A round-up of today's regional news stories in brief
Tourists to Kerry will be so busy dodging potholes 'they will miss the scenery'
After the damage caused by snow, heavy rain and floods, tourists on Kerry’s damaged roads would be so taken up this year dodging potholes “they will miss the scenery”, a special county council meeting was told.The council’s 2010 roads programme outlined how many of the secondary roads in the county were severely damaged. These included some of Ireland’s most famous tourist routes, including the Ring of Kerry and the Slea Head drive.
However, the meeting heard funding this year was again inadequate, and some roads and old stone bridges were barely passable.
Chairman of the meeting, Arthur Spring (Labour), said: “It has to be a bad year for any tourist and a bad year for safety. . .Tourists will be watching the road instead of looking at the scenery.”
Sinn Féin’s Robert Beasley said some minor roads were “like the dirt tracks of Kabul”.
Cancer group calls on HSE to fund bus
A cancer support group in Kerry is calling on the HSE to help finance a bus service which ferries patients to the cancer centre of excellence in Cork University Hospital five days a week.
The 51-seater bus collects patients from around the county. It is funded totally from the fundraising efforts of the Kerry Cancer Support Group, and from businesses and passenger donations.
A spokesman said the HSE spent up to €800 a week on taxis for patients in some cases, while the bus was much more cost-effective.
Mr World back in his Limerick home
The new Mr World yesterday arrived home in Limerick to a hero’s welcome from his biggest fan, his mother Roma.
Limerick man Kamal Ibrahim was crowned Mr World at the male beauty pageant in Korea on Saturday.
Yesterday his mother could not contain her joy as she waited for her son’s return to Thomondgate. “He’s been my Mr World since the day he was born,” said Roma who is Italian. His father came from Nigeria. “I won it for Limerick and for Ireland,” he said. “I was so proud to be Irish.”