Fianna Fáil TD for Carlow – Kilkenny Bobby Aylward has sought confirmation from Taoiseach Leo Varadkar that there will be no change to the administrative boundary between counties Waterford and Kilkenny.

Deputy Aylward made the comments earlier this week in the Dáil.

“It is expected that the Kilkenny / Waterford boundary issue will resurface in the National Planning Framework and many of the public representatives and people from the communities that could be affected have expressed dismay that the issue is still on the table,” explained Deputy Aylward.

“Will the Taoiseach confirm that there will be no change to the administrative boundary between counties Waterford and Kilkenny and put this issue to bed, once and for all? A former Minister already ruled out a boundary extension. Will the Taoiseach confirm that there will be no administrative border extensions between Kilkenny and Waterford? It is time this was put to bed.

“We have unlimited potential for growth on both sides of the boundary and we need to tap into that through cohesive work at local Government level. The people of Kilkenny and Waterford can benefit greatly from additional jobs in the tourism and retail sectors in particular. I am hopeful that we can finally put this very contentious issue behind us as quickly as possible and then public representatives on both sides of the boundary can now renew our focus on working together to ensure that both counties prosper and thrive through collaboration and cooperation.

“This issue crops up every ten years or so and it is very unfair on the people living in the affected communities who become worried that they could be effectively forced out of their own county. No one should have to live with that uncertainty about their future and I hope we don’t see any similar proposals in the future. We can make a positive difference for people by working together, not by changing our county and administrative borders”, concluded Deputy Aylward.