A group of Dingle residents says the dangers of the existing N86 road are overstated.
They were giving evidence at An Bord Pleanala’s oral hearing into the N86 road improvement scheme from Dingle to Annascaul and Gortbreagoge to Camp
The project proposes to straighten and widen 28 kilometres of road which will also include dedicated cycle tracks.
Local residents’ group Meitheal Fhoirbairt Inbhuanaithe Chorca Dhuibhne, claimed the scheme contravened the Kerry County Development Plan and Failte Ireland tourism strategy in terms of its impact on the landscape.
Sarah Dolan from the group claimed the N86 is the safest national secondary road in the county according to data from the Road Safety Authority.
She said the dangers of the existing road had been overstated and questioned the need and aims for this scheme.
The council said 2 people were killed near hairpin bends on N86 in the past nine years and in some parts the collision rate is more than twice the national average.
Earlier, the owner of the last standing old forge in west Kerry near Annascaul said the scheme would lead to his business, which relies on passing trade, becoming a cul-de-sac.
The authority argued Tom Moriarty didn’t have a sign advertising his business and would need planning permission to develop a shop facility.
Kerry County Council also said local rumours that the scheme was to facilitate gas and oil exploration were untrue.

Kerry soccer fans heading to the Euro 2012 finals this summer, have been warned to make sure they're vaccinated against measles.
Farranfore-based GP Doctor Eamon Shanahan says there's been a major measles epidemic in both the Ukraine and Poland - and the Irish soccer team have big games in both countries next month.
Dr Shanahan says quite a significant number of young Irish people have not had the MMR vaccine, and there's also an outbreak of the disease among teenagers and young adults in West Cork.
He says anyone travelling to support the Irish soccer team, would be well advised to check if they've been vaccinated.

Impact's biennial conference begins in Killarney this evening.
The Croke Park agreement will be brought into sharp focus with the union's general secretary Shay Cody reporting on its progress.
The Taoiseach will travel to Killarney to address the delegates on Friday morning.

It's predicted that Killarney Town Council will take a number of rate defaulters to court this year.
Town Clerk Michael O'Leary says he is not happy with the rate of collection and said it is their duty to protect the council's income and those that pay their rates in full.
Town Clerk Michael O Leary made the statement at this week's meeting of Killarney town council following the publication of the local government audit report and the annual financial statement.
Last year the council collected 63% of rates owed resulting in arrears of €3.5m, while almost €1.25m was written off as bad debt.
The audit report shows that just €600,000 in rates was outstanding in 2008; this rose to €1.6m in 2009 and doubled to almost €2.9m in 2010.
Meanwhile. Town Manager John Breen said he has many issues with the report that he is unhappy that there is no provision for the town manager to put in an alternative audit report.
He also said, the report doesn't reflect the work of the council.

The impacts on the landscape and safety concerns have been raised at an oral hearing into a road improvement scheme in west Kerry.
An Bord Pleanala is holding the hearing to examine the compulsory purchase order AND environmental impact statement for changes to the N86 between Dingle and Annascaul AND Gortbreagoge Camp
The €65m scheme will involve straightening and widening to create a single 16 metre wide carriageway with cycle lanes on both sides.
Bernard Goggin from An Taisce told the hearing the scheme will have a very serious impact on the landscape which itself is a feature and not just a transit area.
He said the bends, created at the end of the ice age, on the road between Annascaul and Dingle form a major part of the experience for tourists and locals alike, they are not just impediments on the way.
Two Dingle residents, Barbie Ordish and Ian Smith also voiced their concerns about the impact on the landscape, traffic disruption during construction and safety as cars would be travelling faster.
Kerry County Council said primarily road safety is what’s driving this project and they are trying to strike a balance between this and maintaining the beauty of the area.
They claim 51 road accidents will be prevented in a 30 year period if this scheme goes ahead.
An Bord Pleanala Inspector Kevin Moore said now 16 formal objectors to the compulsory purchase order of land remain from a starting total of 87.

A new group hoping to replicate Meitheal Forbartha na Gaeltachta's work is considering making a complaint to Europe due to Government delays.
MFG, which had its headquarters in Dingle, closed suddenly last September with the loss of 130 jobs.
It delivered the LEADER and LCDP funding programmes to the Gaeltacht regions.
A new group called Meitheal Oibre an Iarthair agus na Mí
is hoping to replicate MFG's work; it's made up of community groups and business people from Gaeltacht areas including Kerry.
Vice Chair of the group, Cloghane native Diarmuid Mulcahy says they're not satisfied with Pobail or the Department of the Environment.
He says they're thinking of making a complaint to Europe.
Former member of the board of Meitheal Forbartha na Gaeltachta, Kerry County Councillor Seamus Cosai Fitzgerald is also not satisfied with Pobail's response to the closure of MFG.
He says the board was told in September by auditors that they would be personally liable if MFG wasn't closed immediately.

The funeral of the victims of a Tralee house fire will take place tomorrow.
Five-year-old Nadine O'Brien and her father Anthony will be buried in Rath Cemetery after requiem mass in Our Lady and St. Brendan's Church, Tralee.
The father and daughter died after a blaze broke out at their home in Killeen Heights in the early hours of last Saturday morning.
The Garda Superintendent investigating their deaths says the tragedy is not currently being treated as suspicious and that rumours surrounding the deaths are unhelpful.

