The next ordinary meeting of Kerry County Council will be held in Áras an Chontae, Tralee on Monday, February 17th 2020 and the following is the agenda and list of notices of motion down for consideration.
For those of us of a strictly parochial outlook I have highlighted in bold lettering the motions of particular interest to the Castleisland area and its neighbouring parishes in the Maine Valley area.
Cllr. Charlie Farrelly’s repeated request for the ‘safety bridge’ on the old ‘Cork line’ / Barrack Street Bridge is there in motion form.
Here, a genuine and urgent health and safety issue is heightened with every child that crosses down over the busy, narrow bridge to get to the even busier local playground.
There is a motion by Cllr. Maura Healy Rae for an update on the progress of bypass plans for Killarney from Muckross to Farranfore.
Cllr. Michael Cahill also has a motion of local impact as he urges for immediate work on the traffic melting pot that is Farranfore and he points out that an average of 17,000 vehicles pass through Farranfore each day.
Cllr. Michael Cahill:
“That Kerry County Council call on the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government to immediately address the exceptionally low HAP caps in Kerry as they are notoriously out of date with the former Rent Allowance payments and do not take into consideration the strong Tourism Industry in our county and the strong rental market, resulting in young families and individuals being forced into a Poverty Trap and Homelessness as a result of these caps being too low.”
Cllr. Aoife Thornton:
“What is the balance of the Maintenance Budgets in all Municipal Districts as of the 1st of November 2019.”
Cllr. Johnny Healy-Rae:
“How many people have qualified for Tenant Purchase Scheme since it was introduced and how many have purchased property.”
Cllr. Michael Gleeson:
“As much is being spoken and written about rising sea levels, that Kerry County Council would, as far as possible, quantify the extent to which that phenomenon has already taken place/is taking place in the Atlantic Ocean off the Kerry Coast and of the likely implications for coastal communities and for the rivers that drain the County and thus far free flow into that ocean.”
Cllr. Maura Healy-Rae:
“That we the members of Kerry County Council would write to the relevant departments highlighting our opposition to any future legislation that would prevent the burning of turf and timber.”
Cllr. Fionnán Fitzgerald:
“To call on the relevant authorities to improve the process of NPPR clearance for the sale of Non Residential Properties. Those involved in the sale of properties such as stakeholders, solicitors, estate agents and vendors find the delay in getting a timely response very frustrating and it is delaying the sale process for people who want to move on with their lives.”
Cllr. Patrick Connor-Scarteen:
“That Kerry County Council liaise with the Department of Transport, Tourism & Sport and other relevant state agencies in formulating a longterm public transport strategy for Kerry.”
Cllr. Charlie Farrelly:
“I am requesting that Kerry County Council and its elected members to sanction the transfer of the unused pedestrian bridge that is being stored in a Killarney carpark to the Castleisland Corca Dhuibhne Municipal District to be used as a pedestrian bridge crossing over the River Maine in Barrack Street, Castleisland.
I am also asking Kerry County Council how much it costs to have this bridge manufactured first day.”
Cllr. Robert Beasley:
“Given the current Housing crisis that this Council call on the Government to provide certainty and security of tenure and tenancy to people in rented accommodation by introducing laws that prevent eviction except on grounds of anti-social behaviour.”
Cllr. Jim Finucane:
“That this Council prioritise the Economic Conference for the County and its inclusion of a broad spectrum of the Kerry Diaspora.”
Cllr. Michael O’Shea:
That we the members of Kerry County Council pass a resolution asking the Minister for Housing and Finance to increase the threshold for families to qualify for social housing as currently persons who are earning between €34,000 and €45,000 are not qualifying for a mortgage or for social housing.”
Cllr. Michael Foley:
“That Kerry County Council would put on hold all future planning applications for Wind Turbines until the New Wind Energy Guidelines are in place.”
Cllr. Brendan Cronin:
“That this Council call for Legislative changes to be made to give protection to landowners/ farmers who are victims of ever-increasing illegal dumping and flytipping of rubbish on their lands in the County. It is totally unacceptable that landowners who are the victims of illegal dumping must carry all liability and responsibility for the illegal actions of others, also what steps are Kerry County Council taking to clampdown on the increased incidents of dumping rubbish from public roads on to adjoining roadside lands.”
