Category Archives: Local

FF Bill on Relief for Apartment Management Fees Welcome

Posted on by

Local Property Tax kildareThe Fianna Fáil party has published a Bill to provide property tax relief for homeowners who are paying management fees. There are thousands of homeowners living in managed estates across Kildare, and indeed Ireland, who are paying on the double for many services. This is an issue I raised many months ago in a submission to the Revenue Commissioners during a recent consultation on Local Property Tax.

The Fianna Fáil Bill provides a discount on property tax worth a third of the management fee, up to a maximum of €300 a year. Thousands of people living in apartments or managed estates are paying a fortune in management fees every year. This pays for some of the services that the council would otherwise provide, including keeping the grounds, maintaining the roads and paths, maintaining public lighting and managing drainage.

Continue Reading →

Yellow Boxes Now At Osberstown Junction

Posted on by
Yellow Boxes at Osberstown Junction

Yellow Boxes at Osberstown Junction

I was pleased to see yellow boxes installed on both sides of the road at the Osberstown Junction after my motion was passed at the council to have these yellow boxes installed. This is not a perfect solution but I hope it manages to ease the daily traffic congestion at that junction.

I will continue to work on the long term solution to this junction which I know cause daily traffic problems for commuters.

Submission on Maighne Wind Farm

Posted on by
ABP_Sub

Submission receipt from An Bord Pleanalá

Yesterday was the closing date for submissions on the Maighne Wind Farm. The proposal here is for 47 x 167m tall turbines  dotted right across the rural landscape from south Meath across North West Kildare. I attended many of the meetings organised on this and listened to community concerns. I also met with Weston Aerodrome last week and was alarmed to discover they had not even been notified, despite the impact on light aircraft in the vicinity. Following our meeting they are also lodging a serious submission. I have inspected turbines up close at Mount Lucas and elsewhere and dealt with a wind turbine planning application before in Eadestown last year. In short I think they are over-rated in terms of energy production and under-regulated in terms of design and operation. There is a place for them as part of a wider energy package and in clustered locations well away from housing, but dotted across a scenic rural landscape in close proximity to houses and natural amenity all the way around is not it.

My submission re Maighne Wind Farm was made to An Bord Pleanála yesterday, and is as below: Continue Reading →

Kilcullen Road Works Update

Posted on by
The "official" Kilcullen Rd detour map.

The “official” Kilcullen Rd detour map.

Following various conversations with residents and other concerned parties over last few days I discussed these proposals with council officials again and this is the current situation as regards the Kilcullen Road works and detour:

  • The main news is that local traffic can use the Rathasker road as an inner relief road now; accordingly that will now become a one way circuit also, making a full circuit via Rathasker road and back out by Kilcullen road possible. This aspect is new and came out of my discussion with council today.
  • The overall works could run for up to a year but the one-way system is temporary and will not run all that time.
  • Two way flow will be restored as soon as feasible; December is the very worst case, it could and should be much sooner.
  • Two way flow will be restored on an incremental basis, as soon as feasible; in other words it may be possible to bring two way flow in as far as Esmondale first, then a few weeks later two way as far as Broadfield and so on.
  • The stretch of affected road from Kilashee hotel to Esmondale will be one way at the outset; the rest of the system will remain two way all through. E.g. a car could drive from Kilcullen to Kilashee hotel, then turn around and drive back.
  • There is an awareness of state exams over the next few weeks and discretion will be applied in these cases.

Continue Reading →