Public consultation for this Kildare town 'is long overdue'
By Ciarán Mather · Leinster Leader · 20 May 2026

The comments were made by a local councillor
By Ciarán Mather Published 20th May 2026, 14:30 BST Updated 20th May 2026, 14:30 BST The matter was discussed at a recent Kildare County Council meeting. Pictured above is the official headquarters of Kildare County Council, Áras Chill Dara, which is located in Naas | FILE PHOTO The comments were made by a local councillor Sign up to our Kildare Live newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know you can manage your profile, and explore all of the available newsletters from Kildare Live within your account.
Public consultation for one County Kildare town 'is long overdue'.
The claim was made by Fianna Fáil councillor Brian O’Loughlin at the latest Kildare-Newbridge Municipal District meeting, which took place on Wednesday, May 20.
Fianna Fáil Cllr Brian O'Loughlin | Photograph credit: kildarecoco.ie The conversation initially arose when he submitted the following question to Kildare County Council (KCC): “Can KCC provide an update on when Public Realm expect to begin the Rathangan public consultation process which is now overdue?”
In response to this motion, KCC said via the report it presented at the meeting: “The project is currently on hold due to resource constraints within the Strategic Projects and Public Realm team. The Town Renewal Masterplan (TRMP) cannot be completed or brought forward for consultation until adequate resources are available to allow the project to be responsibly progressed.”
KCC also told Cllr O’Loughlin: “We will continue to monitor resourcing capacity, and once sufficient resources are in place to complete the TRMP to the required standard, a further update can be provided in respect of the timing of public consultation.”
Speaking further on the matter, Cllr O’Loughlin said that while he ‘understood the limitations’, he emphasised to KCC that he would ‘really appreciate it’ if the consultation could be ‘pushed ahead’.
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Related topics: Kildare County Council Kildare Rathangan Sign up to our Kildare Live newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know you can manage your profile, and explore all of the available newsletters from Kildare Live within your account.
Reporting by Ciarán Mather for Leinster Leader, funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme. Republished by News Room under the scheme’s reuse permission.
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