Insurance industry should 'do more to keep death off roads'

KILDARE: 16 March 2001: by Brian Byrne. The insurance industry should do more to improve driving habits and reduce the cost of insurance, according to Kildare Senator Sean O’Fearghail.

The call came in the wake of a number of horrific road deaths this year. The Insurance Federation’s last annual report showed an increase in underwriting losses from £99m to £126m in 1999, and they claim that the losses for last year will be up again.

“There is a fundamental need to tackle the root causes of high insurance and that would seem to be a matter of educating drivers to poor driving habits and ensuring that those who err pay the cost and not those who have good driving habits,” said Senator O’Fearghail.

He welcomed the recent contribution of £250,000 by the insurance industry to the National Safety Council’s road safety campaign shortly before Christmas but said in real terms ‘this is a drop in the ocean of the constant drip drip drip of information needed to impinge on the public consciousness that will result in a change in driving habits’.

“Perhaps they should consider targeting poor drivers from their own claims database by providing safety information, safety campaigns and even retraining as part of a well-funded campaign to keep death off the roads. The simple logic is that fewer claims will result in a more profitable business model,” he said.

He added that last year had been a record year for people being killed on our roads - more than one for every day of the week - and this was a record no one wants to see repeated.

Beds may be provided at Curragh Military Hospital for Naas Hospital overflow

NAAS & THE CURRAGH: 16 March 2001: by Trish Whelan. The fact that Defence Minister Michael Smith TD is to investigate the feasibility of providing beds at the Curragh Military Hospital to facilitate the overflow of patients at Naas General Hospital, has been welcomed by Kildare’s Deputy Jack Wall.

The Deputy had asked the Minister to allow the use of the Curragh Military Hospital following numerous representations from general practitioners and patients in Kildare who expressed their deep concern at the overcrowding situation at Naas General Hospital.

He also raised the issue at the recent meeting of the Naas Hospital Monitoring Committee and has now tabled a question to the Chief Executive of the South Western Area Health Board, Pat Donnelly on the issue.

“The staff and management of Naas General Hospital are under tremendous pressure to facilitate the number of patients seeking care and attention, and it would be a major boost to them if the Curragh Military Hospital could be made available for any phase of medical care, i.e. respite, observation etc. Given the close proximity of the two hospitals, I do not see any major problems with the Department of Defence and the Department of Health and Children liasing to provide an obvious solution to the needs of Naas General Hospital. A precedent has been set where St Brician’s Military Hospital is used by the Mater Hospital,” states Deputy Wall.

Bad smell from Kill landfill

KILL, 15 March 2001: by Trish Whelan. The bad smell coming from the operation of South Dublin County Council’s landfill site at Arthurstown, Kill, has been raised with the Environmental Protection Agency.

Deputy Emmet Stagg TD (below left) stated that the smell from the landfill was particularly bad in frosty conditions.

The EPA have responded stating that SDCC have recently commenced the extension of the landfill gas collection pipework at the facility in order to connect those vents in the waste not already connected to the flaming system. A larger flame is also to be acquired to ensure sufficient capacity to flame the collected gas.

While welcoming the moves to correct matters, Deputy Stagg criticised SDCC for allowing the problem to develop in deference to the residents of Kill.

LESN has new information officer

KILL, BLESSINGTON & NAAS, 12 March 2001: by Trish Whelan. Mary Lou McClintock is the new Information Officer with the Local Employment Services Network based in Naas. She's pictured above with LESN manager Joe Curtis.

Mary Lou worked with FAS in Newbridge for almost two years before making the move to her home town of Naas. Her new job entails meeting with the general public, giving information on Social Welfare and Social Services in general.

She has now set up three outreach clinics, in Blessington, Kill and in Naas Library. Mary will be available on Friday mornings in Blessington; Wednesday mornings in Naas Library and will spend the second Monday of every month in the Parish Centre in Kill.

Mary is also well known on the motor sport circuit having been secretary and chairperson of the County Kildare Motor Club. She can be contacted at the LESN offices in Rathasker Square, Naas, at tel 045 895555.

Mucky Truckin' ... GENERAL, 12 March 2001: by Brian Byrne. Somehow, amid all the high-level talking about litter and the need to keep Ireland clean, following this truck from Silliott Hill to Naas last week was an exercise in seeing that it is mostly all talk. Paper and other bits of litter seemed to blow around all the way, leading one to wonder if it had the mandatory cover or net over its load? Or if it HAD a load? ... more likely it was stray stuff from after it had delivered its rubbish ... or was it transferring material from Silliott Hill to Kill dump via the baling station in South Co Dublin? We'll never know. Of course, the vehicle is unidentifiable too, with the rear numberplate covered by mud, against the law. Didn't seem to worry the driver that he was driving right past the Divisional HQ of the Kildare/Carlow gardai, though. Thing is, it's not an isolated incident.