It's emerged that efforts to breed white tailed eagles in Clare have failed.
It was announced late last month that a pair of young white tailed sea eagles had been spotted nesting near Lough Derg.
Meanwhile Minister Jimmy Deenihan has condemned the apparent poisoning of a number of the rare birds in Mayo and Donegal.
If the nesting couple hatched chicks - it would be the first time the region had seen white tailed eagle chicks in 110 years.
Manager of the White Tailed Eagle Reintroduction Project Dr Allan Mee says it appears they abandoned the nest, and the attempt has failed, close to the point of hatching.
Meanwhile Minister Jimmy Deenihan has condemned the apparent poisoning of white tailed eagles in Mayo and Donegal.
The young Mayo eagle, which had been released in Killarney National Park in 2010, was found dead on the shores of Lough Beltra after a tag showed it was not moving.
Post mortem results showed it had high concentrations of poison in its body, but it had also been shot in the past and had shotgun pellets in its body.
Post mortem results from the eagle found dead in the Blue Stack mountains in Donegal, showed it too had been poisoned.
The Minister says he's very disappointed that some people would wantonly try to kill the magnificent birds.

Repairs to a garden wall damaged in a crash in Listowel two and a half years ago, are the responsibility of the motorist.
In December 2009 a car crashed through the garden of a house in Caherdown before landing in the kitchen.
The family, who were asleep in the house at the time were shocked, but not injured.
They claim they were told by Listowel Town Council it would repair the wall.
However Listowel Town Council denies this, and says the responsibility for fixing the damage lies with the motorist who caused it.
Town Manager Charlie O'Sullivan said it would be a dangerous precedent for the local authority to repair the wall.

Over three quarters of landowners, who had objected to the compulsory purchase of land for a road improvement scheme in west Kerry, have now come to agreement with the local authority.
Today will be the second day of an oral hearing on the N86 Dingle to Annascaul and Gortbreagoge to Camp road improvement scheme.
The hearing, being held by An Bord Pleanala in Dingle, relates to the CPO and environmental impact statement for the 65 million euro scheme.
The multi-million euro project by Kerry County Council will involve straightening and widening to create a single 16 metre wide carriageway with cycle lanes on both sides.
It will mean the local authority will compulsorily acquire 98.3 hectares of land from 309 property owners or groups of owners.
There were 87 landowners who objected to that CPO at the beginning of the oral hearing yesterday morning but by the evening that figure had decreased to around 20 following discussions with authority. Ecologist for Kerry County Council Richard Mundy said due to the existing N86 no significant habitat fragmentation will occur.
Over 7 and a half thousand metres of hedgerows and almost fifteen hundred metres of treelines would be lost and the council proposes to offset this by replanting.
The council claims there will be no major impact on flora and fauna aside from a plant called Cornish moneywort, which caused the road design to be changed in the early stages.
The council finished its submission yesterday and today objectors will have their chance to voice their concerns including the impact on the landscape and safety.

Kerry is hosting 46 events this week to celebrate National Volunteering Week.
The events began on Monday and will continue until Sunday.
Kerry is holding more events that any other county across the country.
Kerry Volunteer Centre is encouraging community and voluntary organisations, schools, volunteers, and the community to get involved in the week.
The Volunteer Centre which is based in Tralee can be contacted for more details.

The Garda Superintendent investigating the deaths of a father and daughter in a Tralee house fire says the tragedy is not currently being treated as suspicious.
Five-year-old Nadine O'Brien and her father Anthony died after a blaze broke out at their home in Killeen Heights in the early hours of last Saturday morning.
Superintendent Jim O'Connor says that no one has been questioned.
He says Gardaí have taken witness statements and have been carrying out door-to-door enquiries.
Superintendent O'Connor says the technical examination at the fire scene has been completed and forensic results have been sent to Dublin for analysis.
He says rumours surrounding the deaths of Anthony and Nadine O'Brien are unhelpful.

Malicious or hoax calls to Kerry's emergency services are unacceptably high. That's according to figures released by the Irish Chief Fire Officers Association. However call-outs by fire officers have reduced dramatically in the past five years. Figures show the number of road traffic accidents attended by Kerry County Fire & Rescue Service decreased by 44% between 2007 and 2011. Figures also show the average number of fire-related call outs in the county dropped by 17% in the same period. Adrian Kelly, spokesperson with the Irish Chief Fire Officers Association welcomes the drop in the number of emergencies firemen are called to. However, he's still concerned at the number of hoax calls received by emergency services in Kerry.

The INMO says it will consult its members on their next move - if pay or allowances are cut. It's issued the warning - as the Government examines public sector allowances as a whole. The Health Minister James Reilly will address the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation's annual conference in Killarney later today.

An official from the Department of Agriculture is to meet today with Dingle boatmen and others concerned over a proposed rise to marina fees. Minister Simon Coveney is considering raising berth fees in the State's main fishery harbours including Dingle. If the rates are implemented it could see increases of 800% for yachts and between 200 and 300% for boats that operate pleasure cruises. The meeting with Pascal Hayes, Senior Official to Minister Coveney is due to take place in Dingle this morning. This development is being welcomed by Fine Gael TD for Kerry South Brendan Griffin, and his constituency colleague Independent Deputy Michael Healy-Rae.