Cllr. Breandán Fitzgerald:
“That Kerry County Council call on the HSE and the Minister for Health for the immediate reversal of the ‘efficiency’ cut to the funding for the Disability Sector in the County that was imposed in January 2020.”
Cllr. Seamus Fitzgerald:
“Will Kerry County Council write to Bus Éireann requesting them to provide a school transport service for the secondary school students who wish to use it from the Annascaul Village to Milltown/ Killorglin Secondary Schools.”
Cllr. Mikey Sheehy:
“That this Council supports a motion to ban election posters in Kerry or at the very least put in place strict criteria for the use of these posters during election campaigns.”
Cllr. Aoife Thornton:
“I am seeking confirmation that works will commence on the Listowel Greenway at the earliest point that resources are available.”
Cllr. Johnny Healy-Rae:
“That Kerry County Council would urgently repair certain sections of the Ring of Kerry Road in particular those areas that are in a bad state with lags and dips i.e. the Road between Caherdaniel and Sneem.”
Cllr. Michael Gleeson:
“That the Council and the TII would seek to devise some better form of advance signage in order that road users would have reasonable certainty in the matter of lane selection as they enter multi-lane roundabouts.”
Cllr. Maura Healy-Rae:
“To ask Kerry County Council and the TII what is the most up to date information regarding the progression of a bypass for Killarney from Muckross to Farranfore. This is a most vital piece of infrastructure not just for the Killarney area but indeed for the county of Kerry.”
Cllr. Patrick Connor-Scarteen:
“More lay bys are needed for greater road safety and to take advantage of the beautiful scenery throughout Kerry. Please investigate and outline where such improvements can be made in the short to medium term.”
Cllr. Michael Cahill:
“That Kerry County Council request Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) to address as a matter of priority the extremely dangerous and busy 4 Cross road junction at Farranfore village where the Tralee/Killarney road meets with the Killorglin/Firies/Farranfore road and the Currow/Farranfore road and will the Council request TII to take into consideration the fact that 17,000 vehicles pass through Farranfore every day and the fact that this road carries a significant amount of traffic that enters/exits our county on a daily basis v Limerick/Castleisland by carrying out a major improvement scheme before someone is seriously injured or killed at this location.”
Cllr. Charlie Farrelly:
“I am asking Kerry County Council on the latest update on replacing the ageing machinery fleet in the Machinery Yard and how much will be invested before the commencement of the 2020 Roads Programme.”
Cllr. Jim Finucane:
“That this Council in conjunction with Kerry Airport, would initiate a marketing campaign on the new route between Farranfore and Manchester.”
Cllr. Robert Beasley:
“That Kerry County Council furnish a detailed report including the following details to be provided by the Housing Department: (a) The total number of 3 bed council owned properties allocated to applicants qualified for 2 beds over the past 10 years. (b) That the numbers would be broken down by each MD and by the year for the past 10 years. (c) That the number of years each applicant was qualified would be detailed for each applicant i.e. 2019 Listowel MD, 4 applicants, 5 years, 2 years, 9 years, and 11 years retrospectively.
Cllr. Michael O’Shea:
“That Kerry County Council put in place an independent forward plan for Milltown and that they would liaise with the various Government Departments of Housing, Education, Environment, Justice, Finance and Health as Milltown’s population is rapidly expanding and current services are under immense pressure.”
Cllr. Michael Foley:
“That Kerry County Council would make available the up to date amount of rent arrears owed to the Council by their Tenants.”
Cllr. Brendan Cronin:
“As it is now nearly 2 years since the closing date for Local Improvement Schemes in this County, when will Kerry County Council provide the Elected members with the priority list of these schemes. There is major public frustration, anger and disbelief at how long it is taking the Council to carry out the assessment and make public the priority list.”
Cllr. Breandán Fitzgerald:
“That Kerry County Council write to the Minister for Transport and the Road Safety Authority and request that under the new contract for the National Car Test each Municipal District or Local Electoral Area in Kerry would have its own National Car Test Centre.”
Cllr. Mikey Sheehy:
“To ask Kerry County Council to call on the HSE to immediately reverse the proposed cuts to disability funding in Kerry.”
