My first question at 18th of May MD meeting, “Can the council circulate the most recent draft Traffic Management Plans/designs for Newbridge that were drawn up by the NTA – a process discussed and endorsed by municipal district councillors – which the council subsequently rejected, and which triggered the council taking responsibility for the design back in house?

Report issued by Ms P Pender, A/Senior Executive Officer, Roads, Transportation and Public Safety Department. “On a point of correction, the Transportation Department can confirm that the NTA document ‘Draft Newbridge Town Transport Framework (2019)’ was not rejected by the council. The following documents are attached for the members information:

1. The “Draft Newbridge Town Transport Framework” and

2. The “Draft Newbridge Transport Plan – Public Consultation Document” (Jan 2019).

My first motion at 18th of May MD meeting along with Cllrs. Tracey O’Dwyer, Chris Pender, Peggy O’Dwyer, Noel Heavey and Rob Power;

That following a formal written update to the Kildare-Newbridge Councillors, Kildare County Council issue a Press Statement to include a complete map showing all proposed cycleways in Newbridge and the connectivity between them, public and councillor feedback received to date, actions taken on foot of this feedback and next steps for this project.

Here is the report issued by Ms P Pender, A/Senior Executive Officer, Roads, Transportation and Public Safety Department. A Frequently Asked Questions document relating to Active Travel Schemes has been prepared, as requested, and circulated to all members of Kildare County Council for their information. A copy of the document will be made available on the Council’s website. As outlined in detail at the April Municipal District meeting, there is an allocation from the National Transport Authority within the 2022 Programme of Works for the Sustainable Transport Section to progress the design of a permanent cycle track and pedestrian scheme from the N7 Curragh Interchange to the R445 / Great Connell Road Roundabout and from the Mains Street/R416 junction (at the Newbridge Post Office) to the Newbridge Railway Station. This scheme will be brought forward to the members when the preliminary design stage is completed in 2023.

With regard to circulating all public correspondence regarding the Temporary Cycle and Seating Infrastructure Project on Main Street & Edward Street, Newbridge, this information is being collated and will be circulated to the elected members.

Kildare County Council are pleased to announce the publication of Local Just Transition Plan for West Kildare attached as part of concerted efforts to support communities impacted by the cessation of peat extraction activities. The focus of the Plan identifies projects to support and advance sustainable social, economic, and environmental development in the transition to a low carbon future in the West Kildare region.

http://fmcloughlinhealy.ie/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Local-Just-Transition-Plan-for-West-Kildare-PAGES-v0.6-1.pdf

My second motion at March 16th Municipal District meeting “That this council requests a review of the system by which fund allocations are calculated for Residents Associations in the Kildare-Newbridge Municipal District area as compared to the amounts allocated to Residents Associations in Naas with a view to informing and agreeing a fairer allocation of funds, whether from the municipal district budget or from retained LPT or other sources.

Report issued by: Ms P O’Brien, Senior Executive Officer, Economic, Community and Cultural Development. : The funding for Residents Association grants has been allocated in the budget for 2022 and the closing date for applications is Friday 11 March. The Community section will allocate funding based on the budget amounts and prior year methodology.

A Local Community & Cultural SPC subcommittee has been set up to review the methodology of calculating Resident Association grants and will report back to the SPC in May to identify possible alternatives to the current allocation and to explore an alternative approach to distribute funding in advance of 2023 budget.

My first motion at March 16th Municipal District Meeting ” That the council outline in detail all mechanisms and options open to us to challenge the designation of Newbridge as a ‘ Self Sustaining growth town’ in the Regional
Spatial Economic Strategy (RSES) including challenging the lack of representation from this district on Eastern Midlands Regional Assembly (EMRA) the body that developed and recommended the designations, to include a list of all social and other infrastructure audits conducted of the town over the last 5 years and any other evidence submitted by the council in support of Newbridge being appropriately designated as a Key Town.

