It has been confirmed to me that Dublin Bus will operate a new Sunday service on the 67 route from 27/11/16. The new service commences at 8.15am and operates every 30 mins until 20.50, and then reverts back to an hourly service. This is excellent news and an issue I have been working on and pursing for some time on behalf of the people of Celbridge, Maynooth and the public transport user. I will continue to work on your behalf with regard to the outstanding issues on the 66 and 67 routes. Thanks to everyone for raising this important issue with me.

Local Fianna Fail TD, Frank O’Rourke, has welcomed the opening of the Phoenix Park rail tunnel for commuters using Hazelhatch and Sallins rail services, as further public transport improvements are planned.

‘Seven new morning train services will come from Hazelhatch/Sallins to Dublin from Monday 21st of November next with eight going in the opposite direction during evening return peak hours,’  stated Deputy O Rourke after meeting with the NTA last week.

‘‘The new service will connect Hazelhatch in Celbridge and Sallins/Naas with Dublin Connolly and Grand Canal Dock. It will serve all stations between Newbridge/Hazelhatch and Parkwest, Drumcondra, Connolly, Tara Street, Pearse and Grand Canal Dock.  The Irish Rail website has all the details of the new services. This service is an excellent addition to the current service and opens up the City Centre for Kildare commuters.’

‘As a councillor, and now as a TD, I continue to fight for improved public transport services for our commuters. We have seen improvements to the Kilcock Bus Services, we now have a proposed Park and Ride for bus commuters in Kilcock. We have ensured that Kilcock rail commuters are now included in the shop hop zone from a rail fare perspective.’

‘In quarter one of next year, the NTA have informed me that tenders will be sought for the provision of an orbital bus route linking Naas, Clane, Rathcoffey, Maynooth and Blanchardstown. Having a regular and reliable public transport service will attract more public transport users. I will continue to fight for improved services,’ concluded Deputy Frank O’Rourke.

The continued high costs of motor Insurance is unacceptable and requires urgent Government action, according to Local Fianna Fail TD, Frank O’Rourke following a meeting with Michael McGrath TD, Fianna Fail’s Spokesperson on Finance.

‘I welcome the establishment of the Cost of Insurance Working Group, and I believe that it is making progress. This group had to report to the Minister for Finance at the end of October and over the next two months will agree on an action plan, which must lead to a reduction in Motor Insurance.’

“Tangible and practical measures must be identified by the Working Group to help alleviate the pressure motorists are under at the moment. As I said again recently in the Dail, there is little point in reducing Universal Social Sharge (USC), if motor insurance premiums go up by a multiple of the reduction in USC.’

‘Ratings agency Standards and Poor’s predicted further premium increases of between 10% and 15% by the middle of 2017. This is on top of the estimated 40% increase in premiums over the last year or so.’

“Whatever the Working Group puts forward in its action plan, it must have practical measures that help reduce premiums in the short term as its priority.”

“We have seen ridiculous increases in the cost of motor insurance over the past year. It comes up at my weekly clinics and is causing significant financial pressure on drivers, and their families.”

I was delighted to be invited to attend the Kildare Garda Youth Awards tonight in Punchestown.
Congratulations to all the award winners and in particular Mickey Hickey from Celbridge, Lauren Cleeves from Leixlip and Stephen Farrell from Kilcock.

It was excellent event organised by the Garda and sponsored by Newbridge Silverware. Anne Doyle as usual was an excellent MC. Brilliant night and well done to all involved.

Local Fianna Fail TD, Frank O Rourke, has said today that he is continuing to keep the pressure on Eir in connection with the timelines for the rollout of their Fibre Broadband Technology, in particular the Fibre to the Home (FTTH) technology, to many parts of North Kildare. He was speaking following a meeting with Eir’s senior executives in Leinster House recently.

‘Eir’s relatively new FTTH (Fibre to the Home) technology is designed for rural areas where bringing copper wires from cabinets proves more difficult,” stated Deputy O’Rourke.

‘‘I am continuing to make representations to Eir in relation to securing adequate broadband coverage for areas such as Newtown, Broadford, Timahoe, Eadestown and Kilteel. By the end of March 2017, over 2,500 additional rural Kildare premises will be connected to broadband by the Fibre to the Home technology. 400 rural premises in the Maynooth area, 370 in Kilcock, 480 in Donadea, 520 in Straffan and 470 in Carbury are examples of the planned rollout for this year in rural Kildare.’’

