FAHA SPEED VAN TAKES IN €90,000 A YEAR[

KILLARNEY Municipal District Cathaoirleach Brendan Cronin has hit out after it emerged that €440,000 in speeding fines were clocked up at the speed van zone on the R563 Milltown-to-Killarney road, placing it in the top 10 zones in terms of fines accrued nationwide.

Cllr Cronin doesn’t object to a speed van on the busy R563 but does feel the location used – about 500 metres east of the turn-off for Listry GAA ground – isn’t the most suitable.

“The van is almost always outside Faha Glen and I think it’s there because it’s a convenient place for it, not because it’s the most logical location.

“I’ve always supported these vans because we’ve seen far too much carnage on our roads, but this particular location is over a mile from Faha National School and a community centre. I’d have nothing against parking the van near those places where there’s a pressing need for them.”

Cllr Cronin also pointed to locations in nearby Killarney that he feels require far more monitoring than the area in question.

“What about the Lewis Road junction going onto the N22 Killarney bypass or the Madams Hill junction? Statistics show there’s been lots of accidents and even fatalities in those places, and the biggest problem at both is speed – so why don’t we have vans there? I find that difficult to accept,” he said.

The speed van’s location at Faha was previously described in a Kerry court as ‘a ‘ lucrative stretch of road for speed van operators’.