Report issued by: Ms A Granville, Senior Planner : The appointment of representatives from Kildare County Council to the Eastern Midlands Regional Assembly is a matter for the members. The Eastern Midlands Regional Assembly (EMRA) are the Authority with responsibility for the preparation and adoption of the Regional Spatial and Economic
Strategy (RSES) for the Eastern Midlands Region. The RSES designated “Key Towns” within the region and furthermore sets out a series of characteristics to assist Local Authorities in designations for settlements in their respective County
Development Plans. The RSES did not designate Newbridge as a Self-Sustaining Growth Town, this is a function of the County Development Plan. This is the highest designation which can be afforded to a settlement during the development plan review process. The designation of further Key Towns within the County is outside of the
remit of the County Development Plan and is a matter for the mid-term review or
otherwise of the RSES.

Attached are submissions made to EMRA by Kildare County Council during the preparation of the strategy, which have previously been circulated to members.

My second question at March 16th Municipal District meeting ” Can the council provide an overview of how it exercises oversight of Approved Housing Bodies (AHB) in the municipal district to include but not limited to for example, details of its register of compliance statements for each AHB over the last 5 years, details of its monitoring of mortgage title deeds for each AHB (who is holding the title, and how it monitors the end dates of mortgage terms) and how it records and deals with tenant complaints?

Report: The role of Kildare County Council in relation to Approved Housing Bodies is to (a) ensure AHB compliance with funding schemes, (b) enter into new Payment and Availability agreements, Capital Advance and Leasing facility agreements and provide funding under the Capital Assistance Scheme (c) enforce the conditions of mortgage agreements (d) ensure AHB compliance with tenant nomination policies.

AHBRA (Approved Housing Body Regulatory Authority) regulates the AHB’s in supporting stronger governance and financial viability of the AHB sector. The AHBRA was established on 1st February 2022 and the Voluntary Regulation of the AHB’s was dissolved on 31st December 2021. AHBRA will have responsibility for establishing and maintaining a register of AHBs, preparing standards by which AHBs will be monitored and assessed, and encouraging and facilitating the better governance, administration and management, including corporate governance and financial management of AHBs. The Regulator will also have powers to carry out investigations and cancel the registration of AHBs.

Kildare County Council requires AHB and housing associations who have availed of funding under the Social Leasing Scheme, Capital Assistance Scheme and Capital Loan and Subsidy Scheme to complete an annual compliance return, this return includes information relating to (a) contact details (b) details of directors (c) insurance details (d) rent calculations (e) financial statements (f) maintenance allowance (g) occupancy statements and void rates (h) regulatory report. There is a register maintained of the compliance submission from each AHB.

The council holds the mortgage title deeds. Title transfers to Approved Housing Bodies once the mortgage deed agreements have been completed (lodged with Land Registry), with a charge in favour of the council registered against the title. AHBs receive an annual mortgage statement. On the expiry of the mortgage term, the council will begin the process of releasing deeds to the approved housing body in accordance with Circular 19/2014. Kildare County Council are in the process of completing a number of mortgages for existing CLSS Schemes.

The properties are managed by the AHB, tenancy management issues are the responsibility of the AHB. An inspection of the property can be requested, and this will be carried out by Kildare County Council’s Rental Inspection Team and it should be noted a number of inspections of AHB units are undertaken annually. AHB tenancies are governed by the Residential Tenancies Act and any disputes that may arise can
be referred to the Residential Tenancies Board (RTB).

My first question at March 16th Municipal District meeting; “Can the council clarify when Local Link is scheduled to commence the service for and between Caragh and Naas?

Here is the report issued by Pamela Pender, A/ Senior Executive Officer, Roads, Transportation and Public Safety Department: The proposed service is currently at the final stages of Route, Timetabling and Scheduling processes. It is envisaged that this element will be signed off by the National Transport Authority by the end of March 2022. This will allow the commencement of the open procurement processes. These can take between 6 and 12 weeks to complete.

Residents Associations

The members considered the following motion in the name of Councillor McLoughlin Healy.
That this municipal district committee ask the executive to increase the proposed allocation
for local Residential Associations in the municipal district budget, in order to bring the
allocations for Residential Associations in the Kildare-Newbridge Municipal District in line
with those allocated by the Naas Municipal District.

The Deputy Mayor confirmed this matter had been dealt with during the discussion on item 4
relating to the Draft Budget Plan for 2022 for the Municipal District.
Cllr McLoughlin Healy proposed an amendment to her motion as follows:

That this municipal district committee ask the executive to increase the proposed allocation
for local Residential Associations in the LPT allocations, in order to bring the allocations for
Residential Associations in the Kildare-Newbridge Municipal District in line with those
allocated by the Naas Municipal District.

