Kerry County Council management has denied they are responsible for delays to the roll out of bus stops and shelters across the county.
Instead, they blamed the National Transport Authority (NTA) telling councillors “We're as frustrated as yourselves” about the delay.
In February, it was announced that 94 locations across Kerry had been selected for bus stops.
The NTA allocated €500,000 for the Bus Stop Enhancement Programme (BSEP) in Kerry in 2024 and 2025.
At the recent Listowel municipal district meeting, Cathaoirleach of Kerry County Council, Michael Foley said that he had seen Bus Éireann correspondence.
In emails, a Bus Éireann representative claimed neither the national bus company nor the NTA had been able to get a response from Kerry County Council on the status or estimated timelines of the bus stops.
When the programme was announced, the NTA was to be responsible for designing the stops, procuring poles and signage, completing the required safety audits, and liaising with Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) on national primary routes.
Although funded by the NTA’s programme, Kerry County Council and contractors were to be responsible for the installation of the bus stops including civil works like line markings.
The Bus Éireann representative also speculated that staff turnover in the council may have caused the bus stops to fall “between the cracks”.
Another Bus Éireann employee stated that they had “been continuously following up with the council over the past year” but had met “constant dead ends”, and that they had expressed their frustration to the council and the NTA about the lack of progress.
Cllr Michael Foley raised these concerns when asking MD management for an update on a bus shelter for Ballybunion.
Management said the NTA is the entity driving the programme, and that the transport body had appointed a contractor to carry out the works.
Council management maintained the delays were the responsibility of the contractor and not of Kerry County Council.
They said the NTA was supposed to roll out the bus stop programme "long before now".
They added Kerry County Council doesn’t have €500,000 waiting to be spent, as it has already been designated to pay the contractor.
The NTA says it "continues to work closely with Kerry County Council", and that "timelines and delivery details remain under review".
Radio Kerry also contacted Kerry County Council and Bus Éireann for comment.
