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EXCLUSIVE

By Sean Moriarty

Kerry TD Michael Healy-Rae has made representations to central Government regarding the next step in the ongoing Killarney bypass delay.

The Deputy believes the time is right for the Government to invest in large-scale capital projects like the long awaited Killarney relief road.

Last week, the Killarney Advertiser ran an in-depth feature on how the bypass project in Killarney is lagging behind compared to other major road plans in the region.

As reported last week, both the Listowel and Macroom bypass projects are under construction while in County Limerick, both the Adare and Abbeyfeale relief road are at advanced planning stages.

The Killarney bypass, first mooted in 2004, has been on the long finger since the economic crash of 2009.

A Killarney Advertiser campaign is calling for the project to be fast-tracked and Deputy Healy-Rae picked up on this after reading last week’s issue.

As the country comes to terms with the economic fallout of the pandemic Healy-Rae has called on central Government to invest in major projects like the Killarney bypass.

“The bypass for the bypass as I call it - we need this more than ever. Rather than a programme for unemployment, nobody wants handouts. The Government needs to invest in major capital problems like this,” he told the Killarney Advertiser. “I brought this issue straight into the heart of central Government. We won’t be doing a whole pile of listening to the Greens, they would have us all on bicycles if they had their way. We need our cars, it is a price we have to pay by living in the countryside. The time is right, contractors are ready to work, they will offer favourable rates and we need these roads and we need to get people moving.”