Kerry councillor slams local powers as trading opportunity hits stonewall
The Kerryman“What kind of powers do we have here as councillors if we propose something and second it?,” asked Councillor Jackie Healy-Rae at a recent council meeting.
Despite passionate support from Cllr Healy-Rae and others, Kerry County Council refused to sign off on a one-off casual trading zone at a popular roadside viewpoint.
The Castleisland/Corca Dhuibhne councillor had raised the issue of allowing a trader into the recently upgraded Glounsharoon Scenic Platform overlooking Castleisland.
He described the €80,000 upgrade as a ‘spectacular’ job, carried out with support from the Municipal District (MD) councillors and the Castleisland Chamber Alliance.
However, the further development of the viewpoint into providing temporary food or drink services has been shelved until the countywide casual trading bye-laws review next summer, with the council expressing concerns about road safety at the waypoint.
A frustrated Cllr Healy-Rae expressed his disappointment with the progress, questioning why the council couldn’t provision one space ahead of the review.
“I don’t know how many times I’ve raised this…what kind of powers do we have here as councillors if we propose something and second it?,” he asked.
“It’s our own land. Can we just go ahead and do it?...it’ll add to the experience…we want people to stop and look at the view and say ‘there’s a town down there, we’ll go there next’”.
He highlighted the situation at Barnagh Viewing Point, also on the N21 but near Newcastle West, where multiple traders are operating.
Councillor Charlie Farrelly added that the road at Glounsharoon was even safer than Barnagh, pointing out the four lanes at exist at Barnagh.
Furthermore, he said a local coffee group in Castleisland had carried out at survey at Glounsharoon on the Saturday morning during the June Bank Holiday weekend and found that every car pulling into the viewpoint was coming from the Limerick side, and thus was already on the same side of the road.
Of 216 arrivals at the platform that morning, ‘not one’ had come from the Castleisland side, he said.
“I think there’s no issue with safety. Barnagh has four lanes of traffic…it’s the most busy road you’ll see,” he said.
While the MD manager, Kathleen Moriarty, assured councillors that this issue would be looked at in the coming bye-laws update, the council’s official reply stated that the location was unsuitable due to ‘significant’ road safety concerns.