Councillor William Durkan

I: Clane-Maynooth MD: June 2025

Tag: politics

  • Clane-Maynooth MD: June 2025

    Please see below the motions and questions raised at the 06th June meeting of the Clane-Maynooth Municipal District.

    Motion – Councillor William Durkan
    That the council improves the junction of the L-10091 with L-1009 adjacent to Donadea Forest Park, to include road markings and improved sight lines.

    Report: The Municipal District Engineer has requested that the road markings at this location be renewed by the appointed line marking contractor. The existing adjoining property boundaries do not allow for the sightline to be improved without land take

    Motion – Councillor William Durkan
    That the council installs a columbarium wall in Mainham Cemetery, Clane in order to suitably cater for future local need.


    Report: With the members’ agreement, and subject to available capital funding, the council will include provision of a Columbarium Wall in Mainham Cemetery in its works programme for 2025/2026.

    Question Councillor William Durkan
    Can the council investigate the communications board in Prosperous Playground with a view to fixing the broken QR code link?


    Report: The QR code issue will be investigated and fixed.

    Question –Councillor William Durkan
    Can the Council provide an overview of the volume of social housing stock provided by Kildare County Council in the Clane-Maynooth Municipal District in the 2020 -2025 period, and outline projections for future supply?

    Report: There have been 659 units provided in the Clane Maynooth MD since 01/01/2020.
    290 units were provided through Part V, Turnkey, Direct Sales and Capital Projects.
    369 units were provided through Leasing and Approved Housing Body Programmes.
    The current projections are 106 further units to deliver by year end 2026.

  • Clane-Maynooth MD: May 2025

    The following questions and motions were raised at the Clane -Maynooth Municipal District meeting on Friday May 2nd 2025.

    Motion – Councillor William Durkan
    That the council provides a costing for upgrade works in the case of Clane Playground and provides an update on any progress to secure funding for such works.
    Report: A costing for the upgrade of Clane Playground will be prepared. Any funding required will have to be considered for the 2026 budget.

    Motion – Councillor William Durkan
    That the council inspects the condition of all signage in Clane Town with a view to cleaning and improving overall presentation.
    Report: Municipal District office will arrange to clean the signs in Clane Town.

    Question – Councillor William Durkan
    Can the council outline plans to improve pedestrian access from the Boreen Road to Straffan Town Centre, in line with the 2024 Straffan Village Renewal Masterplan?

    Report: There is no funding available to advance the Straffan Village Renewal Master Plan.

    Note: Following discussion on this topic, and related topics brought by other members, KCC agreed to visit the site for inspection.

    Question – Councillor William Durkan
    Can the council provide an update on the current number of vacant properties under Kildare County Council ownership within the Clane LEA and what actions are being taken to address same?
    Report: The monthly vacant house report provides info on the number of vacant properties by Municipal District. As of 28 April 2025, there are currently 36 units of Kildare County Council housing stock within the Clane Maynooth Municipal District that are currently vacant. This represents approximately 0.5 % of our total housing stock.

    The breakdown is as follows:

    Carbury 1
    Clane 10
    Coill Dubh 2
    Derrinturn 2
    Kilcock 4
    Kilmeague 3
    Maynooth 3
    Prosperous 5
    Rathcoffey 1
    Robertstown 4
    Straffan 1


    Of these 36 properties, 26 are currently assigned to Clerks of Works for scheduling of repairs required to bring them back into the stock available for allocation.
    These are at various stages of delivery (inspection/scheduling/procurement/construction etc.)

    This leaves the remaining 10 that will be assigned to our Clerks of Works for scheduling as the works are completed on the other units.

  • Clane Maynooth MD: April 2025

    Please find below the list of motions and questions raised for discussion at the Clane-Maynooth Municipal District on April 4th 2025.

    Motion – Councillor William Durkan
    That the council installs additional accessible parking bays at Timahoe National School (x2) and Prosperous National School (x1).

    Report: The Municipal District Engineer will assess this request at each school and subject to funding being available, the request can be progress through the required process.

    Note: Further discussion on this topic during the meeting was very positive for both cases. In particular, Timahoe National School was already inspected and no issues to delivery identified. While some further planning was needed in the case of Prosperous, no significant issues were expected.

    Motion – Councillor William Durkan
    That the council inspects Clonuff Lane, Broadford (L10021), to review the road condition and consider inclusion on the 2025 Works Programme.

