Kerry County Council has come in for criticism for spending less than 5% of the available funding to improve Listry Bridge since 2019.
In response to a parliamentary question from Kerry TD Brendan Griffin, Transport Minister Eamon Ryan outlined all of the funding allocations the council received for Listry Bridge for the last five years.
The figures show that €465,000 has been allocated to the project since 2019, but Kerry County Council has spent just over €21,000 of that money in the last five years.
Local representatives have long called for a new structure for the 200-year-old Listry Bridge, which is a one-lane section of the R563 Killarney to Milltown road.
Figures provided by Transport Minister Eamon Ryan show that €465,000 has been allocated by the Transport Department for works on the bridge since 2019, with just over €21,000 actually spent by Kerry County Council.
The council received grant funding for Listry Bridge of €200,000 in 2019, with €20,000 of that used by Kerry County Council.
The council says it issued a preliminary report to the Department outlining options for the bridge, and this report identified a new structure as one of the options.
A further €80,000 was allocated for the project in 2020, but the council didn’t spend any of this money, as its own in-house engineers prepared further information requested by the Department.
€30,000 more was announced for the bridge in 2021, again with none of it used, with the council adding 2020 and 2021 were challenging years due to COVID-19 restrictions and additional demands on local authorities.
Another €50,000 was allocated in 2022 with none of it spent by the council, as its in-house staff completed an environmental screening on the options for the bridge.
Further funding of €75,000 was allocated in 2023 with none spent.
Kerry County Council says in 2023, it sought approval to proceed to tender for engineering and environmental consultants to progress the project through design, but the council received no tender submissions from any company for these services.
€30,000 has also been allocated this year, with €422 spent by the council.
Kerry County Council says it’s progressing an interim measure of a pilot traffic light system to manage traffic flow, and it’s engaging consultants to develop the project.
Fine Gael councillor Tommy Griffin says the failure by the council to draw down this funding shows a new bridge for Listry is clearly not a priority in county buildings.
