Category Archives: Kill

Still no shelter in sight at Sallins and Naas train station.

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A commuter at Sallins station yesterday

Sallins and Naas railway station has been undergoing maintenance and upgrade works for the past several months and installation of a new footbridge and ramp has almost completed.

Whilst welcoming the upgrade, spokesperson for NASRUG (Naas and Sallins Rail Users Group) James Lawless said it was important the station retain the same level of facilities after the upgrade as beforehand or it risked defeating the purpose. “Well obviously the disability access is most welcome and was very important and we lobbied for that for some years before we got it” said James. “But as part of the process they removed the shelters which means people were literally kept waiting in the rain, hail and snow all through the winter months”.

“People could put up with that over a limited period but we are still wondering when and what kind of shelters will be installed at the finish” said James. “With the weather not exactly being Summery this is still a live issue and I am concerned that the new replacement shelters when they eventually arrive will be smaller and fewer than what we had before. Considering the new Adamstown station which still has low passenger volumes has almost a dozen shelters installed, with the much greater numbers at Sallins we need at least the previous capacity of platform shelters restored at Sallins” explained James. “I have raised this with Irish Rail management and I am hopeful they will now ensure these form part of the finished upgrade over the next few weeks. Anything less than the two Dublin bound shelters that previously existed would be a step backwards”.

James also criticised the council planning process – “It’s not clear from the planning permissions that much attention was given to use and role of Shelters in the upgraded station” said James. “The council did stipulate what colour of paint was allowed on the railings but do not appear to have mandated that at least the same level of shelter as before should be provided. Commuting can be trying at the best of times but at 7.30am standing in the lashing rain with not a shelter in sight is no fun at all. It’s a basic requirement and I hope now Irish Rail and Kildare County Council will ensure it is delivered” James concluded.

Lawless appointed Naas Area Rep for Fianna Fail

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Statement

Micheál Martin TD
Party Leader
29 June 2012
FF Appoints Local Area Representative for Naas Electoral Area – Martin
Fianna Fáil Leader Micheál Martin has announced the appointment of James Lawless as a Local Area Representative for the Naas Electoral Area as part of the party’s ongoing renewal strategy.
Deputy Martin said: “I am delighted to announce that James Lawless will be a Local Area Representative for the party in Naas.  The Kildare North constituency is a key target area for the party and I recently announced the appointment of Áine Brady as a Local Area Representative for the Clane Electoral Area.
“I have been delighted to see the energy and commitment displayed at all levels of the party at meetings I have held in Kildare and around the country.  I am committed to ensuring that Fianna Fáil renews from the grassroots and that all levels of the party have significant input into policy development.  It is essential that Fianna Fáil continues to play a constructive and positive role in politics, bringing forward policies and solutions to the problems being faced by people in their daily lives and ensuring there is a strong team on the ground in all communities.”
James Lawless lives in Sallins where he is married with a young family and is involved with several community groups.  He is a campaigner and spokesperson for the commuter group Naas and Sallins Rail Users, he is also involved with Sallins GAA and several local community organisations.
James studied Maths and Finance at Trinity College and has over a decade’s experience working in systems development.  James is now training as a Barrister at Kings Inns.  He is a member of the Fianna Fáil Ard Comhairle and was recently appointed to party’s internal Justice Policy Committee.
James Lawless said: “It is an honour to be appointed a Local Area Representative for Fianna Fáil in the Naas Electoral Area.  I see this as an important step in the party’s local and national renewal strategy.  I am looking forward to working alongside Councillor Willie Callaghan who has been elected as Mayor of Naas. Willie is playing a crucial role in representing the community and Fianna Fáil on Naas Town Council and Kildare County Council.
“James has actively campaigned for community facilities including the successful zoning of lands back to amenity use in the last round of local area plans. James was very involved in flood relief efforts when Sallins and surrounds were hit by severe weather and flooding in late 2009.”
Cllr. Callaghan commented: “There is a genuine commitment from grassroot members of Fianna Fáil to make sure the party is rebuilt and that the voices of ordinary people in our communities in Naas are listened to as we go about that process.  I welcome James’ appointment and I think he will be an important asset to the party in Naas Electoral Area.”

Fine Gael and Labour Cllrs Have No One Left to Blame

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Chairperson of Sallins Fianna Fáil, James Lawless has called for urgent action on roads at various locations across Kildare and says that the Fine Gael / Labour ruling bloc can no longer shift the blame onto national government or claim they have no control over spending.

