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By Michelle Crean

Killarney town is to implement a 'Safe Streets and Safe Destination Programmes' mobility plan as part of a major new countywide campaign to ensure that Kerry is a safe place to visit and stay as COVID-19 restrictions continue to be phased out over the coming weeks.

The goal is to make Kerry the safest and cleanest of destinations to visit and stay in and at a Killarney MD meeting yesterday (Thursday) at 2pm in Killarney Sports and Leisure Centre Town Manager Angela McAllen said that "all measures are temporary during what is still a pandemic".

The COVID-19 crisis has resulted in restrictions which have understandably created numerous challenges for retailers and businesses locally.

Kerry County Council is putting the measures in place to make town centres safe and welcoming for shoppers, local residents and staff, to support the wider return to commercial and economic activity as soon as possible.

Hub towns which include Killarney and Tralee, regional towns with significant commercial activity have been examined, so too have 14 district towns, whilst villages will be examined having regard to any site-specific risks, such as tourist attractions, which may have a significant footfall.

In Killarney, measures being put in place by the Council include a footpath width of approximately 2.5m to facilitate social distancing where there is a high level of footfall, significant level of vehicular traffic flow and increased potential for close contact.

Proposed interventions include signage and stencilling as appropriate in many areas, Plunkett St is to close full-time from July 8 to September 2, while parking on High St was a big concern at the meeting as it was proposed to remove a number of parking spaces and widen footpaths.

"We need to help business every way we can," Cllr Donal Grady said at the meeting. "A lot of people, as many as 25 percent, won't open their doors I am hearing. We are in deep deep trouble. We are totally dependent on tourism."

Niall 'Botty' O’Callaghan very passionately said that what is needed is “positivity”.

“We need to send out the message Killarney is the best value for money town in all of Europe. We are spoilt in this town for value, this is the best town in the world, with the most beautiful National Park. "Shop with your feet not with your finger," he said of need to counter online shopping.

As part of the ‘Safe Destination Programme’, which will ensure that those who begin to visit and holiday in Kerry again can do so in the knowledge that it is a safe place to visit and stay, there'll be a bespoke training programme for tourism and retail and a tourism marketing campaign to promote staycations in Kerry.

The bespoke training programme for staff in the tourism and retail industries in the county has been rolled out by Kerry County Council and the Kerry Education and Training Board (ETB). Over two thousand employees have already signed up for the training. It aims to ensure that Kerry tourism and retail staff are trained in infection prevention, hygiene and cleanliness and dealing with customers in the new environment to the highest international standards as they reopen for business.

Business premises whose staff have completed the suite of training courses will receive the ‘Safe Destination’ badge.

Chief Executive of Kerry County Council, Moira Murrell said that Kerry had always been an exemplar in tourism and was now meeting the challenge posed by the new and evolving restrictions to ensure Kerry can welcome visitors back to county with the firm reassurance that is it safe to do so.

"We want to reassure our visitors that they are safe in Kerry. We know that the tourism industry in Kerry is more impacted than any other in Ireland so that is why we are working to position the county to welcome visitors back to a destination which will implement and observe the highest standards of safety to restrict the spread of the coronavirus," she said.