Deputy Pa DalyTHE Sinn Féin TD for Kerry, Deputy Pa Daly, has said that the recently announced investment package from Uisce Éireann is long over due and entirely necessary, but it is simply too little too late for the communities across Kerry who continue to endure a crumbling wastewater treatment infrastructure.
Earlier this week, Uisce Eireann identified 72 cities, towns and villages across Ireland as priority locations for investment to help unlock new homes and support growing communities.
These locations will benefit from the Government’s additional €2 billion in ring-fenced funding under the National Development Plan to support housing growth. Tralee and Killarney were towns named as a priority locations.
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Deputy Pa Daly called for the Minister and Uisce Éireann to provided a detailed programme and timeline of works that will be carried out across Kerry over the next five years, and a commitment to follow them through.
Teachta Daly stated: “Uisce Éireann’s trumpeting of a €2 billion investment package will come as cold comfort to communities across Kerry who have spent years being held back by failing and inadequate wastewater infrastructure.”
“The reality behind the headline is that towns and villages across this county are being left to stagnate while the Government and Uisce Éireann talk about future investment. From Abbeydorney and Ballyduff to Castlegregory and Duagh, communities are dealing with wastewater systems that are no longer fit for purpose, preventing homes from being built, restricting economic growth and undermining the future of rural Kerry.”
“While investment in Killarney is badly needed and long overdue, it cannot be used as a fig leaf to mask decades of underinvestment elsewhere. The truth is that many communities have reached breaking point. Families looking to build, young people hoping to stay in their own communities, and local businesses seeking to expand are all being told to wait while the infrastructure crisis deepens.”
“The Government cannot claim to be tackling the housing crisis while vital infrastructure is holding back development in towns and villages across Kerry. Nor can it speak about balanced regional development while entire communities are effectively locked out of growth because the most basic infrastructure has been neglected.”
“This announcement amounts to too little, too late for many parts of Kerry. What is needed now is a dramatic acceleration of investment, clear delivery timelines, and an end to the excuses that have left communities waiting year after year for projects that never seem to materialise.”
“I am calling on the Minister, Kerry’s government and government supporting TDs, and Uisce Éireann to make a commitment to the people of Kerry that the county’s waste water infrastructure will be prioritised and furthermore to provide a detailed programme and timeline for improvements to Kerry’s wastewater infrastructure over the next 5 years.”