“Kilcock, for example, currently has 2,400 homes and businesses that have access to broadband speeds of up to 100Mb/s, with further connections planned. In Maynooth, 4,500 homes and businesses have access to speeds of up to 100Mb/s and a further 400 homes and businesses have been earmarked for Fibre to the Home by June 2017.  Today in Celbridge, over 7,400 homes and businesses have access to speeds of up to 100Mb/s. An additional 150 premises are due to be covered by Eir’s Fibre to the Home rollout by June 2017,’ stated Deputy O’Rourke.

Details of Eir’s fibre broadband rollout plans for individual areas can be seen in more detail at www.fibrerollout.ie .

I was delighted to attend the Co. Kildare people of the year awards on Friday night last November 4th in the Keadeen Hotel. It was a great night and a big congratulations to the committee for organising another super event. Congrats to all the award winners on their great achievement and to Aubrey McCarthy who won Kildare person of the year. Well done to everyone involved in making this awards night happen.

Celbridge aims to be front-runner in an initiative that is an exciting opportunity for towns throughout Ireland.

This project is a priority for Deputy Frank O’Rourke and he is delighted to see the second phase of the town enhancement scheme underway on Celbridge Main Street. “The feedback from the public, business owners and visitors to this enhancement pilot scheme is fantastic. Celbridge is currently the only town in Kildare embracing this project to this extent which is brilliant. I believe it will play a positive role in developing the town into a tourism hub, not only for the county but in the region. An idyllic town centre is important to enable Celbridge to benefit economically from the rich and diverse heritage of the locality. Once this phase is complete I will be working with all stakeholders to progress to the next phase. This project compliments the other projects which I worked to complete in Celbridge such as the Eircom cables been under-grounded, Chewing gum removal of the footpaths, new street benches and dust bins, removal of redundant street signs etc.
I want to thank Kildare County Council chief executive Peter Carey, director of services Sonya Kavanagh, Honor Griffin from the ISP, The Area Office, Colourtrend management and staff, the businesses and people for their continued cooperation and support.”

Kildare’s Integrated Services Programme aims to put Celbridge at the forefront of heritage based activities in Ireland, and Irish paint brand Colourtrend is delighted to play a major role in this exciting project. Painters have been out on the streets over the past two weeks carrying out phase two of improving the town’s appearance and visual impact, to make Celbridge an idyllic town centre for tourists and locals alike.
Integrated Services Programme Coordinator, Honor Griffin, said: “The Integrated Services Programme welcomes the continued support from Colourtrend, Kildare County Council and Deputy O’Rourke in rolling out the next phase of the village enhancement paint scheme. A Tourism and Heritage Forum was established by the ISP and in 2016 the Forum produced the ISP Tourism and Heritage Plan 2016—2020 ‘Celbridge, Gateway to Ireland’s Ancient East’. The village enhancement scheme is in line with objectives of the plan. The ISP looks forward to further collaboration with local businesses and the local authority.”
Colourtrend’s Colour Specialists have selected appealing colours for the town centre – Colourtrend’s home since 1953 – from greens to browns and neutrals to stone-creams, to make Celbridge a budding and attractive tourist destination. With rich history and notable buildings, from Castletown House to Colourtrend’s own old workhouse, it is no surprise that the ISP identified Celbridge as the ‘Gateway to Ireland’s Ancient East’. Colourtrend is confident that tourists to the destination will embrace the town’s new look.
The project highlights Celbridge town’s heritage and history and gives local businesses an opportunity to participate in an exciting plan benefitting Irish tourism.

Colourtrend’s Director of Sales and Marketing, Liam Holland, said: “Colourtrend are excited to bring the next phase of enhancing Celbridge town to fruition. We are proud to have such a heavy involvement in a plan that is focused around Ireland’s heritage, which Colourtrend takes inspiration from every day when selecting our colour palette. We agree with the ISP that a visually appealing village centre is a strong influencer in improving Celbridge economically as a result of this plan. Colourtrend is passionate about colour and finds inspiration in Ireland’s landscapes and communities, so we are excited to inject our home town with life and colour.”

The National Transport Authority have confirmed to me that all train fares from Kilcock will be reduced by 47%. This is a positive step for all public transport users, and something I have engaged with the NTA about over the last 12 months.

Already this year, I have helped secure additional early morning and evening Bus Eireann services for Kilcock service users, and I will continue to engage with the necessary bodies to ensure a regular, reliable & inclusive public transport service to attract more people and in turn make it a more efficient service for all users.