Minister Malcolm Noonan in Ballyteague

I was delighted to speak last week with Minister Malcolm Noonan T.D. at the 20th Lock in Ballyteague. I explained to him the great value that the Barrow Blueway on the Grand Canal has brought to Lowtown, Ballyteague and the surrounding areas. We also met the Waterways Ireland and Kildare County Council teams involved in…

Draft Turbine Layout for Ballydermot Wind Farm

The draft turbine layout for the Ballydermot Wind Farm has been published on https://www.ballydermotwindfarm.ie/. Bord na Móna is proposing to install 50 turbines with a blade tip height of 220 metres, applying a minimum setback distance of 880 metres. They intend to apply to An Bord Pleanála for planning permission next year. A second round…

Burning Peat in Lodge Bog

Two scramblers and a quad in Lodge Bog this afternoon left this burning peat behind them. If you insist on driving a hot engine on the dry bog on a hot day, then take extra care and refrain from doing doughnuts and other stunts that will heat up your engine even more. We had two…

Community Spirit in Allenwood

As secretary of Allenwood Tidy Towns, we were only delighted to help with cleaning up and securing the lane into Blake’s Bog. A man with a van will be up in court after dumping the household waste of a family in Laois here last month. The family will receive fines also I am told. In…

Household Waste in Blake’s Bog

Over 7 pieces of evidence were found identifying a family in Laois after their personal documents and household waste were thrown around Blake’s Bog, Allenwood. The criminal cut through a metal barrier to gain access to the private lane which runs just behind the playing pitches of Allenwood GFC. Our Community Warden visited the site…

Green Kilometre Scheme

The Environment department of Kildare County Council run the ‘Green Kilometre’ scheme every year, to encourage groups or individuals to look after a stretch of road near where they live. My Green Kilometre is the R414 road to Lullymore, and I am taking advantage of the lack of growth at the moment to get it…

Meeting with Maria Walsh MEP

Maria Walsh MEP met with us this morning, and I spoke to her about the full inclusion of Kildare in Just Transition funding and the match funding criteria for this scheme. I also asked Maria about how Irish law needs to comply with the EU Habitats Directive, particularly in relation to Annex V species, which…