Kerry County Council will be seeking additional funding to enable the route selection process for the N22 Farranfore to Killarney bypass to continue.
Councillors Jackie Healy-Rae and Maura Healy-Rae both brought motions on the issue before the recent meeting of Kerry County Council.
A number of councillors have been vocal in their frustration in the ongoing delays to the N22 Farranfore to Killarney bypass, outlining its vital importance to the county.
In 2021, four potential routes were announced for this bypass and the preferred route corridor was due to be published in the final quarter of last year.
However, the final design hasn’t yet been finalised; during the peer review of the draft option selection report, Transport Infrastructure Ireland requested further work before the option selection process could be completed.
Independent councillors Maura and Jackie Healy-Rae both tabled motions seeking an update on the N22 bypass.
Cllr Jackie Healy-Rae asked if it was the council that was selecting the preferred route, while Councillor Maura Healy-Rae referenced a recent TII report which predicted that there'll be three deaths and seven people seriously injured within five years if the N22 Farranfore to Killarney bypass isn’t completed.
CEO of Kerry County Council, Moira Murrell says the €100,000 in funding that was allocated this year, wasn’t enough to enable complete the reports they’ve started.
She says the council is now costing what’s required now to get passed the route selection phase and those funds will be requested by the council.
The council says it goes through the process that leads to the preferred route.
The council will be requesting an increased allocation for next year to enable it identify the preferred route corridor for the N22 Farranfore to Killarney bypass.