Athlete knocked out of world championship

LISBON & NEWBRIDGE, 12 March 2001: by Arran Hussey. Karen Shinkins was knocked out of the World Indoor Championships in Lisbon, Portugal, on Friday. The young Newbridge woman finished fifth out of five in her 400m race heat failing to qualify for the next round.

She was the second fastest athlete going in to the race and had in the last few months run five times faster then the time she recorded today a disappointing 53.9 seconds.

Several commentators had expected her to make the final of this event. KildareNet News recently reported how the Dublin City Harrier had broken her own national record twice in a fortnight. Her best time now stands at 52.31 seconds. 

Shinkins is not belived to have been sick or injured, rather she was just most unfortunate to record a  poor performance on what should have been one of the highlights of her season. KildareNet News hopes to speak to her later on in the championships.

Naas man helps motor companies show

NAAS & GENEVA, 12 March 2001: by Trish Whelan. A Naas man plays a key part in one of the most visual aspects of the international motor industry, and his work was part of the recent international Motor Show in Geneva (above).

Carpenter Colm O’Sullivan (Sarto Park) has been based in Frankfurt for the last ten years where the company he works for was responsible for erecting the Volvo stand at the Geneva show. This involved a huge amount of steel construction, flooring, two tier levels including offices and paneling - everything to show off the new models to the best advantage.

“It took 20 days to build the stand, working flat out 13 hours a day, or more, if it’s behind schedule,” Colm said. And of course what goes up, has to come down and Colm and the lads began dismantling their work after the show.

Colm has also worked on stands for other motor manufacturers such as Audi, Mercedes, and VW at various shows. He’s already looking forward to a work trip to the Tokyo Motor Show in October. Other jobs include setting up stands for the many book fairs around Frankfurt.

After completing a construction technician course in Ireland, Colm worked for a spell in England before heading for Frankfurt where he first started with renovation work. It’s also where he met his wife, Dana, who is Polish.

“A lot of people are involved in exhibition work, and you have to be flexible. This means being able to do all sorts of jobs from laying floors to working with metal,” he says.

And of course, he keeps in regular contact with his parents Jim and Ann O’Sullivan back in Naas who are looking forward to Colm and Dana’s visit to Naas in September.

APOLOGY In recent weeks we have been unable to provide our usual comprehensive daily news service on KNN. This is because of pressure of our other business interests. KNN is a non-profit operation which we do as our own version of a public service and because we enjoy it. However, the businesses which allow us to do that need priority attention. Bear with us. We’re not going away. Brian Byrne & Trish Whelan.

KNN ARCHIVES HERE

Around the County

MAYNOOTH: Kildare County Council Engineers have agreed to Cllr John McGinley’s (below) proposal to bring forward the laying of a new footpath and public lighting in order to facilitate the new Gael Scoil pupils and the residents of Laurence Avenue, Rockfield and Celbridge Road.

The footpath will be on the Laurence Avenue side of the road and unfortunately this will mean that the fence will have to be moved back some two feet. However, this was going to happen anyway. It just means that it has been brought forward by a year or two. The proposal is with the County Manager for approval and it is expected that there will be no problems as the issue is a safety matter.

NAAS: Paths and bridges need to be improved around the lakes area of Naas but any public lighting could attract anti social behaviour at night a recent UDC meeting was told.
Town clerk Declan Kirrane said it was a stark choice to make as lighting could also allow people to walk the area later in the evenings.

Cllr Charlie Byrne said he would not be in favour of lights along the paths as it could attract some anti social behaviour. He asked for the area from the lakes into John O’Connell’s field to be made into a wooded area to provide a haven for wild life.

Cllr Willie Callaghan said public lighting in many parts of Monread had not been updated to newer type lights and the Council should complete work already commenced.

MAYNOOTH: Deputy Emmet Stagg and Cllr John McGinley have secured a £2,000 grant from the Council to enable Kingsbry Residents’ Association to landscape the area adjacent to Meadowbrook and to provide tree planting as required.
Planning permission has been sought for 195 dwellings and a Motor Sales Showrooms in Dunne’s Field south of Kingsbry.

Deputy Emmet Stagg and Cllr John McGinley have objected to the three storey blocks and in particular those fronting the Distributor Road that would overlook residents in Kingsbry who live nearest to the site. They have also stated that any decision should await the Consultant’s Report on surface water drainage for the area.

COUNTY HALL: A presentation on the Three Rivers Project on water quality monitoring and management systems, involving the rivers Boyne, Liffey and Suir was made recently to members of Kildare County Council, one of the leading authorities involved in the project.
Ray Earle presented information on the 3-year project which costs £3.5m. John Bennett explained that 85% of the funding came from the EU and the Cohesion Fund with the remaining 15% from the Exchequer. Papers on the project must be lodged with the Department of the Environment and Local Government for approval in six months’ time.
John Bennett of MC O’Sullivan, the lead consultants, said there were some 33 new hydrometric stations on the River Liffey, most of which were installed by Kildare County Council and these would help to assess the effect of new developments on river flooding.