Roads around Castledermot in need of urgent attention - Daly

The roads in the vicinity of Castledermot are in a disgraceful state claims

Fine Gael Kildare South General Election candidate, Cllr Richard Daly.

“Following concerns expressed to me by residents in the area I toured some of the secondary routes adjacent to Castledermot in the past few days and was appalled by the condition in which I found them. While I am not an engineer I experienced road surfaces which needed resurfacing and road edges which could prove very dangerous if a driver were forced to the edge to allow passing traffic.” Said cllr Daly

“With a new motorway under construction the resulting construction traffic has caused serious deterioration of the existing routes which need urgent attention. In the recent inclement weather flooding on some of the roads has occurred most probably from the excess mud blocking the drains.

The road adjacent to Knocknacree Cross has been deemed so dangerous by one bus driver that he will not travel it and in the meantime at least one family is forced to walk on the road which to me seems unsafe.

Education, enforcement and engineering can lead to safer roads and I am publicly calling on Kildare County Council to examine these roads adjacent to Castledermot as a matter of extreme urgency and prioritise resurfacing, drainage and edging works to prevent serious accident.”

ENDS

Concern at elderly care proposals – Daly

Fine Gael Kildare South General Election candidate, Cllr Richard Daly, has said he is concerned about a number of aspects of the Government's new proposals on long-term care for the elderly.

“We have seen the introduction of a new death tax on the elderly. It appears the Government intends to wash its hands entirely of the future care of the elderly, those who built up this country, worked in far more difficult times than now and paid their taxes and PRSI, but now find they will be subject to a death tax after they have gone, in some cases requiring the sale of the family home.

“The persons who will need nursing home care in the next ten to 15 years are those who worked in the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, built the Celtic tiger and paid their taxes and PRSI. They find themselves levied with a new death tax of 15 per-cent.
“The Government’s proposal is built on three pillars, namely, an inspectorate regime for nursing homes, community services and this funding proposal. The Government seems completely unaware of what is happening in respect of the provision of community services. It is some years since those in psychiatric institutions were abandoned in communities with no facilities to support them, but I see something similar happening now.

“The Government is proposing that by January 1, 2008, there will be community services to look after elderly people in their homes and communities. The current rate of provision of such services makes a mockery of this issue. The Government is living in fantasyland if it believes the services will be provided. There are not enough general practitioners, nurses, occupational therapists or home-helpers and the State cannot employ the physiotherapists it has trained. Where will the Government find the personnel to provide cover to people refused entry to nursing homes?

“To expect those services to be in place by January 1, 2008 is complete and utter fantasy. If the Government has been unable to prevent the serious abuse of some elderly in some licensed nursing homes, where a monitoring regime is supposed to exist, how does it expect that a community service to look after those elderly who are semi-highly dependent can be put in place by that date? How can it justify this as one of the fundamental pillars of this new programme, which also includes a death tax?

“The Government has always proclaimed itself a low-tax Government, but it has introduced a raft of stealth charges and new taxes in the past few years. In the Budget, the health levy was increased by 25 per-cent, there was an increase in the cost of private beds in public hospitals, and the Government voted through a measure requiring 5 per-cent of the notional value of a person’s home to be assessed for the purposes of a claim for subvention.

“What will happen in the case of a person who is unable to avail of home supports and is required to go to a nursing home, but is refused for not being high-dependency? Are these people being told to get lost and go back where they came from? If they are refused the option of nursing homes, where will they go?



“In a country of considerable wealth, we have failed once again to provide for the vulnerable. That is the legacy of this Government.”

Daly calls on Kildare consumers to 'shop local' for Christmas

Kildare South General Election candidate, Cllr Richard Daly, has called on consumers in the county to ‘shop local’ this Christmas.

“There is no denying that every consumer deserves the right to seek out the cheapest prices when shopping, but I feel there is great value to be had in many of the smaller towns.

“Retailers in small towns in county Kildare provide a first class service throughout the year, and rather than travelling long distances in search of a bargain, I feel shoppers should look close to home first of all and try and maintain a certain loyalty to places where they have shopped for most of the year.”

The Fine Gael candidate said local retailers often relied on the loyalty of their customers to ensure their businesses remain viable.

“In recent years, retailers in the county's smaller towns have come under increasing pressure in a market in which multi-national chains have tried to monopolise with huge advertising campaigns.

“But many local shops have responded by spending large sums on modernising their premises, and providing state of the art facilities for the modern consumer.”I feel this sort of investment in local business deserves to be supported by the community.

“Every penny spent in the these communities means that businesses can prosper and continue to provide much needed employment in less populated areas.

"Successful businesses in smaller towns provide crucial full-time and part-time employment.

“In order to maintain the vibrancy and the future development of our smaller towns, the local community must row in behind these hardworking businesses and ensure their viability."