Deenihan: Kerry getting ‘very little attention’ in NDP
Some long-awaited works in the county, including a proposed €180 million road between Killarney and Farranfore, have already been long-fingered because of the Government emphasis on funding major projects in Dublin and the east coast.
Under the NDP, Tralee and Killarney are twinned as “hub” towns — a lesser status which puts the towns well below the nine regional “gateways” to be targeted for increased investment. These include the cities of Cork and Limerick.
But a strong pitch will be made in Kerry for a slice of the €96.5m set aside for the six regional airports. Kerry Airport is drafting a plan for a €20m expansion to cater for increasing passenger numbers. Last year, the airport had 400,000 passengers and is expected to hit the one million mark by 2011.
Pressure will be put on Government TDs in the county, including Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism John O’Donoghue, to secure some of this money for Kerry Airport.
With Kerry becoming ever more reliant on tourism and construction for employment, there will also be extra pressure for more investment in manufacturing.
Kerry has suffered a major drain in industrial jobs in recent years — more than 1,000 in Killarney alone — and has been failing to attract replacement industries.
Kerry North FG TD Jimmy Deenihan yesterday called on Kerry County Council to set up a representative group to monitor whether Kerry gets its fair share of the NDP.
He claimed Kerry was being largely ignored in the plan. “The major emphasis on areas outside of Dublin is on the gateway centres, with hubs such as Tralee and Killarney getting very little attention,” he maintained.
However, FF TD Tom McEllistrim said it was significant that Tralee and Killarney were twinned as a hub. The challenge, he believed, was to generate a level of economic activity in both towns and surrounding areas to support more jobs and inward investment.
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