South Kerry Greenway ‘super value for money’

THE €22m cost of the South Kerry Greenway is exceptional value according to Kerry County Councillor Michael Cahill (Fianna Fáil).

A planning decision on the future of the 32km cycling and walking route is awaited from An Bord Pleanála.

Cllr Cahill is hopeful that the project will get the go ahead from the planning authority, and he says that when it does, the project will transform the entire southwest Kerry region.

He said that the cost of the development of the cycling and walking track, which currently stands in the region of €22m – having increased from €4.7m in the original submission to the Department of Transport and Tourism in 2014 – represents good value for money.

In six years the cost of the project has almost quadrupled according to documentation released in a Freedom of Information (FOI) request last week.

The information revealed in emails and letters between Department officials and Kerry County Council show that the cost of the project did not include land-acquisition costs in the original project submitted for funding to the Department.

The project subsequently increased to €5.5m in April 2015.

Two months later the cost increased to €10m, then €13.5m, and by December 2015 the project cost was €16.3m. Last year’s oral hearing heard the estimated cost was €22m.

Complicated engineering measures and land acquisition has led to the increased project costs according to the documentation.

The council further stated that the South Kerry Greenway is a ‘forerunner’ for developments like this and that plans had been finalised in the original submission.

Responding to the information revealed by the FOI, Cllr Michael Cahill said it was ‘exceptional value’.

“If this project gets through the planning process and comes in anywhere near €20 million, it will be exceptional value. We should remember that the route is over 32km with a lot of specialised engineering works/accommodation works, going through three tunnels, over the viaduct at Kells and in over the metal bridge to Cahersiveen” he said.

“Furthermore approximately 25 per cent of the estimated cost is for land-acquisition works, and the landowners need to be adequately compensated.”

He likened the project to the 22km Macroom by-pass which is estimated to cost €280m in that it demonstrates good value.

“This relatively small investment by comparison in South Kerry for over 32kms of world-class cycle/walking track, which has scenery beyond compare, will repay a dividend in healthy lifestyle and enjoyment, along with jobs for local residents for many decades to come” said the Fianna Fáil councillor “Projects of this calibre are a scarce commodity, and there is enormous value for money in them for the community at large.”

Photo by Domnick Walsh. The large crowd who attended the oral hearing into the South Kerry Greenway, which took place last year. An Bord Pleanála have yet to make a decision on the project.