The motion was not seconded therefore the amendment fell

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

To discuss the Kildare-Newbridge Draft Budget Plan 2022.

Ms Millane informed the members that in accordance with Section 58 of the Local
Government Reform Act 2014 the draft General Municipal Allocation (GMA) for Kildare
County Council was €15,990,728 for 2022. She explained that it was a reserved function of
the members of a municipal district to adopt the draft budgetary plan either with or without
amendment and that the Chief Executive may take account of the draft budgetary plan, as
presented to the members of that municipal district, without amendment if they do not adopt
a draft budgetary plan.

She then went through the report highlighting the difficulty with the pay parking estimate. Ms
Millane also advised that the reallocation of line items was a matter for the members.
The members raised the following points:

There was a need for trend reporting to see comparison to previous years.
• A description was required for festival grants as it was unclear what could be applied
for.
• They would like to see a higher allocation to heritage centres.
• The benefits of the roads allocation can be seen in the various improvements.
• How was the Residents Association allocation calculated
• There was an undertaking last year that heritage item would be reviewed and that
Kildare Newbridge were at a disadvantage. Did the review happen?
• Junefest needed the grant funding it had been previously provided.
• There needed to be an increase in the amount for Resident Associations. There
appeared to be huge discrepancies in the amounts allocated to different Resident
Associations and the amounts allocated between Municipal Districts.
• Roads allocation should not be reduced. The whole area of Residents Associations
and Tidy Towns needed to be addressed.
• Was the reduction in the Pay Parking estimate a result of the 30 mins free parking or
the loss of spaces to Public Realm projects
• The line item for public toilets was no longer listed.
• There was no equity per house for the Residents Associations. Adding funds from the
Roads allocation would greatly benefit the Residents Associations in the Municipal
District who were very underfunded in comparison to Naas Municipal District
• What was the extent of funding required for Residents Associations for new estates
and those being taken in charge.
• There should have been a briefing meeting before any decisions were made.
• There was no discrepancy in the amounts allocated between Municipal Districts as
there were differing requirements across the different Municipal Districts eg Naas has
less rural roads than Kildare Newbridge.

Ms Millane responded with the following points:
• She would review including trend reporting for next year
• Members should be looking at the overall allocation rather than individual lines.
• Distribution of retained LPT is for the members to decide.
• There was no increase in the rates of LPT in relation to Heritage and Tidy Towns.
Hopefully the baseline would change for 2023 but members should lobby their TDs to
make sure that the additional funding was secured.
• The budget line entry for public toilets has been subsumed into Roads Budget
• With regard to the reference made to briefing meetings, the national budget needed to
be finalised before figures could be circulated to the members. Any figures released
prior to this would have been vastly reduced.

The District Engineer advised that footpath and road upgrades, which are currently very far
behind, are primarily paid for from pay parking and supported by LPT. The Roads allocation
would never be sufficient for all the works required and requested by the members.
Mr D McDermott advised that details could be provided of which Residents Associations
received funding, how much they received and the purpose. Figures were given as per
applications received. These figures worked out at €2.53 per private house and €12 per local
authority house.
Councillor McLoughlin Healy referenced her motion at No 38 on the agenda and proposed to
reduce line item B04 (local road maintenance excluding pay parking) by €20,000 and increase Residents Association Grants by €20,000. This was seconded by Councillor Power.

The proposal was put to the members.

Resolved on the proposal of Councillor McLoughlin Healy, seconded by Councillor Power,
with five members voting in favour and six members voting against the proposal was
defeated.

Councillor Duffy proposed to accept the Draft Budget as presented, this was seconded by
Councillor Stafford. The proposal was put to the members with 8 voting in favour and 3
voting against the draft budget was accepted without amendment.

Resolved on the proposal of Councillor Duffy, seconded by Councillor Stafford with 8
members voting in favour and 3 members voting against the Draft Budget Plan was
approved without amendments.

