Declan Breathnach (Louth, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Chairman for the opportunity to attend this meeting as I am not a committee member. The constituency of Louth stretches from Omeath to Julianstown. I particularly welcome Mr. Des Foley, alluded to by the Chairman, with whom I have soldiered on Louth County Council and Drogheda for a long time and, equally, welcome the representatives of the Department and the residents association. I commend the latter on the difficulties it is experiencing in the presentation of Julianstown because of the traffic issue. Every time I go through the village I find huge improvements through the efforts of the Tidy Towns and their association.

Without being repetitive, it is important to stress the area of Drogheda south, of Bettystown, Laytown and Julianstown, has exploded exponentially, from the time I was a young man who went on summer holidays to Bettystown. To try to find one's way around this town is exasperating, to say the least, compared with the way it was many years ago.

We can blame planning and all sorts of issues around the growth of transport, but the reality is that the Border corridor, as it has often been described - with an equidistance between Dublin and Belfast - has created the huge growth in the area. I am here today to support the residents' view that the village is being "crushed" by traffic. As a public representative, I testify to this congestion that I experience on a daily basis. There is a safety issue not just in relation to the village but whether one is coming on the motorway or having to traverse the traffic flows. With a 2% growth in traffic, there will be a problem on the motorway very shortly, as has been alluded to, unless the Department sits up and takes note. Congestion, pollution, and health and safety are all huge issues. I would certainly not like to see a legal approach to this matter with it going into the courts.

The designation of road as a national route, with the provision of a bypass, needs to be ramped up. We are all aware that the road network is the lifeline for all communities but no community should suffer to the degree that Julianstown is suffering. This issue needs to be prioritised and expedited in the next number of years. I commend the residents for their presentation and assure them that whatever efforts we, as members of the Oireachtas, particularly from the Louth and East Meath constituency, can make, we will, to try to impress upon the Department and the Minister the need to prioritise this route. I am delighted that the residents group has come here today to highlight the fact that this is one of the busiest road networks and to seek the help from the Department to prioritise this project and alleviate that congestion.

I started by describing this area as an economic corridor. The people at the centre of that economic corridor are living almost equidistant from Dublin and Dundalk, and also at the centre of development between Dublin and Belfast. It is a great place to live. People who use it as a suburb from which to travel to work in Dublin or Belfast are frustrated and need to be supported, particularly those travelling to and from Dublin every day.

I support Mr. Logue's comments on the R132 road into Laytown. It is beyond me how cars can pass each other on portions of that road. Something must be done with regard to the railway bridge in Laytown to prevent a serious accident, although I am sure there have been accidents.

I commend the presentation and hope it will highlight the need to ramp up the priority given to this important road project for our region.