who all struggle to find a break in the traffic and get across. Locals are calling on the council to take action before the worst case scenario arises and someone gets injured or worse and James is supporting them.

“Since I was appointed as a local area rep in the Summer there are some issues that have been raised repeatedly and this is one of them” said James. “Local residents have told me how difficult it can be to get across the very busy main street and I have seen it with my own eyes as well. The cars coming in off the motorway barely pause for breath before flying through the village, especially on a Friday evening” said James. “I am calling on the council to look at putting in a basic pedestrian crossing before the situation deteriorates or an accident occurs. They could allocate some of their roads budget to Kill village and it is badly needed here” concluded James.

Access Concerns on New Childrens’ Hospital

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Fianna Fáil’s Naas Area Representative, James Lawless, has expressed concern over the government’s choice of site for the childrens’ hospital and has expressed reservations on the city centre location chosen in Dublin 8.

“A great many people from the Naas Area and across North Kildare will have had occasion to visit Tallaght hospital with their children and most will have found it accessible, clean, efficient and convenient” said James.

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Safety Railings at Kill School

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Local Area Representative, James Lawless, has escalated the safety issues at Kill school entrance to the Department of Education.

When the new Kill primary school opened last year, the gates open out onto a busy slip road for traffic coming into the village off the M7. Children cycle and walk along a kerbside right beside the road with no separation and one trip or push could have tragic consequences. Parents have been campaigning for railings or a barrier to be erected.

James raised the matter with Fianna Fáil Education Spokespeople, Senator Averil Power and Deputy Charlie McConalogue, who in turn raised the matter with the Minister for Education. In response to these representations the Department have confirmed they have no objection to railings or similar safety features at the exit of the school and the matter is four square within the council jurisdiction to resolve. James has pledged to continue working with colleagues and parents and to press the council to progress this issue to a solution.

First Impressions on Local Government Reforms

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So Big Phil finally published his ‘opus magnus’ yesterday with all the detail on local government reforms including abolition of town councils, levelling of councillor ratios across the country and creation of much bigger wards in Dublin and the commuter belt.

Still trying to digest it all (it’s a big document!) but my first impressions are as follows:

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Pricing, planning and other railway problem children

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In the wake of the emergency subvention of €36 million announced for CIE, Fianna Fáil’s local area representative for Naas, James Lawless, has criticised Irish Rail management and said they need to innovate to succeed in today’s climate.

Ireland's Railways need strategic thinking fast

“I’ve always been a fan of public transport” explained James, who is also a spokesperson for the Naas and Sallins Rail User Group. “I use the train to Dublin almost every working day and when it’s done right there is no better way to travel” according to James.

“But you sometimes wonder what commercial acumen, if any, do Irish Rail apply to their operation or whether they employ any strategic considerations. We’ve been told their revenue is under pressure because the numbers are dropping and that rings true. But they must realise the prices they are charging are causing that drop-off as well. It’s not so bad on a commuter ticket but they are simply not competitive for day trippers or casual users. Compared with the bus or even taking the car, their fares are far steeper” claimed James.

“Their pricing structures are still rooted on the old tram lines from the beginning of the last century” explained James. “That’s apparently why it costs a couple of euro to travel from Hazelhatch or Maynooth but an extra tenner to travel one stop further onto Sallins. It’s not justifiable today. Also most businesses including hotels and airlines discount seats approaching departure as better a full house on half fare than an empty one at the same cost. The train is going anyway, surely half a loaf would be better than no bread” claimed James.

“Another example is the service quality on certain routes. The Wexford ‘commuter’ line takes two hours by train on a distance no longer than Portlaoise or Drogheda which take an hour. This is on a now primary commuter corridor and also what is a popular Summer base from which so many travel to the capital daily”.

“The ongoing fiasco regarding shelters at Sallins station also makes you wonder. It’s literally hard to see where the shelters will actually fit when they are hopefully installed. They will have to dismantle newly erected structures to make room. It beggars belief that they could spend all that money and end up with almost a worse station than they started with” concluded James.