Time to bring people of South Kerry together and stop fuelling fear

SIR, Last Wednesday’s edition of this paper carried as its front page story the large public meeting in Caherciveen to address our fears and frustrations around anti-social behaviour and the lack of adequate Garda resources available to better police our communities. The large attendance was a clear indication of how worried people are and how much of a priority this issue is.

However, lest people are of the view that our community has become a wasteland devoid of enterprise, effort and innovation, it is vital to also point out that much excellent and positive work is on-going in Caherciveen and the greater South Kerry area. There are currently several vehicles whereby all relevant agencies are being brought around the table to focus on long-term sustainable employment opportunities that will ensure a far healthier and more robust local economy.

The Gaeltacht Uibhrathaigh Task Force is about to publish its report and recommendations, The Skellig Coast Tourism Action Plan, Skellig CRI and, of course, The South Kerry Greenway are all a means by which we can ensure a strong future for all of our people. We have the enormous asset that is Skellig Michael, a UNESCO heritage site with a strong bid being progressed for a second UNESCO site on Valentia Island.

When it comes to such natural resources we are the envy of every part of the country and when it comes to societal problems and issues around substance abuse we are no different to our neighbours.

We are not immune to these issues. Neither are we more prone to them than elsewhere, the hyperbole and rhetoric by some at last week’s meeting was reckless and irresponsible to say the least. Our community will however leave no stone unturned in an effort to safeguard the future of our people. We want all members of our community to make safe and healthy choices and we need to equip all of the agencies and authorities to the fullest extent to support that work. Organisations like KDYS our local Family Resource Centres, SKDP through the Social Inclusion Activation Programme are all doing meaningful work in this area. The more resources they have the more effective they will be.

As public representatives our duty is to ensure that those resources are found for this work and that we as community leaders focus on solutions and bringing people together not fuelling fear and making outlandish unsubstantiated claims.

I welcome the formation of the Working Group from the area and will do all I can to assist that work.

Ní neart go cur le chéile Sincerely,

Cllr Norma Moriarty