Only six months to spend €100,000

A €100,000 grant to be spent on the bridge in Kilcullen has been provided to Kildare County Council — but it has to be spent before the end of December.

This news surfaced at the recent meeting of KCA, when Noel Clare gave an update on his inquiries about the grant, which was allocated in tandem with the Town Renewal Scheme some years ago.

At a previous meeting, Noel had revealed the existence of the grant, which was to be in this year's KCC budget. The matter had come to light when he queried the DoE about it.



He told the recent meeting that he had spoken with Kildare Mayor Billy Hillis, who said he would progress the matter further and would 'come back' to KCA to liaise about designs and plans.

J J Warren wondered if the Council would be able to 'deliver' on the work in the time frame, and also expressed concern that much of the money could disappear in design costs. But Noel Clare said he had been assured by Billy Hillis that there would be no design costs.

Esther Kiely said she hoped that 'they don't just lash something together' so that they could spend the money by December.

Following a discussion about the footpaths, railings and lighting on the bridge, Siobhan Tutty Bardon said she would contact Billy Hillis again to check up on the grant project, and other matters which had been put to the Mayor at a recent meeting with members of KCA.

— Brian Byrne.