PROPOSAL: An additional goal should be added, “Promote and protect the interests of young persons and future generations in Kerry from unsustainable development.”
RATIONALE: It is very concerning that there is no reference to young people in any of the ten goals of the KCDP. This is particularly hard to understand as there is reference to promoting the interests of older people in goal ten, namely by developing an age friendly county. Young people’s interests need to be protected from unsustainable development and including this as a goal of the plan is critical. If there is no such goal, then young people’s interests are less likely to be protected and they are likely to feel less valued and more likely to feel like second-class citizens when compared to the other demographics that are referenced in the goals (citizens, investors, visitors and older people). In Volume One, the words ‘young’ and ‘youth’ are mentioned only 20 times between them, on 11 pages, mostly in passing. Of the significant references:
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There is one reference to the provisioning of services to young people and children.
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There is one reference to working with relevant agencies and authorities to advance the physical, social, and cultural needs of children and young people.
The above references to young people are not sufficient. The decisions that are made on the back of this development plan will affect younger generations far more than older generations, and young people should be given a more deserving place in the development plan than they have been given so far.
Most ironically, while the KCDP quotes the fact that Our Rural Future has a policy to ‘Actively involve young people in rural areas in decisions that affect them and their future,’ there is nowhere in the KCDP that refers to this. Nowhere in the KCDP are young people’s voice considered. The KCDP as it stands does not reflect the Our Rural Future document in this respect, though it claims to do so. If the above goal is not added, and if objectives are not added to take young people’s voices into account, then the reference to Our Rural Future should be removed, as the KCDP would not in such a case be in line with Our Rural Future.
PROPOSAL: An additional goal should be added, “Enhancement of the biodiversity in the County.”
RATIONALE: In 2019, Ireland became the second country to declare a climate and biodiversity emergency. In addition, there are plans to form a citizens’ assembly on biodiversity in April 2022. It is very concerning that during a stated biodiversity emergency, there is no reference in any of the goals of the plan to enhancing the county’s biodiversity. Kerry possesses some of the most valuable landscapes in the country from a biodiversity perspective, as evidenced by the recent discovery of the rare Kerry Mousetail fern in Killarney National Park in September 2021. The natural landscapes in Kerry are a key part of the county’s tourism sector, and not enshrining biodiversity in the goals of the development plan does a disservice to all the tourism jobs that depend on natural beautiful and biodiversity of Kerry. Not including reference to enhancing biodiversity in the goals of the plan would constitute a failure to recognize the biodiversity emergency that was announced by the government in 2019 and would mean that local government in Kerry does not intend to address the biodiversity emergency and protect and advance the interests of Kerry people who depend on the biodiversity of the county for a living. Addressing the scourge of rhododendron in Killarney National Park also requires strong support from the council, such as can be achieved through enshrining biodiversity in the goals of this plan.
PROPOSAL: In goal seven, remove the reference to investors, such that the goal is: “Maintain and provide additional Services for our citizens and visitors”.
RATIONALE: It is not appropriate for a County Development plan to include the providing of services for investors as one of only ten goals in the plan. It is not appropriate for investors to be given such a high priority in the plan. While services for investors can and should be provided where sustainable, such services should not be of equal priority to the services to be provided to citizens. Equally, as Kerry has such a strong tourism sector, the services provided to visitors should be given a higher priority than investor services. While there is room in the chapters of the plan for indicating how services for investors can be provided, this should not be a core goal of the plan.
PROPOSAL: Add the word ‘sustainable’ to goal four such that it becomes ‘Enhance Sustainable Physical and Digital connectivity internally, across the broader region and internationally.
RATIONALE: Goal two refers to a sustainable economy. It would thus be inconsistent to neglect to qualify the goal of enhancing physical connectivity with the word sustainable. The transport sector is a significant greenhouse gas emitter, and Kerry is very poorly served by sustainable transport options, including public transport and active travel infrastructure. It would be doing a disservice to the people of Kerry, particularly young people, to enhance unsustainable forms of physical connectivity at the expense of sustainable forms. Particularly in years to come, when climate action may result in incentives against unsustainable forms of transport such as private car use, it is critical that Kerry is prepared to meet the demand for sustainable forms of connectivity, which will open be possible is the sustainability of connectivity is enshrined in the goals of the plan. The faster Kerry is provisioned with improved public transport and active travel infrastructure, the more easily Kerry people will be able to transition to a low-carbon economy in line with goal two of the plan.