GPs open for new patients

The GP medical practices in Kilcullen are currently accepting new patients, both private and under the GMS scheme, writes Brian Byrne.

This is revealed in the final version of 'Kilcullen 2017 - A Community Plan for Development', which is based on the Community Survey commissioned by Kilcullen Community Action last autumn.

The Survey had found that there was a perception amongst some in the community that the GPs' lists were full and that they would have to go outside Kilcullen for medical treatment.

There are six GPs operating in Kilcullen, a number that is above that required by the Department of Health’s ‘Primary Care: A New Direction’ 2001 Strategy, which recommended a ratio of four GPs per 5,000 population. The Survey found that Kilcullen's current population is 6,111.


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'Roll up sleeves' on Plan, Kilcullen urged

Julie O'Donoghue, Clodagh Kavanagh, Kieran Forde, Orla O'Neill and Martin Heydon TD at the official launch of 'Kilcullen 2017' in Kilcullen Library.

People of Kilcullen must 'roll up their sleeves' and get stuck in to making sure the 'Kilcullen 2017'—A Community Plan for Development' is implemented, writes Brian Byrne.

That was emphasised by Martin Heydon TD, who launched the plan officially in Kilcullen Library yesterday. He described it as 'a real working document' with clear and discernible actions to achieve proper goals.

Complimenting Kilcullen Community Action, and all those involved in the Community Survey from which the Plan was evolved, Deputy Heydon said it wouldn't be worth anything if it was allowed to sit on a shelf.

And he said that a wider base of people in the community needed to get involved in moving forward the different elements of the Plan.

Key among these is the provision of a Primary Care Centre for the town, though he noted that current plans involved a public-private partnership scheme, and it was unclear when that might happen. "It is going to take a lot of work from this community to keep on the case with the HSE," Deputy Heydon added.

He believed the plans to link with Kildare Failte to explore tourism potential was a really good idea, and he suggested that the highly successful River Festival might find a way to work with 'The Gathering' plan for 2013.

The provision of the planned Community Childcare and Family Resource Centre would do much to enhance the lives of many of the younger and newer residents in the town, he said.

On the identified need for more Garda cover, he said that while local representives will fight for more resources, there were opportunities for the public to take a more active role in helping to keep the town safe. These include the piloted Emergency Response Initiative where the public aid the Garda in their role by reporting unusual or suspicious activity in a structured communication system. He noted the positive comments about the Garda members in the town, who operate in a very pro-active community manner.

Deputy Heydon said there is much in the report which should make people proud of Kilcullen. This includes a high level of community spirit and the large number of voluntary-run clubs and organisations in the town. The sense of pride in belonging for many residents, including those new to Kilcullen, was something which is often referred to in other towns and communities around the area.

"There can be no greater compliment to a town which has seen a 53 percent increase in population over ten years, that more than nine in ten feel they have made the right choice in living here," he said.

Deputy Heydon said KCA has done much for the town, and is a perfect example of what can happen when a few concerned active citizens get together with a common purpose. But too often the workload falls on too few, and it is now time to broaden the group, he suggested.

"We need to leverage on their experience and bring in new skills where necessary. It should be a very exciting time for people in the community who haven't been involved up to now. Take on a small role, nothing that's going to be a major burden. Roll up your sleeves, and become a part of a fantastic community if you're not part of it already. I'm happy to be part of this working group and I look forward to working with you over the coming months to implement what is in the Plan."

Also present at the event were local councillors Mark Wall and Ivan Keatley, Brian Kelly from the Kildare Leader Partnership which grant aided the study, and Siobhan Murphy and Anne Kearney from the HSE.

KCA chairman Kieran Forde thanked all who had been involved with the Survey and the Plan, which can be accessed in hard copy form in the Library, and is available for download here.


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Get involved in the Plan

The launch of Kilcullen 17—A Community Plan for Development this Monday afternoon in Kilcullen Library is not just another showing off of a publication that might end up dusty on a shelf, writes Brian Byrne. It is Kilcullen taking the initiative in showing powers-that-be that we are capable of making an input into our own destiny.

