Cllr Jackie Healy-Rae has been informed that the final cost of the Farranfore Trunk Main Water replacement work project could cost as much as €2.2M once the final project designs have been agreed.
This follows on from replies made by by the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage Darragh O’Brien to his father Deputy Michael Healy-Rae.
No Solid Commitment
However, Cllr Jackie Healy Rae has said that he is disappointed that no solid commitment to the project has been made with Irish Water only committing to Design Works, which are expected to be completed sometime in the 2021.
“While I welcome the commitment that design works will take place, I would have been happier if a commitment was made to the full project immediately as water breakages are a lot more frequent now especially in the summer months when the traffic volume rises,” said Cllr Jackie Healy-Rae.
Farranfore at a Standstill
“On a number of occasions, last summer the village of Farranfore, serving the N22 route Tralee to Killarney was brought to a standstill for a number of hours due to burst water mains that caused considerable delays through the village.
Some delays were more than an hour with tailbacks up to almost four miles on either side of the village with a number of local communities losing water supply during the repair works.” He added
Trucks and Traffic Blamed
At the time heavy goods trucks as well as huge volumes of traffic in the village were blamed for the constant breakages as local businesses and homes in Farranfore were left without water.
Minister O’Brien in a written reply to the Kerry Deputy Michael Healy-Rae following questions to the Taoiseach during Leaders Questions said:
Budget Dependent on Design
“Design works were approved for the Farranfore Trunk Main under the Stimulus Funding.
Design completion is expected in Q1 2021.
The budget approval is for design only at the moment and the design will confirm the final estimate for replacement works.
The budget for this project is estimated between €1.5m – €2.2m dependent on the final design outcomes.”
You can contact The Maine Valley Post on…Anyone in The Maine Valley Post catchment area who would like to send us news and captioned photographs for inclusion can send them to: jreidy@mainevalleypost.com
Queries about advertising and any other matters regarding The Maine Valley Post can also be sent to that address or just ring: 087 23 59 467.
