Category Archives: Naas

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.

Sallins Train Timetable

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I recently made a submission to Irish Rail (IR) on the new timetable, on behalf of NASRUG and as part of a process of ongoing consultation with IR. The hope is this may be considered as part of the next issued timetable, which is due out in December, but an outside chance of coming onstream earlier due to the new line capacity offered by the Kildare Route Project.

My key timetable points below:

Naas & Sallins Rail Users Group – NASRUG

Timetable Feedback 2010.

Submitted: James Lawless
(Contact 086 834 8869, james@jameslawless.ie)

Morning ex Sallins

Problem: Too large a gap between 8.15 and 8.59
Solution: Restore 8.15 to 8.25 or add new train 8.30?

Evening ex Heuston

Problem: Gap between 18.50, 20.10, 21.10
Solution: Reschedule as 19.30, 20.22, 21.10?

Connecting Trains

Problem: Commuters charged extra for making connections e.g. via Newbridge
Solution: Allow season ticket holders this flexibility.

Capacity

Problem: Some trains now running as three carriages
Solution: Allow extra carriages on busier trains (e.g. 7.45 ex Sallins)

Sundays & Bank Holidays

Problem: No evening Sunday service home (last train departs 6.15pm)
Solution: Schedule later Sunday evening service, e.g. 7.30pm or 8pm

Problem: No bank holiday service at all
Solution: Run Sunday or other reduced service level on bank holidays.

(Later Sunday service especially important during championship summers!)

Bio Energy ; Once bitten, twice shy

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There has been much furore over the past few days about a proposal to construct a bio-energy, power generation plant at Kerdiffstown (Sallins) to be accessed via the Monread road.

 In brief the plant would ‘compost’ organic waste materials to produce an effluent gas which would then be converted to power / electricity. This is a renewable energy source and has the dual benefit of disposing of waste materials whilst producing essential energy. Such plants are common on the continent and in use in many countries. I am not aware of another in Ireland at present although I am open to correction on that.

Kerdiffstown and surrounding areas (Sallins / Kill / Johnstown / North Naas) have suffered at the hands of waste disposal for some time, with the nefarious Neiphim Trading causing serious problems on the Kerdiffstown road over a period of years cluminating this year when the odours reached an all time high (low?) and in some cases people were literally forced to flee their homes in the surrounding area. Whilst it was always an issue for people on the road, amazingly in the surrounding areas until recently there were those who remained unaware of the problem. I remember people asking me what it was when I mentioned the issues in a newsletter at one stage during the local election campaign. However the past twelve months brought the issue into stark relief as the stench really extended to pollute the atmosphere for miles around. Just this week a high court injunction forced the place into some kind of compliance and the end may be in sight there.

This hangover bodes poorly for another waste disposal facility in the same vicinity. A new applicant, M&M Coldstores, have applied for planning at a nearby site. Their proposal is for a bio-energy plant as mentioned above and the facility would create 50 new jobs once opened. The applicants also claim the facility would consume waste from the surrounding area and return energy to the same locations. Considering we currently purchase energy on the international markets I would be very interested in the technicalities of keeping it local if it could be achieved. (Am a little sceptical until I hear them unfortunately.)

There has been widespread alarm about the proposed facility, a central concern being that it may process thousands of tons of animal carcasses. I gather this is not planned by the operators although the sought permission would enable it were it to be granted. This in itself not necessarily a bad concept, unpleasant as the idea is, the output of killing floors must go somewhere and at least in the best Catholic tradition “from ashes to ashes, from dust to dust” a natural circle converting the waste matter back to energy for the living. Esoterics aside I do not believe this will happen at this site in any event, even if the plant does go ahead.

On a very practical level I would have concerns re the proposals on the following grounds:

  • Traffic volumes in Sallins and Monread are already very high and would struggle to absorb more HGVs
  • The EPA has not inspired confidence in its dealings with the other Kerdiffstown facility; if these are the regulators then I am afraid in recent times the law has been shown to be an ass.
  • Proximity to residential areas is very acute. An even slightly more removed site would be preferable.

There are also many technical arguments on the nature of the scientific processes used although these as always are open to expert debate. I think the more local practical problems are enough of a challenge at this point. I have seen some good letters of objection doing the rounds and I include one here.

UPDATE: I learned overnight that the site location is currently zoned ‘Agricultural’. In planning terms, this means that a change of use proposal would have to go before the council to allow this be zoned ‘Industrial’. This would require a majority of Councillors voting to override the existing planning status in what is called a ‘material contravention’. I cannot really see this happening on something as contentious as this and therefore I would be very surprised at this point were this facility to go ahead.

Speech at Naas election launch

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An Roimh Aire, Teachtaí Dála , Comhairleoirí agus Cairde

Minister, Deputies, fellow candidates and friends…

It is a great honour to address you here tonight as a Fianna Fáil candidate for Kildare County council.

The first step of my journey occurred last June when I was nominated by my home cumann of Sallins. I am very grateful for their constant support and I will work tirelessly to fulfil the trust placed in me.

