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LAWLESS CALLS FOR RATIFICATION OF DISABILITIES CONVENTION

James Lawless TD has called on the Minister for Health to ratify the UN Convention of Rights for People with Disabilities

Currently Ireland is the only European country to have not ratified the convention.

“I had the pleasure of meeting a most amazing, passionate and articulate young woman last week, Niamh Herbert from Sallins, who attended the House with me to request Members of the House to advance the passing of this Bill as expeditiously as possible and, indeed, to ratify the convention. Niamh is a student in Trinity College Dublin and she represents herself, the students’ union in the college and a group called Disability and I”. Continue reading “LAWLESS CALLS FOR RATIFICATION OF DISABILITIES CONVENTION”

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LAWLESS PRESSES FOR REFURBISHMENT OF VACANT UNITS

James Lawless TD has said that the Government needs to prioritise refurbishing vacant units to boost the supply of available accommodation to help tackle the homeless crisis in Kildare

The publication of latest available figures which reveal a 50% increase in the number of people who are homeless between December 2015 and December 2016. There are currently 4,643 adults registered as homeless along with 1,205 homeless families including 2,505 children.

Kildare is one of the highest county’s in the East on the list, excluding Dublin, with 107 people presenting as homeless in the week before Christmas Continue reading “LAWLESS PRESSES FOR REFURBISHMENT OF VACANT UNITS”

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O’ROURKE : RURAL ACTION PLAN MUST BENEFIT RURAL KILDARE

The Government‘s recently announced  action plan for Rural Ireland must benefit the people and the communities from rural parts of Kildare, according to Frank O Rourke TD

“I welcome the Government’s announcement and its action plan for rural Ireland. Any walk around towns in rural Kildare, such as Johnstownbridge, Kilcock, Newtown, Derrinturn and Prosperous shows how they would benefit from the action plan announced.” Continue reading “O’ROURKE : RURAL ACTION PLAN MUST BENEFIT RURAL KILDARE”

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LAWLESS WELCOMES NEW RENT PRESSURE ZONES IN KILDARE

James Lawless TD has welcomed the extension of Rent Pressure Zones to large towns in North-East Kildare

“When this scheme was first proposed in December Fianna Fáil were supportive in theory however we did feel it was essential the Greater Dublin area and other urban zones should be covered. In particular I advocated strongly for Kildare North given the massive housing and rental crisis the constituency faces” said Deputy Lawless.

“I am pleased that the pressure has led to these towns now being included as Naas, Sallins, Celbridge and Leixlip are all now certainly experiencing serious rental pressures – all major commuter towns also. However I am disappointed at the omission of Maynooth, Clane and Kill and will continue to make the case for these. Clane in particular has experienced major rent increases in recent years and Maynooth has the added complication of the student demand each autumn.”

“This is a necessary and welcome extension of the rent pressure scheme but ultimately supply side measures are the only way to solve the housing and rental crisis. We need new homes, both social and private, we need lots of them and we need them as soon as possible”

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LAWLESS PRESSES FOR ACTION ON BROADBAND

Despite the recent publication of the Report of the Mobile Phone and Broadband Taskforce, communities in Kildare will still have to wait until 2023 at the earliest to access high quality broadband services

James Lawless TD commented, “This is simply not good enough from the Government. The report suggests a number of initiatives which I believe are window dressing. There is no need to undergo another mapping exercise to see where there are mobile broadband blackspots. The mobile phone operators know exactly where coverage is poor. In my own constituency I have worked on improving high speed broadband services in North West Kildare, Kill and Eadestown. Meeting with Eir, Imagine and other providers I have informed them of these blackspots and will continue to bring these to their attention.” Continue reading “LAWLESS PRESSES FOR ACTION ON BROADBAND”