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Ken Tobin.
THE Kerry Chambers of Commerce have issued a comprehensive joint-submission and have expressed a commitment to fight for changes to be made to the Regional Spatial and Economic Strategy (RSES) for the Southern Region.
The Chambers have warned, in their submission, that the RSES document will adversely affect Kerry as it significantly undervalues the role the county can play in the region from now until 2031, during which time, Cork and Limerick will grow five times faster than Kerry.
The RSES, which will be adopted in July 2019, does not include any significant plans for investment into the development of infrastructure, and ultimately job creation in Kerry from 2020 onwards.
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The Chief Executive of Tralee Chamber Alliance, Ken Tobin, said: “The RSES will affect how, and where we work, live and raise our families in Kerry over the next 12 years. The document defines what investment comes into the county and how our region should develop.
“The document as it currently stands, goes against the best interests of our county. We are calling for a full re-evaluation of the approach taken to Kerry. We have submitted 34 key recommendations which are missing from the plan. In fact, the RSES appears to have overlooked Kerry, such is the level of attention given to Cork, Limerick and Waterford.”
Among the 34 recommendations from Kerry Chambers of Commerce that were omitted from the RSES include progressing the construction of the Adare Bypass, increased investment into Kerry Airport and development of a 10-year social and affordable housing strategy for all Kerry towns.
The Chamber submission also calls for investment in Kerry’s main town centres to make it desirable for people to return to the Kingdom to work and live.
The seven Kerry-based Chambers of Commerce believe that the RSES Southern Assembly still has time to re-evaluate the overall approach to Kerry for the good of the county and have asked for the Southern Assembly to meet with all Kerry stakeholders before finalising the document.
“The RSES document doesn’t reflect the actual level of ambition that we have for our county and is entirely inappropriate for Kerry.
There is an onus on the Southern Assembly to plan for the future of rural areas which give our county its ‘sense of place’ and unique cultural heritage,” added Ken Tobin.
A copy of the submission from the seven Chambers in Kerry is available to view on https://tralee.ie/rses/