    Report: This road will be assessed and if works are required, they will be included in the Road Works Programme 2025, subject to funding being available.

    Question – Councillor William Durkan
    Can the council provide an update on when a timeline for individual school zone marking works within the municipal district will be available?

    Report: The members allocated LPT funding to these works at a special meeting in March. The Municipal District Office is currently preparing to engage with the Road Markings Contractor to carry out the required markings at each school. It is anticipated that these markings will be carried out during May and June, but the works are weather dependant.

    Question – Councillor William Durkan
    Can the council provide an update on the identification and prioritisation of planned bus stop improvement works within the municipal district?

    Report: There are over 500 existing bus stop locations in County Kildare. Kildare County Council is working with the National Transport Authority (NTA) to review and prioritise improvements to bus stop infrastructure. When this review is complete, a list of potential bus shelters and other improvements for locations will be prepared and appropriate public consultation undertaken. The provision of stop poles and associated timetable information at existing bus stops on local link routes are being prioritised to link rural communities to more urban areas.

  • Full Council: March 2025

    The following motion was raised at the March Full Council meeting on 31.03.25.

    Motion: Councillor William Durkan

    That the council extends the eligible works under the Housing Aid for Older People Grant to include the provision of external security lighting.

    Report: The Housing Aid for Older People Grant Scheme is available to assist older

    people living in poor housing conditions to have necessary repairs or improvements

    carried out to their homes, it provides financial assistance to households to carry out essential repairs.

    On receipt of this motion, the Housing Department contacted the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage to enquire if security lighting can be funded, they advised that security lighting is not eligible for funding.

    Issued by: A/Director of Services, Housing and Regeneration

    Notes: Further discussions highlighted the potential to pursue alternative funding streams at the MD level for localised targeted schemes.

  • Clane-Maynooth MD: February 2025

    The below Motions and Questions were raised at the February 2025 meeting of the Clane-Maynooth Municipal District:

    Motion – Councillor William Durkan

    That the council identifies the most suitable design/location for a pedestrian crossing in Broadford Village to connect the car park with the school and church and provides a costing estimate for same.

    Report: The request has been added to a list of similar requests in the County and shall be examined when staff resources are available.

    Motion – Councillor William Durkan

    That the council conducts a review of ‘Nan Brennan’s’ Junction on the L1002 near Calfstown in order to improve road safety in the area.

    Report: Kildare County Council is currently progressing a junction improvement project that is looking at ten junctions across the county. This project focuses on locations of interest identified in the Collision Analysis for Regional Road Network work completed by the Department of Transport Support Office.

    This location is not identified in this collision analysis, nor has it been included in the low-cost safety improvement schemes that are to be delivered in 2025. Kildare County Council does not have the funding or resources to review junctions that fall outside of these criteria.

    Question – Councillor William Durkan

    Can the council outline an expected timeline for the completion of all stages of the ongoing speed limit review within the municipal district?

    Report: During 2024 Kildare County Council (KCC) undertook a public consultation process for the review of speed limits on rural local roads. This review arose from recent legislation (Road Traffic Act 2024) which provides for the phased lowering of default speed limits in Ireland.

    Question – Councillor William Durkan

    Can the council outline the number of potential ‘serviced site’ schemes that may be advanced within the municipal district over the coming years, and what conditions are needed to progress same.

    Report: The Serviced Sites Scheme for County Kildare which sets out the terms and conditions for compliance with the scheme is available on the Council website. Volume 2 of the Kildare County Development Plan 2023-2029 identifies all sites designated “Serviced Sites” across the county.

    The Council are currently running a serviced sites pilot scheme in Clogherinkoe, in the Clane – Maynooth Municipal District. Further pilots will be determined on completion on the current project in Clogherinkoe and subject to resources.

  • Clane-Maynooth MD: January 2025

    The below Motions and Questions were raised at the January 2025 meeting of the Clane-Maynooth Municipal District:

    Motion – Councillors Tim Durkan, William Durkan and Brendan Wyse

    That the members allocate €300,000 of LPT money to the area engineer to deliver safety improvement works outside all national schools within the Clane-Maynooth Municipal District to include pencil bollards, school zone road markings and warning lights.

    Report: The allocation of funding under LPT is a matter for the members to agree.

    *Subsequently Agreed and Accepted

    Motion – Councillor William Durkan

    That the council adds roads at Dunfeirth Crossroads, both westbound (L-1004) and southbound (L-5013), to the 2025 works programme regarding resurfacing and road markings.

