Kerry County Council is tendering for design consultants for an upgrade to Killarney fire station which was allocated funding three and a half years ago.
The council received approval to tender for works to upgrade the fire station in the town in October 2020.
It was allocated funding for the works by the end of 2020, under the Fire Services Capital Programme 2021-2025.
The works, however, never began and have still not started, over three years later.
In October 2020, Kerry County Council received approval from the Department of Housing, Local Government, and Heritage, to accept a tender for works to refurbish and extend the Killarney fire station.
This department supports fire authorities through policy, legislation, training, and providing capital funding support for appliances, equipment, and priority infrastructural projects.
The Fire Services Capital Programme 2021-2025 was announced in December 2020, providing funding nationally of €61 million to improve infrastructure at fire stations.
In the Dáil, Minister of this Department Darragh O’Brien provided a breakdown by local authority, of moneys spent on infrastructural projects from the fire services capital programme.
The table shows Kerry County Council has not spent any money on projects from this programme.
This is despite the council receiving a funding allocation of just over €414,000 to upgrade Killarney fire station under the capital programme in 2020.
The Department of Housing has told Radio Kerry that the council has indicated the required works to Killarney fire station remain a priority project.
It says the council is in the process of tendering for new design consultants for the project, and upon that appointment, will move quickly through the necessary phases to progress these works at Killarney fire station.
The Department says it will continue to liaise with the council to progress this project.