The Plan is the result of a Community Survey initiated by Kilcullen Community Development, and outlines what needs to be done to improve Kilcullen in a number of areas, especially health, tourism, and social infrastructure.

It will be launched at 4pm by our local TD, Martin Heydon. Representatives of those 'powers that be' have also been invited. And, of course, everybody in the community is also welcome to come along.

This is not a development plan imposed on us from the outside. It is us telling the outside what we want and need. But as a community and as individuals in it, we will also need to keep the pressure on, and work ourselves to ensure the implementation of the various elements of the Plan.

"For too long communities and individuals have complained that decision makers do not ask them what they want," says KCA chairman Kieran Forde. "This survey sets out detailed information on a broad range of issues important to Kilcullen. The survey is of little use unless effort and commitment is now put into the implementation of the needs and wishes outlined."

As Kieran says, we have had our say, now make it happen. "Get involved. Do not wait for 'them' to do it—'they' won’t."

A summary leaflet for the survey has been published and will be available to every household. It is included with this month's Bridge magazine, on sale now.


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Orla thanked for 'huge' work

Orla O'Neill was thanked by the membership of Kilcullen Community Action at their last meeting for the 'huge amount of work' she had done to progress the recent Community Survey, writes Brian Byrne.

The acknowledgment came after a long discussion on how best to organise the Implementation Group which is being formed to carry out the 'Kilcullen 2017' enterprise and community development plan which has derived from the Survey.

Eighteen people registered their interest in being involved in the implementation process after the recent public meeting which discussed the findings of the Survey.

The main thrusts of the 'Kilcullen 2017' plan, which is being launched officially in the Library on March 5, are in Enterprise, Tourism, Health and Community Development.

Although the implementation is not a specific KCA project, the tone of the discussion at the KCA meeting was that there would need to be some centralised structure to the Group which would keep KCA informed, and which would also coordinate the activities of the sub-groups acting on the main areas of the plan.

The meeting heard that Kilcullen Credit Union had offered facilities for meetings of those involved in the Implementation Group.


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Opinion: Make us proud

It is almost 11 years since I wrote an article on KildareNet News about the formation of Kilcullen Community Action, writes Brian Byrne. It was titled 'Kilcullen reinvents itself. Again. And again.'.

Since then, the town has changed considerably. Though a perusal of the article will show that many of the issues which pertained then are still issues of today. One might be forgiven for thinking that we haven't progressed.

But of course we have moved onwards. Considerably. In population, and in the number of homes. In infrastructure, with new enterprises, a playground, a significant memorial to our prehistoric past, and most recently in the streetscape improvements carried out to 'open up' the parkland behind the old Cross & Passion Convent wall. The official opening of the Parish Centre by President Mary McAleese was another highlight of these intervening years.

The effects and influences of the new people come to live in the town are also now being felt, as they and their children move into and through local organisations and schools. Their knowledge, skills, and aspirations will provide the lifes-blood of Kilcullen in its future.

Just now, an Implementation Group is looking at how best to progress the new Development Plan that has come out of the recent Community Survey commissioned by KCA. It seems that we have turned a circle from those days eleven years ago when the newly-formed KCA was even then considering a similar plan to move Kilcullen forward, albeit one not as detailed.

The ideal now is that enough new people will get involved in whatever aspects of the latest Development Plan they feel they can contribute to. Because this is a plan not for us older players on the Kilcullen stage, but for those who will be the community here when we are gone. Those who will be living here, involved in the social, leisure and business elements that will be tomorrow's Kilcullen.

My piece on KildareNet News—itself the very first local internet daily news service in Ireland—was not the first I have written about Kilcullen's hopes and fears over the more than three decades in which I have been a journalist here. But it did record one of the many watershed moments in our village-now-a-town's modern history.

Read it if you have an interest in seeing where we were hoping we might go next at that time. And maybe you might feel you can be part of the latest stage of the project for yourselves, your children and even their children.

I'm four generations here. Some of you are not yet a decade with us. But Kilcullen is not my town. Nor is it your town. It's our town. Let us all help to make it something we can be even more proud of.


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Working group for Development Plan

A short-term working group is to be set up to see how best to implement recommendations from the consultants who conducted the Community Survey in Kilcullen in the months before Christmas, writes Brian Byrne.