    Report: This request will be considered as part of the road works programme for 2025.

    Question – Councillor William Durkan

    Can the council provide an update on the pending ESB connection to lights at Boherhole Cross, and expected completion date?

    Report: Due to storm Daragh, there has been an increase in the number of outages. ESB have advised us that they are still overwhelmed by the workload resulting from storm Daragh and are prioritising restoring power to homes. Unfortunately, we are unable to give an expected date as it out of the control of Kildare County Council and the Public Lighting Contractor. We will continue liaise with ESB to prioritise the work.

    Question – Councillor William Durkan

    Can the council confirm if it has any plans to develop amenities at Johnstown Bridge?

    Report: There are no immediate plans to develop amenities at Johnstown Bridge. It has been identified as a location to provide a playground in in the Kildare Play Strategy. This would require the identification of an appropriate site and funding to provide it.

  • Clane-Maynooth MD: November 2024

    The below Motions and Questions were raised at the November 2024 meeting of the Clane-Maynooth Municipal District:

    Motion – Councillor William Durkan

    That the council arrange a site visit with residents of Anne Street, Prosperous to consider faded road markings and the condition of footpaths in the estate.

    Report: The Municipal District Engineer will carry out an inspection of the road markings and footpaths in Anne Street and carry out any routine maintenance required

    Question – Councillor William Durkan

    Can the council confirm any plans to update the westbound bus stop at the Broadford Junction on the R148, following recent welcome improvements to the eastbound stop at this location?

    Report: Kildare County Council is awaiting the appointment of a new staff member to progress bus stop infrastructure improvement works. When this occurs, the team will review and examine the list of existing bus stops across the county and produce a priority list, broken down by Municipal District area.

    Question – Councillor William Durkan

    Can the council confirm any plans to review traffic management at the crossroads in Prosperous Town, with a view to improving public safety?

    Report: Improvements to this junction have been conditioned as part of the extension to the adjacent secondary school and will be completed prior to the occupation of the new school.

  • Full Council: October 2024

    The below Motions were raised at the October 2024 meeting of the Full Council:

    Councillor William Durkan

    That the council outlines the proportion of existing housing stock that is suitable for tenants with mobility/accessibility issues, how this relates to the proportion of those on Kildare County Council’s housing list that have documented mobility/accessibility concerns, and comment on suitable provision plans moving forward.

    Report: In terms of the proportion of existing Kildare County Council housing stock that is adapted for mobility issues, only figures from 2014 are available. Adaptations to Kildare County Council owned properties are carried out through the Disabled Persons Grant Scheme (DPG). Works eligible under the DPG scheme include bathroom adaptations, stairlifts, ramps and the provision of extensions for ground floor living. Below is the number of DPGs completed per year:

    YearDPG’s completed
    201414
    201514
    201631
    201746
    201843
    201956
    202021
    202128
    202248
    202368
    2024 to date42
    Total411

    The National Housing Strategy for Disabled People 2022-2027 sets out the framework for the delivery of housing for people with a disability through mainstream housing policy. This reflects Government policy that all public services should meet the needs of people with disabilities as an integral part of their function, i.e. mainstreaming of services to people with disabilities. An action of this Strategy required the establishment of Housing Disability Steering Groups and membership in Kildare has senior housing staff, senior staff from the HSE, representatives from local disability advocacy groups and people with lived experience. The Kildare Housing and Disability Strategy 2022-2027 has been prepared and agreed by the Housing Disability Steering Group in accordance with national policy and the vision is to facilitate access for disabled persons to the appropriate range of housing and related support services, delivered in an integrated and sustainable manner, which promotes equality of opportunity, individual choice and independent living.

    Kildare County Council’s County Development Plan 2023-2029 is committed to implementing the frameworks for the delivery of housing for disabled people as set out under the ‘National Housing Strategy for Disabled People 2022-2027’ and identifies actions to ensure all KCC new build housing stock is in compliance with Part M of the Building Regulations, that 10% of acquired housing stock meets the needs of those with a disability and 12% of Kildare County Council new builds are universally designed and to monitor the number of housing acquisitions and new builds and ensure that they meet the needs of those with a disability.