I was delighted to then go on and be selected as a Fianna Fáil candidate for the Naas area – I look forward working with all of you over the campaign ahead.

I would also like to thank my three strongest supporters who are here with me tonight – my wife Ailish and our two daughters, Caoimhe and Niamh … It is their support that makes it all possible and I remain grateful and energised by their faith in me…

________

On a personal level, my own political apprenticeship began by the fireside in county Wexford..

My grandfather especially was a great raconteur and historian, and I was raised on tales of rebellion and 1798, of the ‘rising of the moon’

Of course I am well aware how that struggle was carried out across the fields of Kildare also… in places like Kill, and Johnstown, at the barracks in Naas town,

and indeed in Sallins as well we have our own place of homage, at Bodenstown where Wolfe Tone lies..

I consider myself a Republican in every sense of the word.

In the traditional, narrower Irish sense, as a proud nationalist and one who looks forward to a Fianna Fáil party organised on a 32 county basis, and also to eventual reunification..

But also a Republican in the classic sense, as a believer in this great modern democracy where all are equal, no one above any other..

Social justice is a theme close to my own heart as we must always cherish all the citizens of the nation equally and nurture those who have not..

I believe listening to be the strongest form of leadership .. both on the doors where we hear the human stories.

And in the party where I would plan, as a Fianna Fáil councillor, to draw upon the huge resource that is the pool of knowledge and expertise that lies within the local organisation to be guided by local units and realise the potential of this august organisation…

________

Cairde, tonight all of us are gathered here to launch our local election campaign…

But it is also important to look further down the road, at the five years after polling day which is when the real work will be done..

Over the next council term, local area plans will be introduced in many areas –

Johnstown, Kill, Kilteel and TwoMileHouse are just a few that are to come in the year ahead.. Naas town plan is due for renewal in the next two years also

I have been on the doors and I have heard the stories and needs of our communities…

In every area we must put in place amenities to serve the demands of the population we have seen grow in recent years..

For the families that seek playgrounds for their children …

For the youth clubs that need new centres and new homes

For the sports groups that are living on goodwill, living on borrowed time, or on a borrowed pitch.. Or victims of their own success, struggling with gridlock on a pitch they have outgrown..

We must strongly support facilities for all of these

Already in Sallins, I have been proud to support the initiative to develop a 30 acre site for amenity use, to be used by multiple codes, but spearheaded by Sallins GAA… I have supported it in local meetings, on the streets when a petition was required to reaffirm public support, and I will be proud to support it from the council chamber as the project advances.. The model could become a blueprint for amenity developments elsewhere..

Again at local level, we must keep our roads in good order – be that a laneway in Donore, a junction at Osberstown or completion of the ring road around Naas. . we must progress all these projects large and small..

Whilst we must also promote public transport options at every opportunity..

I was acutely aware of the responsibility and gravity of public service the night I received a phone call recently from a man who literally had no bed for the night – I found him temporary accommodation but reaffirmed the importance of housing strategy to ensure a roof exists over every head…

For employment and local economy we must support local enterprise with infrastructure and other supports .. to ensure success for projects like the Millenium park and the Naas Town Centre to breathe life back into the town..

…and also to include enablement of our rural communities where issues like broadband provision must be addressed (and I am already working on this in places like Eadestown, Two Mile House and Caragh)..

________

A chairde, in recent months I have been campaigning for the election but I have been campaigning for the area for a lot longer…

When, as a daily commuter I helped setup and run the Naas and Sallins rail users group and have campaigned to deliver year after year real improvements for local commuters..

When a bypass was due to cut across the green where my children played and I successfully argued for the route to be moved outside and away from the houses..

For my own estate and others on the bread and butter issues of local representation such as management companies and taking in charge and saving our green spaces..

Or when Sallins village had no recycling facilities and it took me a year of long slog and perseverance but I did not rest until we finally saw the banks installed last Christmas..

A chairde as I stand here tonight as your local election candidate be assured that I will campaign solidly for the entire area, and not just for the election ahead, but for the five years after that if I am given that opportunity…

And over the next two months I will be campaigning to maximise the Fianna Fáil representation on Kildare County Council….

I will work with my colleagues and running mates and with the local organisation..

As we launch that campaign here tonight, no one here doubts the challenges we must face over the coming weeks

But it is my firm belief that a fair-weather politician is no good to anyone…

This is not the time to bow our heads..

This is the time to stand up and be counted…

All of us here tonight are doing exactly that…

The road may be long, our climb may be steep, but I am confident we will reach the summit..

I have no doubt the Fianna Fáil organisation has the resilience, the strength and the courage of its convictions to meet the challenges ahead, both at local and national level.

We have a strong team here tonight..

All of us here are committed.. all of us here are capable.. all of us are Fianna Fáil…

Let us now go from here tonight in full confidence of victory and ready for the fight!

A chairde, buichios anois, oiche mhaith agaibh agus ar aghaigh le Fianna Fail!