Letters to the editor
Kingscourt was not forgotten
Editor,
In response to the article, Kingscourt wants a piece of the pie too, says councillor, (Anglo-Celt, January 20), I feel it is important to set the record straight in relation to claims that in the past 'Kingscourt was a forgotten town'. During my term as a Fianna Fáil councillor for the area I achieved many improvements. Kingscourt is a vibrant business town, home to a number of a major companies and a host of small industries. A major supermarket chain is planning to locate in the area, but objections have been raised by the local Fine Gael councillor with the county council in respect of its location because it is off Main Street, yet there was no objection to the location of the new health centre, beside the proposed supermarket... So much for consistency.
In relation to comments about the public lighting in Kingscourt some people may be aware of the major reconstruction project on Main Street when street levels were adjusted and realigned to provide greater safety for all users, including the provision of roundabouts, a centre island and improved street lighting.
Our Fine Gael Councillor, as a resident of Kilmainhamwood, County Meath, may not be familiar with the various projects and improvements secured for Kingscourt over the last number of years, so I will outline some of them:
Funding secured directly from Cavan County Council for the local road network: Corrygarry - €620,000; Shercock Road - €220,000; Kells Road/Hall Street - €260,000; Rocks Road - €258,000; St Mary's Road - €38,500; Dublin Road - €28,000; Bailieboro Road - €36,800; Road Signage - €52,000; Traffic Management Plan - €50,000. (I was responsible for securing the above funding in order to employ consultants to prepare a traffic management plan for the town.) Parking and Traffic Management - €200,000; School Access and Set Down Area - €320,000; Traffic Control Lights - €34,000; Heritage Funding - €72,000; Playground - €162,000.
Housing - €9.2m from Department of Environment for local authority housing.
I am confident in stating that the above statistics do not indicate "a forgotten town" and I would also like to point out that the above does not include for the capital cost of providing the new second level college which was recently confirmed as being part of the government's School's Building programme.
Yours,
Clifford Kelly,
Church Street,
Kingscourt.
Concessionary travel
Editor,
Across the European Union there is a variety of concessionary travel schemes so here in Ireland, for example, every elderly person is allowed free travel but the disabled pass is means tested. In the North elderly people go free but disabled people pay half price.
Across the Irish Sea the type of pass you have depends on your postcode. If you have a Welsh or Scottish postcode you have unlimited free travel across all transport services within either country, whereas if you have an English postcode you can only use local buses for free.
I believe that there should be a Europe wide free travel pass that would allow all disabled people and all people over 60 the right to travel free on any public transport service within all member states.
This would benefit every citizen in their lifetime as we all become old if God spares us long enough. I believe the cost of the scheme should be met by Brussels with a donation from each participating state.
As an alternative, I would like to see a pass that would allow free travel for elderly and disabled people, irrespective of means, to travel free across the whole of the UK and the Republic. To help reduce the cost to the taxpayer, pass holders should pay a £2/€3 a week direct from their benefits or bank accounts.
The current pass is wide open to fraudulent use so I propose that everybody who has the pass now should be sent a form that they could take to a garda station to be stamped and signed as proof of identity.
I'd invite members of the public to comment on this and to lobby your local TDs by post or by email. All TDs can be reached by email by putting their name and then @oireachtas.ie.
Yours,
Micheal O'Dubhain,
Oriel Lodge,
Church Street,
Belturbet.
Post a Comment