    In County Kildare there are currently 3,450* (excluding those in receipt of HAP/RAS) people assessed as needing social housing support. Of the total number, currently 342 applicants have been assessed based of disability needs. Analysis of these applications would further inform the requirements in terms of unit size, location, design and any other specific needs. The table below details the categories of identified need based on information provided at the time of receipt of the housing application. Applications from individuals residing in congregated settings have been discounted from the 342 as they are accounted for separately under Congregated Settings.

    CategoryTotal
    Physical88
    Sensory20
    Mental Health79
    Intellectual155
    Total342

    Table 1: Category of Identified Need

    Of the 342 identified above, 85 of these are council tenant transfer requests. In the event of a person’s accommodation becoming unsuitable due to disability, priority is given for transfer to a suitable property if available.

  • Clane-Maynooth MD: October 2024

    The below Motions and Questions were raised at the October 2024 meeting of the Clane-Maynooth Municipal District:

    Motion – Councillor William Durkan

    That the council provides a costing for the provision of pedestrian lights in Broadford Village to improve the safety of school and church users in the area.

    Report: This request has been added to list of similar type requests in the County and the location shall be assessed to determine what/if any measures are required when resources become available.

    Motion – Councillor William Durkan

    That the council provides a costing for the resurfacing of the L-70781 near Cock Bridge (off R409) and clarify the extent of the lane that is in the charge of Kildare County Council.

    Report: The cost to resurface this road would be estimated to be in the region of €70,000. This is an estimate and could not be confirmed until tenders would be received. The pavement management system shows 526 metres of the road as listed in charge; however, the Municipal District Engineer understands that the lane is in charge to the last bend.

    Question – Councillor William Durkan

    Can the council provide an update on the conduct of a speed limit review in the case of Kilshanroe Village, as discussed at the previous meeting?

    Report: A 2023 Speed Limit Review was completed by the Department of Transport. Based on a direction (RS01/2024) received from the Department of Transport the following default speed limits are to be implemented:

    • 30km/h (Urban Areas)
    • 60 km/h (Rural Local Roads)
    • 80km/h (National Secondary Roads)
    •  

    The default speed limits are to take effect on a staggered basis with provisional commencement dates as follows:

    • End of November 2024 for Rural Local Roads.
    • First part of 2025 for National Secondary Road and Urban Speed Limits

    Kilshanroe Village is located on a Regional Road (R402) and is not being examined as part of the current phase of works (rural local roads).

  • Clane-Maynooth MD: July 24

    Motions & Questions Raised at the Clane-Maynooth Municipal District July 2024 Meeting:

    Motion – Councillor William Durkan
    That the council provides urgent footpath repairs in the case of Donore Cottages, due to safety and accessibility concerns raised by residents in the area.
    Report: There is no funding allocated in the 2024 budget to repair these footpaths. The Municipal District office will add this request to the list and should funding become available, works will be scheduled. Otherwise, this request can be considered as part of the 2025 works programme.


    Motion – Councillor William Durkan
    That the council provides signage at the gateway points of Johnstownbridge Village, in line with similar measures in other towns in the area.
    Report: The Johnstownbridge Village Renewal Masterplan has been developed and agreed in consultation with residential and commercial stakeholders in town/village, the elected members and the relevant departments within the Local Authority. Some projects will be delivered in the short term and others in the medium to longer term, taking into account funding availability, land ownership etc. The Masterplan is an important tool that will enable Kildare County Council and the community to apply for a range of funding schemes, including the Rural Regeneration Development Fund and the Town and Village funding where a greater priority is given to the funding of projects which are considered part of an overall village plan. Currently Strategic Projects and Public Realm do not have funding in place for the delivery of the village gateways projects. Projects will be delivered when funding becomes available through the various Town Renewal funding streams, Local Property Tax or in partnership with other Local Authority Departments to leverage available funding from other work programmes. It should be noted that the projects identified in the Masterplan are conceptual only and may be subject to appropriate planning consents and further consultation processes prior to detail design and construction stage.

    Question – Councillor William Durkan
    Can the council provide an update on when road works will be completed in the case of the L-5071 through Staplestown Village?
    Report: The Municipal District office is currently reviewing the budgets for resurfacing in 2024. A decision on the Staplestown Village works will be made in mid-July 2024.

    Question – Councillor William Durkan
    Can the council provide an update on when road works will be completed in the case of the L-5008 Road at Clogherinkoe?
    Report: The resurfacing of this road is currently awarded to a contractor and works should be completed within the next two months.