Vol. 548 No. 5
117 Mrs. B. Moynihan-Cronin asked the Minister for Public Enterprise the capital projects financed by her Department in County Kerry which commenced or were completed in 2001; the amount of money in each case; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5714/02]
In relation to public transport, it is not possible to provide a breakdown of the expenditure on a county by county basis. Apart from meeting general transport objectives, a well functioning nation-wide public transport infrastructure is vital for making optimal use of road infrastructure, minimising the impact on the environment of transport, promoting balanced regional development and making transport as widely accessible as possible. Most of the projects being undertaken, therefore, will provide benefits across county borders.
In relation to County Kerry, however, certain capital projects can be singled out which were completed in 2001. These include the refurbishment of the Tralee bus station costing €209,444 and work done on the Tralee-Mallow railway line at a cost of €5.92 million. This latter work involved renewal work such as track relaying, bridges level crossings and associated priority work.
Under the National Development Plan 2000-2006, I signed a contract with Chorus in 2000 entitled Kerry Broadband Communications Corridor to upgrade the microwave backbone between Limerick and Cork and to provide broadband services in the area. This project embraces the counties of Limerick, Clare, Cork, and Kerry. As this project is still at constructional stage, expenditure levels are unavailable.
