The Kerryman (South Kerry Edition)
Reduce VAT and invest more to help Killarney tourism
Killarney Chamber of Commerce and Tourism has pledged its support to the five incoming TDs for Kerry but warned that the local community and town must not be forgotten after the election and must receive their fair share of funding for key projects. The chamber has also identified key issues in their election manifesto:
1) VAT on tourism
The chamber is calling for the immediate re-introduction of the nine-per-cent VAT rate for the tourism industry. “Tourism is the lifeblood of Killarney and it is simply not acceptable that the town and its businesses are placed at a major disadvantage because the VAT here is significantly higher than in 27 other countries in the EU,” the chamber said. “Given that tourism accounts for almost four per cent of GNP, the 13.5-per-cent VAT is no longer tolerable as it costs tourism-related businesses an additional €30m and is putting jobs and companies at risk.”
2) Roads funding and gridlock concerns
The Chamber has raised concerns over chronic traffic congestion, which they fear will affect the tourism brand and thus affect more than 7,000 jobs in tourism – 3,000 jobs directly.
Funding is needed for measures to fix this issue. In tandem with this they are calling on the county’s new TD’s to provide more investment in infrastructure. They welcome funding for the Macroom bypass and the Adare bypass but said there is a ‘pressing’ need for more investment in the town’s road network.
“The recent announcements of an investment of €500,00 for the design of the new Killarney-to-Farranfore bypass of €500,000 for design of the project, and a further €150,000 to progress preliminary work on the Lewis Road bypass are welcome, but the projects need to be progressed.” The chamber is calling for the outer bypass from Lissivigeen to Farranfore and from Lissivigeen to Castlelough on the Muckross road, which is ‘critically important’, to be progressed immediately.
3) Save local businesses
The uncertainty over Brexit and the high costs of doing businesses are taking their toll on businesses in Killarney and new national incentives to support small and medium-sized operations and independent retailers are urgently required, according to the chamber. Escalating insurance costs and local authority rates are having a negative impact on business and have led to closures in the town, it said.
4) Amenity projects for Killarney
One of the key amenity projects the chamber wants brought to fruition is the 29km looped amenity trail around Lough Leane and Muckross Lake. A new cycleway from Ross Road to Flesk Bridge is also on the chamber’s list, to provide an off-road cycle path between Knockreer and Muckross and a redevelopment of the Lewis road site. They are calling on incoming TDs to ensure that funding is granted as a priority to these projects.
5) Town living
The chamber supports proposals to investigate the possibility of letting upper floors of local businesses to families and individuals to regenerate town living.
6) Primary Care Centre
The Killarney Chamber of Commerce and Tourism is also calling for the development of a primary care centre for the town. There are sites close to the town, which would be suitable for this to provide a high-quality health centre.