Connect with us

News

Widespread anger as Kilcummin Sewerage Scheme delayed again

Published

on

&

 

By Sean Moriarty

 

There’s anger in Kilcummin this week after Irish Water announced that it’s to delay plans for the €2.3m sewerage scheme until 2022.

Residents are waiting the best part of 20 years for a sewage scheme in the their area. However, Kerry County Council say they are going to press ahead with €360,000  worth of repairs of the main regional road between Killarney and Kilcummin and charge Irish Water for any future costs in restoring the roads after the sewerage work is done.

The announcement was made during Wednesday’s Killarney’s Municipal District meeting after Council officials revealed that Irish Water had back-tracked on a previous promise to start works on the much overdue scheme.

The Council were holding back on road repairs and resurfacing works in the area as “doing a road to dig it up again is not the way to do business”.

The Council was told at a previous meeting with Irish Water in January that the works would start this year, but a letter read out at this week’s Council meeting confirmed that the scheme will be further delayed until at least 2022.

At several previous meetings, elected members were divided over issues regarding the various works that need to be carried out in Kilcummin. Some councillors were calling for an immediate start to the road improvement works but others argued that it was pointless resurfacing roads in the area when Irish Water would dig them up again to facilitate the scheme.

However, they were united on Wednesday when the letter was read out and expressed their disgust at the way Irish Water was treating residents of the local area.

Mayor Michael Gleeson said that Irish Water was no longer “worthy of our respect”, while Cllr Niall ‘Botty’ O’Callaghan labelled Irish Water as “liars”.

“It is a complete betrayal,” said Cllr Brendan Cronin.

 

Cllr Marie Moloney, who lives in Kilcummin said: “Everytime this is kicked down the road, one month ago they give us a completely different time line”.

 

Cllr Donal Grady defended colleagues who had now changed their minds.

 

“In fairness, fellow councillors did not know what they now know, they did not expect what we got today,” he told the meeting. “Let’s get together and get this road done”.

 

Senior County Council engineer John Breen said the road repairs will now become a priority and that he would have no hesitation in cross charging Irish Water for future restoration works in the area.

 

“Everything the councillors have said, I have expressed to Irish Water,” he told the meeting. “We will proceed with the road and any additional costs will have to be borne by Irish Water.”

 

 

Advertisement

News

Contactless payments launched on Local Link services

Published

on

By

Passengers using TFI Local Link Kerry services in Killarney and across the county can now pay for their journeys using contactless card payments.

The National Transport Authority (NTA) confirmed the rollout this week, allowing commuters to simply tap their debit card, credit card, or mobile devices, such as Apple Pay and Google Pa, when boarding.

The move is designed to offer more convenience for those using high-frequency rural and regional routes.

In Killarney, the new payment option will be available on the TFI Anseo town services, which have seen a significant increase in passenger numbers since their introduction.

The contactless system is currently available for single journey fares, while those using daily or weekly passes can continue to use the Leap website or the TFI Leap Top Up App.
Alan O’Connell, General Manager of TFI Local Link Kerry, welcomed the modernisation of the fleet.

“The introduction of contactless payments is another welcome step forward for public transport in Kerry,” he said. “It complements other major projects in the county, including the expansion of TFI Local Link services and the delivery of TFI Anseo in Killarney, which is proving to be another great initiative.”

While the new technology offers a modern alternative, traditional payment methods are not being phased out. Cash payments, TFI Leap cards, and Free Travel Cards all remains fully valid across the network.

Continue Reading

News

How will our Kerry TDs vote tomorrow?

Published

on

By

Tomorrow, Sinn Féin will be tabling a motion of no confidence against the Government after the protests that took place nationwide during the week.

Earlier today we asked our readers how would they vote in a no confidence motion against the Government?

Most of our readers said they would vote no confidence, while some said, yes they do have confidence in the Government.

One reader said: “Vote confidence. The only proper leadership over the last few days came from government. Courage came when needed despite how unpopular it looked in the moment. By contrast, opposition politicians wanted the country to burn to suit themselves”.

Another reader stated: “No confidence. Shambolic and heavy handed handling of protests this past week”.

However, some people didn’t have any confidence in either side with a reader saying: “No confidence in the no confidence! Different wings of the same bird! We need a complete overhaul of the political system”.

We asked the question to our 5 Kerry TDs before lunch-time today, asking them what their vote will be tomorrow.

We received one reply from Sinn Féin’s Kerry TD Pa Daly.

He will be voting no confidence in the Government tomorrow along with his party.

Other media outlets are reporting that Independent TD Danny Healy-Rae is undecided at the moment.

Continue Reading

Last News

Sport