Main Kerry towns ‘should be jointly promoted’

TRALEE and Killarney, with a combined population of more than 50,000, should be promoted jointly for investment, a business leader urged yesterday.

The two principal Kerry towns are 18 miles apart and, with Kerry Airport located strategically between them, are seen to have better prospects if promoted as a linked development hub, according to Irish Business and Employers’ Confederation (IBEC) regional director Chris O’Donovan.

A lack of industrial investment is a major concern and there were 539 redundancies in Kerry last year.

“There hasn’t been any foreign direct investment in Kerry for a number of years. An injection of jobs is needed,” Mr O’Donovan said.

Tourism accounts for a third of all jobs in the county, while up to 6,000 people are engaged in construction.

Tralee Fine Gael councillor Pat McCarthy said people were very worried about the absence of inward industrial investment.

“We’ve had no new sources of employment for a very long time. Many people are employed in construction, but that will peak at some time.

“When jobs decline in construction, there will be obvious consequences for the overall employment situation in Kerry, about which some people are very, very worried.”

In a presentation to Kerry County Council, Chris O’Donovan said a survey of Kerry IBEC members showed that 88% regarded roads as a top priority, 62% saw the airport as a major asset and 54% highlighted the need for improved telecommunications.

Mr O’Donovan called for action to tackle policies that were hampering business and job-creation.

He said Kerry had one of the highest levels of commercial rates in the country - 54% more than Kilkenny, for instance.

Mr O’Donovan said rates were seen by some business people as a stealth tax and many businesses were hard pressed to pay them.

“We’re also calling for a five-year rates discount scheme for new businesses,” he said.

In relation to tourism, he called for improvements in signposting and for a specific allocation for improving the Ring of Kerry road.

Kerry County Manager Martin Riordan said a hub implementation group had already been set up to help develop the Tralee/Killarney corridor as a linked hub under the National Spatial Strategy.