That Town Meeting ...

With some 2,500 households in Kilcullen, it might seem a small result that about 50 people turned up to last week's Town Hall Meeting to hear and talk to Naas area election candidates, writes Brian Byrne. And for the nine councillor-hopefuls who turned up, it was a gamble to spend a full night of shrinking canvass time in front of an audience prepared to ask questions ... and in some cases take no quarter.

But it was an enlightening couple of hours for all concerned, and when it was over there was a definite sense that dialogue more than a doorstep conversation had taken place. Those voters who came along had the benefit of comparison which a Town Hall Meeting forum can provide. And the candidates probably learned as much about each other as they did about the issues which exercise Kilcullen people.

Those issues are arguably not any different than in any other community. Jobs, business support, roads and footpaths maintenance, communication with the people on decisions that potentially effect their lives and businesses. Oddly enough, the national matters that are on the loose didn't intrude on the evening, reflecting again the truism that all politics is local.

Since a number of the candidates present — Darren Scully, Anne Breen, and Seamie Moore — are current Naas area councillors, the matter of business stagnation in Naas leaked into the evening. A number among the audience expressed concern that even on the smaller scale of Kilcullen, they weren't optimistic that the relevant candidates had shown an ability to deal with the blight of Main Street closed shops in the town.

"What can you deliver to Kilcullen more than what you have failed to deliver in Naas?" asked Kilcullen resident and Naas shopkeeper Antoinette Buckley, kicking off a sometimes heated exchange between herself and the Naas councillors. Others in the audience also expressed their worries in this regard.

Potentially lethal road design and traffic lights sequencing, which have been issues of long standing in Kilcullen, were also raised. Sabina Reddy made it very plain to the candidates that she had little time for a design situation at Thompsons Cross on which KCC and the NRA seemed not to agree, but the real results are a string of accidents and motorists being hospitalised.

At footpath level, the issue of poorly maintained paths was brought up by Sheedhna, a wheelchair-using resident of the Bridge Camphill Community, who related one incident where the footpath condition tipped her chair out onto the road. There was a collective scorn levelled at the local authority's management of issues like these, and candidates scribbled hurried notes.

One big issue was communication with local people in relation to planning and other decisions which might effect the local community. Orla O'Neill used an example of a planning application facilitated by Kildare planners for a proposed vehicle recycling plant close to a large residential area. "Not one of the councillors of the time forewarned us of this, and it took a lot of effort by ourselves to make that go away," she said.

The Direct Democracy candidate, Martin Byrne, probably picked up points there, as it's the main plank of his political movement that representatives would directly inform constituents of such matters, rather than leaving them to be noticed later.

A question as to whether elected councillors would come back to Kilcullen for a forum again in advance of voting on submissions to the Draft Kilcullen Local Area Plan got a predictable 'yes' from all there. Seamie Moore noted, though, that Kilcullen as a community should decide what it wanted from the Plan and make a submission accordingly, as it's 'very difficult to make a judgement on a whole pile of submissions'.

The evening passed quite quickly, with nobody losing interest. In the final roundup, the candidates were asked to say in a minute why they felt they were right for the job. Billy Hillis noted that he had been a councillor since 1985, losing out only in 2009 when the boundaries were changed, and was the only candidate from the Kilcullen area. "Return the local councillor you had, and I'll look after the town," he concluded.

Darren Scully said it was important to return councillors who are not afraid to stand up to officials. He pointed to a 'strong record' in that sphere, and said he'd got 'into a lot of trouble' with officials on that basis over the years. "If you're elected, you're there to do battle. You're batting on behalf of the people, and that's what I'll continue to do, hopefully for this area."

James Lawless reprised that he's had a lot of experience in working with community groups in his own Sallins area, and is good at getting things like local business organisations up and running, and engaging with public bodies. "I'll keep you informed, I'll engage, I'm up for the job."

Rob Power said he has been knocking on doors since October, and after the election, if elected, he'll still be knocking on those doors to see what's required. "I don't have the experience of being a sitting councilor; in fact I wouldn't like to hold that badge, given some of the decisions that have been made to date. I'm a new voice, I want to bring fresh thinking to Kildare County Council."

Anne Breen noted that she had the time, the commitment and the energy for what is to her a full-time job. "I can safely say that this is a full time job. I've been a councillor for five years. I address every issue and have done over the five years — I hope that you will consider all that when making your decision."

Fergus Carpenter had come to listen, he said, noting that this was something he did well. He added that he's also a good negotiator, and 'not stuck in old ideas'. "I will commit to giving accurate information to the people of Kilcullen, not what I think you want to hear, but what's actually happening. Kilcullen is not just an economy, and your young people need activity with which they can engage after school. Roads and footpaths need to be made safer."

The reason Sorcha O'Neill is running is because 'she's angry'. Angry at the state of the towns, that it has taken so long to come up with initiatives — except now at election time. "My anger will drive me, but I'm also more inclined to the collaborative approach rather than the bull in the china shop. I think you need to negotiate through Council."

Martin Byrne noted that he's the only candidate subject to recall, that people have the right to remove if he doesn't perform as promised. "I don't think anyone else here is going to commit to that, because they all have their careers on the line."

Seamie Moore described his political strength as being a community person with no ambitions to higher level. "I've ran for election four times in Naas and I've never been out of the top three. I have brought Naas Tidy Towns from a very low level of 27 to in the top seven positions. I'm a self-starter. I don't wait around."

Well, they only have to wait around for the rest of this week to see what effect their two hours in direct contact with Kilcullen might have done for them. The count is Saturday, in Punchestown Convention Centre.