Poor roads linked to cut funds in Kerry

A 54% drop in funding for regional and local roads in Kerry since 2008 has lead to a significant deterioration in conditions, senior county council management has warned.

Tue, 28 Apr, 2015 - 01:00

Donal Hickey

The loss of special grants for roads in Tralee, Killarney and Listowel following the abolition of town councils last year will also have serious implications, council chief executive Moira Murrell advised.

Fourteen deaths on Kerry roads last year was the highest recorded in five years.

Complaints about potholes, poor road surfaces and lack of maintenance work over many years, as well as calls for safety measures following a worrying increase in road crash deaths in the county, were discussed at yesterday’s meeting

Ms Murrell said road funding for 2015 amounted to €33m but there was a continuous decline in funding for regional and local roads, which added to the challenges faced by the council in maintaining the existing network.

“Failure to increase funding for the maintenance and improvement of the non-national road network will result in significant deterioration of the network within a relatively short timeframe,” she said.

Fianna Fáil councillor Niall Kelleher said problems with lags on roads had worsened in recent years, while the council also needed to charge landowners for cutting their hedges. “We’re expected to do a lot more work with a lot less money,” he said.

The need for a review of speed limits was emphasised by South Kerry Independent Alliance councillor Michael Gleeson who said many roads had 80km/h limits but were not suitable for such speeds.

He also said there was an urgency about improving access roads to Kerry through Mitchelstown, Adare and Macroom.