Kildare County Council explains delay behind delivery of long-anticipated fire station

Kildare County Council (KCC) has explained what is causing the delay behind the delivery of a long-anticipated fire station in Monasterevin.

The update follows after it was reported last month that KCC had reached an agreement in principle to convert one area located within the grounds of Moore Abbey into the new station.

And now, at the latest Kildare-Newbridge Municipal District meeting, which took place on Wednesday, March 18 last, Sinn Féin councillor Noel Connolly asked KCC to "outline an expected timeline for the provision of a new fire station in Monasterevin".

He also asked KCC about its overall plans for the current site.

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'HOPEFUL'

In response to his queries, KCC presented a report to him which was authored by the Acting Chief Fire Officer, Niall O'Riordan.

The report read as follows: "As advised in a response to a previous question from Cllr Connolly, we have written to the National Directorate for Fire and Emergency Management requesting to be considered for inclusion on the next round of capital funding, and are very hopeful of a positive outcome in this regard."

Mr O'Riordan added:  "The timeline for delivery of the new station is dependent upon the release of those funds; however, we can say that from the experience gained from the delivery of the new fire station at Maynooth, we can expect a timeline of approximately two years between the request for tenders for building contractors being published and the delivery of the finished project."

Lastly, regarding the future use of the current fire station building / site at Monasterevin, Mr O'Riordan said that this would be "a matter for consideration by the management team".

Following this, Cllr Connolly said that he had one more question for him: "Where exactly will the new entrance be?"

Mr O'Riordan replied: "It will be near 'The Ranch' area, although I'm not sure of this exact location [yet]."

Sinn Féin Cllr Noel Connolly. File photograph

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