A Kerry County Council machine which was costing €30 in maintenance for every euro of fuel used has been decommissioned.
The JCB digger, which had been part of the local authority’s machinery yard fleet, is one of four machines which collectively cost over a quarter of a million in maintenance over a five-year period.
The machine, named JCB Number 2, is a 1998-registered 3CX which has been in the council’s possession for a number of years.
Radio Kerry previously showed that, during the period 2015-2019, the machine burned just under €1,900 of fuel and cost over €57,000 in maintenance; this equates to over €30 in maintenance costs for every euro of fuel used.
Council documents in 2019 showed the machine had just over 8,000 hours clocked up.
The local authority says the machinery yard doesn’t have the JCB’s initial cost to hand as it was purchased in the late nineties.
The machine is still in the possession of the council but has now been decommissioned.