Submission for Policing Plan 2021

Dedicated Community Policing Unit

That we continue to identify trends in respect of anti social behaviour in order to determine appropriate allocations. 
As the most populous town in the area, Newbridge needs a dedicated Community Policing Unit. At the moment there are 2 Community Policing Gardaí, one in Athy and one in Newbridge. While the guard in Newbridge is carrying out all the duties of a community guard and is highly regarded and very well liked within the community, he is not appointed as a community guard. Plans for the allocation of gardaí around the district should be informed both by the trends as suggested in the Policing Plan for 2020 and by the National Model of Community Policing. Taking all of that into consideration, together with extensive feedback and desperate appeals  from the community and from gardaí themselves, we need at least 4 dedicated CPU gardai for Newbridge and 1 dedicated CPU Sergeant. We need a holistic, interagency approach to some of the issues we have in and around Newbridge. Community policing is consistent with, and informed by, a human rights approach to policing within communities. We are lucky to have a number of excellent agencies and a community, all of whom are eager to engage and create relationships that can facilitate a holistic approach to making our communities safer and healthy places for young people to grow and develop and for adults to survive and thrive. Covid19 has amplified some areas that benefit from an interagency approach including the significant increase in domestic violence calls earlier in 2020. Some of that interagency work has already started initiated at council level and a dedicated Community Policing Unit would provide the continuity required to build the relationships and the trust necessary for a successful and effective delivery of the policing plan for 2021. 

Dedicated Drugs Unit

In line with section 2.4.1 of the 2020 Policing Plan for controlled drugs, I support the continuation of the policy to ‘ identify trends in respect of drug crime to determine appropriate allocation of resources’. Based on evidence of the last 3-5 years and on feedback from residents, the community, businesses and the guards themselves, we need a dedicated Drugs Unit head quartered in Newbridge, working alongside the Community Policing Unit . We need a minimum of 6 regular guards preferably with experience of working in a drugs unit, for a dedicated Drugs Unit head quartered in Newbridge. The unit requires at least one dedicated supervisory Sergeant. The current Sergeant is now part-time as he has other duties in Athy.

I would like to take the opportunity to thank all our local gardaí, not just in my own district but all over the county for all their hard work and commitment.  For decades, our gardaí in Kildare have been asked to do more with less resources than almost every single county in Ireland. It is a key moment and opportunity to address the inequity that has been tolerated historically in relation to the allocation of policing resources for Kildare. It’s time to get ourselves off the bottom of the list for policing resources. It’s no longer acceptable to celebrate as progress the allocation of any new gardaí to Kildare, when typically it is doing little more than maintaining the status quo eg replacing retiring members. We need to start really catching up, because our communities, our towns are suffering as a result. Newbridge has had one of the lowest numbers of gardaí per garda unit, for a town of its size. And we are seeing, both in terms of crime figures and in the feedback from people living in the area, the impact of a stretched police force. We need at least 8 regular gardaí per unit. A new Chief Superintendant with his stated commitment to the ethos of Community Policing, informed by an evidenced based and targeted approach to policing, bodes well for addressing the decades old issue of Kildare being allocated less policing resources than it needs, and deserves. 

I welcome the Chief Superintendant’s commitment to a Community Policing ethos. As outlined above, models of community policing strongly suggest that a town the size of Newbridge warrants a dedicated Community Policing Unit. If the compelling figures and arguments for a dedicated Community Policing Unit for Newbridge are rejected for a more generalist approach, as a minimum, the Community Policing Strategy for the district must be absolutely clear in how it frames, co-ordinates, and quantifies the activities and measurable outcomes of a generalist approach. It must be able to answer the question, how do we know what we are doing is working? The Community Policing Strategy must address the question of how we measure the success of a general Community Policing ethos vs having no Community ethos vs what can be achieved in terms of prevention, relationship building and the continuity derived from a dedicated Community Policing Unit approach. 

The Garda Code of Ethics Commitments.  

In terms of integrity and transparency and improvements sought around policing and engagement both within the gardaí and within  local authorities – I believe it would be helpful to have a register of calls/communications between the Chief Executive of Kildare County Council and the Chief Superintendant. It would greatly  improve transparency and provide an insight into the types of issues that arise and are discussed between meetings of the Joint Policing Committee.  As a minimum, and if it is not already a practice, minutes should be recorded of the Joint Policing Committee’s Steering Group meetings. Secondly and based on personal experience, a register of communications/calls between the Chief Executive and the Chief Superintendent and the purpose of the call  ( in as general a way as is necessary to protect an individual’s rights) would significantly improve transparency around the communications between the Council and the local policing district.