19 January 2004: A statement from the Caragh Court/Green Residents Association was read out to the meeting by Cllr Anthony Egan who lives in Caragh Court.

The letter, signed by Gabriel Horan on behalf of the residents noted the invitation by Jigginstown Road Action Group to attend the meeting on 14 January.

In it the residents of Caragh Court/Green/Meadows put on record their position on the issue.

They feel this dispute is a matter for Jigginstown residents to discuss with the respective councils. The existing Ploopluck Bridge is an immediate safety risk to the residents of their estates, and has been for anumber of years.

“While we are sympathetic to the concerns of Jigginstown residents on safety issues associated with the new bridge, we are firmly of the view that Jigginstown safety concerns can be adequately managed during construction of a new bridge and road, something which cannot be done with the Ploopluck bridge.”

They also state that Caragh Court residents have now a genuine expectation that the new bridge is to be built. This is on the basis that it has been in a number of development plans, has been approved by Naas County Council and Kildare County Council.

The residents wish to place on record their objection to any alternative routes. “Specifically, we will vigourously oppose any moves to have the residents route into Naas town extended to a 2.9 mile round trip through the proposed new outer ring road.”

Caragh Court residents will support Jigginstown residents in any attempts to obtain legitimate improved safety features for the new bridge and road from Kildare County Council. The Residents Association has decided that discussions with the Jigginstown Action Group should be solely in respect of this aspect.

In October 2000, residents of estates on the Caragh Road handed in a 330-signature petition to Naas Town Council demanding immediate action over the ‘long-running saga of Ploopluck Bridge and the footpath between their estates and the bridge. They said they were ‘seriously worried about a silence to their concerns from the Council since they had first written to them about their concerns in July.

They were particularly concerned about what they called ‘acute danger to children who use the road and bridge on a daily basis to gain access to their homes and to playing fields on the Caragh Road’.