This was decided at last night's public meeting in the Town Hall where a presentation on the results of the survey was made by Susan Bookle of Burtenshaw Kenny Associates.

The recommendations were made under eight headings which included Health Services, Education and Training, Enterprise & Employment, and Culture, Heritage & Tourism.

Describing the results of the survey as a 'rich' source of information, Ms Bookle outlined the basic findings under each heading, then opened the floor to suggestions and questions. Some 60 people attended the meeting.

The Survey was commissioned by Kilcullen Community Action and supported by the Kildare Leader Partnership.

The results in detail will be published on the KCA website and will be made available in a number of other locations. The Survey report is in essence a Draft Development Plan for Kilcullen.

A number of issues will require fairly immediate direct action from the community, including the acquisition of a Primary Care Centre under the Health section, and getting involved in the Failte Kildare initiative to promote awareness of the county and individual attractions in it.

Among the findings in the Survey were many positive matters, including the high levels of community involvement in voluntary clubs and organisations, a high level of community spirit and sense of pride of belonging, and the attractive setting in an area of natural beauty.

Challenges include the fact that a number of services required for a town the size of Kilcullen are not in place, the impact of the recession on families, and the need for community groups to work collaboratively towards shared goals.

Suggesting the formation of a working group, KCA's Orla O'Neill said the organisation will give whatever support is needed to set up structures to implement the plan, but she emphasised that it would 'not be a KCA project'.

The Diary will be providing more detailed information on the Survey, the Development Plan, and the progress of the Implementation Group over the coming days and weeks.


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Community Survey launch: be there

Every now and again we get a chance to take a measure of control in our lives, writes Brian Byrne. To plan a little. To say what we think. To actually have a chance to have done something of what we would like or need. Even to take part in the doing of it.

Life isn't perfect, so such opportunities don't happen often. But tonight one will. At the launch of the Community Survey, arguably one of the most significant documents to have ever been published in Kilcullen.

We who live in Kilcullen are a mixed community, as in any small town. Young, middle and older in age. New residents alongside those here for one or many generations. From different backgrounds and with a multitude of different aspirations. With one commonality—we all want the best for our own lives and those we share our lives with.

A significant part of that 'best' in our lives is what it is like where we live. Is it a pleasant location? Does it have the kind of facilities we need? Is there education, employment, entertainment, essential services? Are our neighbours friends, or at least friendly? Do we have an input into how the community operates and develops?

That last is where it can get tricky. Too often the day to day maintenance and the future development of our communities are in the hands of others. Politicians, local authorities, national government, large commercial interests. Our lives and circumstances are often dictated by what these people and institutions want rather than them working to what the communities they serve need. We can't always criticise that, because much of the time they are reacting to piecemeal information from individuals, rather than being informed by a larger community view.

The Community Survey being launched tonight in the Town Hall is a most important document because it has been professionally done to establish a broad view of what we in Kilcullen feel about our town, its services, its future needs. It is a document which we should regard as a foundation stone for Kilcullen's future, and therefore for the lives of all of us here.

From this Survey we can discuss, plan and propose to those who make the larger decisions at county and regional level. We can be proactive instead of merely reacting to matters such as the County Kildare Development Plan in so far as it relates to our community and our town. We can, if we take the opportunity, become masters of at least parts of our destiny.

That's why there should be an attendance tonight that shows we want this. Kilcullen Community Action has provided the first step, by commissioning the document which will offer us—literally—a once in a lifetime opportunity.

It's a small ask. Instead of just complaining over a few pints in the pub, where the various problems of our situation still remain when the glass is empty, take a couple of hours to be part of a future for Kilcullen which will be beyond my time.

Among the comments from the Survey were those which said Kilcullen has good leaders, but more are needed. Everyone who comes along tonight, even if all they do is listen and absorb, are Kilcullen's future leaders.

Be among them.


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Kilcullen's young people 'are optimistic'

Almost two-thirds of Kilcullen's young people are optimistic about their future employment prospects, writes Brian Byrne, according to the results of the Youth Section of the recently completed Community Survey in the town. Four in ten said they were 'positive' on the survey, while nearly 19 percent described themselves as 'Very Positive'.