“For years Fine Gael and Labour have it both ways by controlling the council yet playing the blame game that Fianna Fáil were in power and that they had no control. But that ignores the reality that Fianna Fáil have not held a majority on Kildare county council for over twenty years. And now that Fine Gael and Labour Ministers are undeniably holding the purse strings at both national and local level they can not hide behind the excuse of being powerless any longer” said James. “What’s more even as recently as last January 2011, when Fianna Fáil were in power nationally, one of the last acts of the outgoing Fianna Fáil Minister Pat Carey was to allocate a funding of 900 Million from the Department of Transport to be allocated for regional road works by local authorities. This money was made available and ring fenced even in a time of scarcity and that money should now be put to use by the Kildare County Council on the many urgent projects long outstanding throughout the constituency.” James explained.

“So the blanket response of no money is not accurate on a number of levels. In the current council budget an allocation of 25 million is contained for road and transportation improvements. Resource are scarce but there is funding available and these scarce resources need to be prioritised to those urgent projects most in need”.

“A critical example close to home is the Osberstown junction on the Sallins – Naas road. This junction sees huge volume of traffic traverse the main thoroughfare whilst traffic from the neighbouring estates and side-road struggle continuously to find a break in fast moving traffic. Traffic from Caragh also uses this junction and the volumes of throughput have only multiplied in recent years. Yet despite being an accident waiting to happen we have yet to see any action at this junction barring the farcical situation where traffic lights were erected and then taken down again almost as quickly, all in the space of a crazy three weeks at the midpoint in the crisis” according to James.

“Scarce resources need to be targeted to those areas most in need and this junction is surely one of them” James continued. “The excuse of no funds is a blanket one that is not entirely accurate and the council needs to prioritise this and many other outstanding works for the welfare and safety of people at all these locations“ concluded James.

Things That Smell Bad in the Night

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It’s been a busy few weeks in the life of waste processing in the greater Naas area, and in particular on one stretch of road along Kerdiffstown and Monread, where not one but three current or proposed waste complexes have received permissions, injunctions or stays of execution over the recent while. I summarise below the current state of play.

dumps

Bio Energy Plant
A huge number of objections were received by Kildare county council against the proposed bio-energy complex at Monread / Kerdiffstown. The upshot of this was that the council refused planning permission for the proposed facility. The owner now has five weeks to appeal this decision. Residents or interested parties can also make a submission on the appeal.

NB Whilst the proposed facility is located adjacent to the existing Kerdiffstown dump, however the proposal comes in from a separate party, an M&M Coldstores company.

Existing Kerdiffstown Dump
After almost three years of filing by the EPA the high court granted a temporary injunction against the A1 waste facility at Kerdiffstown on Friday 14th May. This prevents A1 from lodging any further waste into this landfill. A question then arises as to how the estimated 1.5 million tonnes of unprocessed waste in the landfill is to be cleaned up. I have raised this question with the Minister and it is also being pursued by a number of parties including the EPA and the CAN (Clean Air Naas) group (www.can.ie).

Extension to Kerdiffstown Dump
Although the existing dump has now been shut down, at least temporarily, the council simultaneously granted planning permission for the construction of a new dump on an adjoining 26 acre site across the road from the existing plant. The council maintain that each planning proposal is dealt with on its own merits and this application satisfied the various grounds. However this new extension has yet to receive a license from the EPA and that application process will be ongoing through the Summer.

Please see attached map for the location of the above three sites. At any stage residents can continue to report odours to EPA on (01)268 0100 and these will all be logged and referenced in future cases and applications to extend / continue operations.

Access all areas

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Great night had last night at our Waterways benefit night fundraiser, in Boss Byrnes lounge. I was on quizmaster duty and we had a full house, over 25 tables entered and some great prizes, thanks to all our sponsors and supporters. We even had music at the interval, from Sallins latest trad sensations, Sult Na Sollain.


View Shortcut to Motorway in a larger map

On related note, the Kerdiffstown road is still closed whilst they figure out what to do with the culvert. I know it is causing some inconvenience to the residents along that road, which unfortunately will be the case until is is sorted permanently, however for the casual commuter, there are other options to get out onto the motoray. I have documented one of these above, an alternate route for Sallins motorists, in particular, to get out onto the N7 without needing to go anywhere near Naas or the Monread road etc. Just follow directions above.