Scheme planned for town in County Kildare is facing ‘barriers’, Cllr says

A councillor demanded to know the ‘specific barriers’ that Kildare County Council (KCC) is facing regarding an issue related to Monasterevin.

Fine Gael Cllr Kevin Duffy made the comments to KCC at the latest Kildare-Newbridge Municipal District meeting.

This meeting was held on Wednesday, November 15 last.

Cllr Duffy submitted the following motion to KCC: "The that council proceed with the Part 8 for the National Transport Authority’s (NTA) active travel scheme / Safer Routes to School program for Monasterevin this year, to ensure that there is an agreed plan for the new Primary School which is due to open in 2025."

His motion was seconded by his party colleague Cllr Tracey O’Dwyer.

In response to Cllr Duffy’s motion , KCC said in its report at the meeting: "As part of their Active Travel Grants Programme, the NTA outlines strict criteria to be met with regard to Project Approval Guidelines and other conditions and obligations that are required to be complied with in order to draw down funding.

"The approval process that would enable the council to proceed to public consultation has not been completed and it is anticipated that revised documentation and drawings will be submitted to the NTA for approval in early 2024."

Fine Gael Cllr Kevin Duffy.

KCC added that the progress of the scheme 'is dependent on funding being made available from the NTA to progress through the design and construction phases.'

However, Cllr Duffy told KCC representative present at the meeting that he was disappointed by the response, and enquired about the 'specific barriers' that the Part 8 is facing.

"We have looked at the NTA's plans, we got the funding for Part 8, and I want to move it forward," he added: "To be honest, on my side, I'm seeing very little progress."

Newbridge Mayor and Fianna Fáil Cllr Noel Heavey chimed in to the conversation by pointing out that Kildare has a growing population, and asked KCC if this plan 'was keeping in line with the population.'

A KCC engineer replied: "We asked the NTA about that point, and they said they only have a finite amount of money in their pot, but added that the money is not distributed based on population."