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WARNING: Irish Water have been warned to restore the road to an 'as new' condition when it eventually tackles the long-awaited Kilcummin Sewage Scheme.

EXCLUSIVE

By Sean Moriarty

Locals in Kilcummin fear that their new and long-awaited road will be ripped up again when Irish Water complete the much-awaited Kilcummin Sewage Scheme.

Earlier this year Irish Water reneged on a long-term promise to deliver the scheme and announced that it’s to delay plans for the €2.3m sewerage scheme until at least 2022.

Residents are waiting the best part of 20 years for the scheme and Irish Water had previously committed to starting the project in January of this year.

The reversal of this decision, which was relayed to the elected members of Killarney Municipal District in March, caused widespread anger.

Previously, the issue divided the members, some wanted to press ahead with a badly needed €360,000 road repair project but others were calling for the road works to be delayed to allow Irish Water complete the scheme and avoid further restoration costs.

The March bombshell united the chamber and they voted, unanimously, to press ahead with the roadworks and cross charge Irish Water for the subsequent repairs once the water body completed its programme of works.

However, with the road works completed this week, which has been welcomed by residents and businesses in the area, they remain concerned that the new road will be ripped up again when the sewage scheme goes ahead in two years’ time – assuming Irish Water does not change its plans again.

Local Labour councillor Marie Moloney is calling for Kerry County Council’s executive to ensure Irish Water leave the new road exactly how they found it. It is likely that the restoration works will add to the cost of the already much-delayed scheme.

“I have sought assurances from the [Kerry County Council’s] director of services that the road will be left as Irish Water get it,” Cllr Moloney told the Killarney Advertiser. “We won’t be accepting patchwork.”

As well as road surfacing and drainage works along the Coolcorcoran to Inchicullane stretch, additional works were completed at a concealed junction along the way. Each of the elected members of the Killarney Municipal District contributed to this work from their personal allocation.