The new local election boundaries for Kildare were announced on Tuesday. The map bears a pretty striking resemblance to my submission, which is nice.
The highlights are the amalgamation of Leixlip and Celbridge, with the liberated seat wending its way down to Athy, along with some knock-on redrawing of boundaries.
The net result for those of us interested in South Kildare is that the Kildare LEA retains its six seats, and gains some territory from Clane (the DEDs of Lullymore, Kilmeague North and Kilmeague South), and loses some to Athy (Ballybrackan, Harristown, Nurney, and part of Kilcullen). Athy also gains a number of new areas from Naas (Ballymore Eustace, Gilltown and Kilcullen).
One interesting potential outcome is that Athgarvan could move into the Naas area due to the direction that those parts of Droichead Nua (Rural) east of the M7 will find themselves in the Naas district.
Politically, the redraw raises some interesting outcomes. In the Allenwood area, strong pressure was put on for the Kilmeague North DED to remain in Clane. That outcome would have suited Cllr Darragh Fitzpatrick of FF, as this is an area his father, Michael Fitzpatrick TD, represented for a long time. However it now moves south.
Cllr Billy Hillis’s area moves into the new 4-seat Athy area, leaving Billy well placed to take one of the four seats in the new LEA. That opens an FG seat in Naas for Cllr Darren Scully, who should get in if he attracts even a fraction of his general election vote.
The movement of Nurney into Athy also increases the chances of a Labour gain, but probably for an Athy-based candidate. This means that the last two spots in Athy could come down to a battle between the three sitting councillors: Dalton and Miley (FF), and Hendy (FG).
The changes to the Kildare area also throw up some interesting possibilities. With Cllr Francie Browne moving into the Athy area, Labour will not have an incumbent going into the 2009 vote. FG will also be going with a new slate of candidates, while FF will probably come back to the electorate with their three sitting reps – although there are no guarantees that they will return the same three next year.
The contest will also be an interesting foretaste for the next generals with FG looking for new standard bearers, and a potential successor to Jack Wall emerging from the mix.
For another perspective on this, check out James Lawless’s views.
