Kerry County Council has published an Economic Recovery Plan to help support and guide the county through the challenges of the next phase of the COVID-19 pandemic.

It's hoped the plan, a multi-stakeholder response to the impact that COVID-19 has had, will help stimulate and support economic recovery and activity in the county.

The Economic Recovery Plan addresses the need to build resilience and diversification into Kerry’s economy to respond to the additional challenges and opportunities faced by businesses in the county, including in the post-Brexit and post-COVID-19 environment, the transition to climate neutrality, the transition to a digital economy and the opportunities presented by remote or blended working.

It is a comprehensive plan with some 189 actions. Among its key objectives/targets are to rollout a significant programme to support the reopening of business in the county from targeted campaigns promoting Kerry as a leading destination for business, tourism, investment, and study to investments in outdoor dining and performance spaces throughout the county, to deliver energy efficiency retrofitting upgrades to local authority housing stock, and public lighting, as well as the continued ‘greening’ of public buildings, to provide resilience to the impacts of climate change, for example, through the development and implementation of a Climate Action Plan, to support local enterprises in the areas of research, technology and green innovations that work towards a carbon-neutral circular economy.

GREEN TOURISM

It also includes plans to work in partnership with key stakeholders to retain, promote, and drive Kerry’s position as a premier international tourism destination, with a focus on developing green and sustainable tourism, to deliver green tourism infrastructure in the county, including greenways, walkways and the implementation of new and existing Visitor Destination Development Plans, and to support businesses on their digital journey and deliver research, upskilling and reskilling to match new opportunities in this space.

The continued rollout of the National Broadband Plan will also be supported as well as facilitating the remote working infrastructure throughout the county.

Launching the report, Chief Executive of Kerry County Council, Moira Murrell said:

"It is a short-medium term economic recovery plan which includes immediate COVID-19 targeted response measures and medium to longer term economic recovery measures, intended to support, stimulate and strengthen our economy and aligned with national and regional policy. The actions and investment proposed under the 10 pillars are designed to stimulate vibrancy in our towns and villages, support the sustainable growth of our key economic sectors and the future-proofing of our economy and environment."

To read more about the plan go to www.kerrycoco.ie/new-189-point-action-plan-to-support-economic-recovery-in-kerry/.