Kildare County Council & Local Services

aodh_rua

I'm curious as to whether (m)any of you have ever had to deal with the council or councillors locally. I get the impression that a lot of the posters on this forum are new to Kildare, so I'm guessing that for many the answer may be 'no'.

I'm running myself for the locals in June, and I'm curious about whether the new people in the county view the local services any differently to those who've lived in the area for longer.

Lucutus

I would be a blow-in to Kilcullen, (from Dublin), just over 2 years or so.

I've had some dealings with Councillor Billy Hillis via the residents committee and have found him to be a direct talker and quite accomodating to requests from the committee. Will be sorry to see him head to Athy later this year, no idea who'd replacing him, maybe yourself?

I would imagine the majority of newcomers to the area would not be upto date on local politics, my personal exposure has been very limited tbh.

gl in the locals.

aodh_rua

Lucutus wrote: »

I would be a blow-in to Kilcullen, (from Dublin), just over 2 years or so.

I've had some dealings with Councillor Billy Hillis via the residents committee and have found him to be a direct talker and quite accomodating to requests from the committee. Will be sorry to see him head to Athy later this year, no idea who'd replacing him, maybe yourself?

I would imagine the majority of newcomers to the area would not be upto date on local politics, my personal exposure has been very limited tbh.

gl in the locals.

Glad to hear Billy was of help. Kilcullen has moved with Billy into the Athy area so you might still see him on your ballot paper in June. I'm running in the Kildare area.

I'd say that residents associations are probably one of the main ways that new people interact with the system.

It'll be interesting to see what results the locals throw up. The local FF councillors are hard-working, so their efforts on the ground might insulate them from the backlash (as happened in 2004 - when they gained a seat in Kildare - the only place in the country that happened). On the flipside, many of the angriest voters are the new residents who won't have dealt with the council or councillors, and who might want to stick it to FF. It'll be interesting.

Lucutus

I think Billy mentioned that lower Kilcullen is moving with him, however, one side of the road at the top of the hill on the Naas side stays within the Naas electoral area, while the other side of the road (Dunleas side) is still with Kilcullen, very strange I thought, however, I've not enough interest to question it...yet.

A shake up is coming regardless of the traditional party loyalties, local elections will of course be used to stick it to FF, it's a shame as candidates should be assessed on their proven ability and/or potential to fill the role competently. Unfortunatly, that will be difficult for a large number of voters who are not privy to local knowledge or familiar with recent history in the area

I was disappointed recently with the news that Kildare coco are not renewing some contractors agreements and letting others go, it's clear that many of these are the specialists who actually get various important tasks done, it's shameful to lose them due the easiest way of cutting costs.

Also, have noticed illegal dumping on the rise, a large vat of oil or similar was dropped all over a nearby walkway not so long ago, seemed almost industrial...very troubling!

aodh_rua

Lucutus wrote: »

I think Billy mentioned that lower Kilcullen is moving with him, however, one side of the road at the top of the hill on the Naas side stays within the Naas electoral area, while the other side of the road (Dunleas side) is still with Kilcullen, very strange I thought, however, I've not enough interest to question it...yet.

A shake up is coming regardless of the traditional party loyalties, local elections will of course be used to stick it to FF, it's a shame as candidates should be assessed on their proven ability and/or potential to fill the role competently. Unfortunatly, that will be difficult for a large number of voters who are not privy to local knowledge or familiar with recent history in the area

I was disappointed recently with the news that Kildare coco are not renewing some contractors agreements and letting others go, it's clear that many of these are the specialists who actually get various important tasks done, it's shameful to lose them due the easiest way of cutting costs.

Also, have noticed illegal dumping on the rise, a large vat of oil or similar was dropped all over a nearby walkway not so long ago, seemed almost industrial...very troubling!

The illegal dumping around the county should be a concern - I've asked Fionnuala Dukes to put down a motion at the next area committee about a particular blackspot in Kildare Town. There are also some posts on my blog here and here about recent incidents.