Call to repair potholed Kerry roads

The road network in Kerry is disintegrating, a special meeting of Kerry County Council heard yesterday.

Moreover, the bad weather of recent months has had a detrimental effect on communities when it comes to access.

Pothole candidates in this year’s local elections are no longer confined to the drumlin country of Cavan and are likely in Kerry “so serious is the issue”, said Killarney Cllr Michael Gleeson (Ind).

He called for a return to the schemes of the 1950s under which local people would be employed to clear ponding and maintain drains.

Other councillors also called for regular basic maintenance work to be carried out by “men with shovels” to resolve ponding.

Cllr Anne McEllistrim said road taxpayers were growing more and more resentful in rural areas,.

Cllr Danny Healy-Rae said: “People are entitled to a road to their door the same as people in Dublin who have Darts and buses and every kind of transport service.”

Only €27 million is available for roads in Kerry this year, down from €40.6 million last year.

Most of the funding for roads comes from the National Roads Authority or the Department of Transport, with only 17 per cent coming from the council’s own resources.