Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Ceann Comhairle for facilitating me in the raising of this issue, one I have raised in the House previously. The issue relates to the extent to which the county town of Naas in County Kildare has been affected by the economic downturn. The various efforts that have been made to address this issue so far have been unsuccessful, despite the best intentions of all involved.

The purpose of raising this issue is to encourage the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government to use his powers of persuasion with the local authorities to try to achieve some movement on the procedures that have been stalled. Arbitration has moved extremely slowly over recent years and is now stalled again and postponed for another year. This means we must see the continual reminder of the tower cranes stalled like animal predators on the skyline. These stalled cranes are symbolic of what has happened. Despite the best efforts of the local authorities, the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government and the business people of Naas, we have not been able to move the project ahead and return to a situation where we can see movement taking place.

Usually, the sight of tower cranes over a town, village or city is a sign of growth, activity, development and economic well-being. Unfortunately, the dinosaurs that are now hovering over the town of Naas do not give that impression at all. With each passing day and week, there is greater recognition by the people, business people in particular, that something must be done to get movement going again. Despite the fact considerable efforts have been made so far in this regard, we need to renew our efforts. It is for this reason I am asking the Minister of State to consider carefully how it might be possible for his Department to intervene in a positive way to nudge the powers that be in the direction required to bring about a restoration of activity and bring to an end this blight that has befallen the town of Naas, the leading provincial town of County Kildare, which is bedevilled by the impact of the downturn in the economy, as symbolised by the immobilised cranes. I appeal to the Minister of State to do his utmost to contact all the bodies concerned with a view to bringing procedures to a satisfactory conclusion.

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