The survey was commissioned and organised by Kilcullen Community Action and it will be officially published and discussed at a public meeting on Tuesday night. The Youth Section was conducted online, while adults were interviewed in door-to-door visits.

Four in five of the youth respondents said they planned to go to third level education when they leave second level, though even more might eventually decide to do so as 12 percent of the respondents defined their position as 'Don't Know'.

In terms of involvement in sports and other activities, a quarter reported that they participated in music, dance or drama, mostly in the Kilcullen area itself. This was slightly more than those involved in GAA at 23.5 percent, while soccer, cycling, canoeing and tennis or badminton were also significantly popular.

According to the results of the survey, which was conducted under the management of specialists Burtenshaw Kenny Associates, with support from the Kildare Leader Partnership, the young people would like to have additional facilities including a swimming pool, glee club, a horse riding club and a cinema.

A public meeting will be held to discuss the findings of the recently completed Community Survey, on Tuesday January 31 at 8pm in the Town Hall.

KCA's Orla O'Neill says the survey has thrown up many ideas and pathways for Kilcullen, particularly in terms of potential tourism opportunities.



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More Garda opening times needed

Half of Kilcullen residents don't think the current level of service from Kilcullen Garda Station meets their expectations, writes Brian Byrne. But four in ten do, according to the recently completed Kilcullen Community Survey.

The primary criticism was that the opening times are insufficient, with residents having to go to Naas or Newbridge to contact a Garda.

The response level to the related questions in the Survey for this service were numerically the highest in the section on Satisfaction with Local Services.

Almost 43 percent of respondents said the service meets their expectations, with 5.2 percent saying it exceeds their requirements.

Comments included appreciation for the prompt response of local Garda to break-in reports, while among the suggestions was a wish that there was more Garda patrolling around town after dark.

The Community Survey, commissioned by Kilcullen Community Action, will be officially launched and discussed at a public meeting in the Town Hall next Tuesday, 31 January, from 8pm. KCA has appealed for a full attendance, and the results of the Survey could provide the chance for a strong local influence on how the town develops.


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Young people involved in local groups

Young people in Kilcullen are strongly involved in a variety of clubs and groups, according to the preliminary results from the recent Community Survey, writes Brian Byrne.

The full results will be released at a public meeting organised by Kilcullen Community Action for Tuesday January 31, at 8pm in the Town Hall.

Almost a quarter of respondents to the youth section of the survey said they were involved in music, dance or drama in the town. A slightly smaller number of those who responded said they were involved with the GAA.

The next most popular sports and activities after that are soccer (10.6%), cycling/canoeing (10.6%) and tennis/badminton (8.2%).

In terms of ideas about other sporting and leisure activities that are needed for Kilcullen, a significant number expressed interest in a swimming pool for Kilcullen. There was also general interest in basketball and horse riding.

Ideas for sports and youth groups in Kilcullen included a suggestion that groups advertise more. Others called for more activities or for fundraising events to increase awareness.

The survey was commissioned by KCA with the support of the Kildare Leader Partnership. KCA hopes that publication of the report will result in a strong local dialogue about how the future development of the town can be optimised.


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Shopping habits shown in survey

The influence of the major multiple chain food stores on shopping habits is shown by a finding that less than one in ten Kilcullen homes do most of their grocery shopping in the town, writes Brian Byrne.

This is one of the items thrown up by the Kilcullen Community Survey, which will be launched and discussed at a public meeting on January 31.

Just 8.7 percent of respondents said they do most of their grocery shopping in the town, while a third reported that they do most such shopping outside Kilcullen. Just over half said they did such shopping in a 'mix' of locations.

The results suggest that most people think there is a very good range of shops in the town, as well as of pubs and restaurants, though they are concerned about the cost of using them.

The survey was commissioned by Kilcullen Community Action, and has amassed a wealth of detail about the town and the views of its residents under such headings as Local Amenities and Services​, Local Community Involvement, Environment and Transport​, ​Recession & Unemployment​, and Hopes & Fears​.

KCA hopes that a full attendance at the public meeting will begin a major community discussion on how the future of Kilcullen can best be shaped.



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