What has led North Kerry to this point – and what needs to be done to protect it?

SIR,

The recent editions of The Kerryman were very pertinent to the issues facing North Kerry, and they accurately reflect the conflicting views of our system of governance and some members of our wider community.

Having known North Kerry for over 50 years and being permanently resident for nearly 40 of them, I am very familiar with the demise of the region.

The vibrant farming community that auspiciously created Kerry Co-op is no more. Change is a good thing if it is given proper direction but, unfortunately for rural Ireland and particularly North Kerry, it has been left to the vagaries of the ‘free market’ as indolent decision making has prevailed.

John O’Sullivan correctly highlights the atrocious policy decisions as they relate to North Kerry. We have been classified as having no landscapes that are important for scenery, tourism, and recreation, which convinces me that whoever wrote this must have no eye for beauty.

Consistently we are left out of the economic planning for the county; is it any wonder then that we have become a socio-economically deprived region, and the only ‘cure’ offered by our system of governance is an LNG plant?

Thankfully with our new government, this seems to be off the table for now. I also totally agree with Denis Brosnan (in last week’s The Kerryman) that the proposal to land wind energy onshore for hydrogen storage will not be worth a ‘hill of beans’, and indeed the suggestion, by others, that a data centre will create hundreds of jobs is not sensible, as a data centre is just a lot of computer hardware that uses a lot of energy.

A real vision for the region must be based on our natural assets, which are our bio-based industries, (BBI), which feed into the bioeconomy. ( See www.bbi-europe.eu ) We are fortunate in Kerry to have a Circular Bioeconomy Research Group at IT Tralee.

Since my involvement in helping to set up a Hemp Cooperative in Ireland, I have been heartened by the interest from not only farmers, but all the rural dwellers as they see a natural potential solution for many of our problems.

Indeed, Ballylongford would make an ideal location for a bio-economy hub, and it would be able to access funding from Europe.

BBI has the potential to create many more jobs than any FDI, also providing a value-added income for small farmers, while delivering many environmental benefits such as carbon sequestration.

Finally, I must agree that we need a new task force for North Kerry, if we are going to harness the potential of the area – but please can it be non-partisan? Sincerely,

Kate Carmody,

Beal Lodge,

Asdee.

Ratoo tower in north Kerry