Cathal Crowe (Clare, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I confirm that I am in Leinster House. I join previous speakers in welcoming Mr. Llewellyn. I have read his opening statement. I wish him the very best. What is required of us today is a bit of a rubber-stamping exercise. We endorse him as chair designate of TII.

The Shannon tunnel, the fantastic under-river link between Clare and Limerick, was built about 15 years ago. Has it been utilised enough in taking HGV traffic off the orbital route network in the southern part of County Clare and Limerick city? Mr. Llewellyn may not have an answer to my second question but perhaps he or some of his colleagues who are following this meeting might come back to me on it. Two figures circulating in the ether relating to the Shannon tunnel are at great variance. If phase 2 of the Limerick northern distributor road is constructed, the figure being put forward by the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan, would suggest a significant financial hit to the Shannon tunnel and yet the figure suggested by local authorities in the mid-west is far less. I would appreciate if TII, not today but some day, could calculate its estimate of the penalty if phase 2 were developed. What financial hit would the Shannon tunnel suffer?

My next question relates to TII and the naming of infrastructure. Prior to being elected to the Dáil, I was a member of Clare County Council. Along with other councillors, I suggested naming roundabouts and flyover bridges after key figures, one of them being a lady from Cratloe in County Clare who died on hunger strike during the War of Independence. She was the only member of Cumann na mBan to suffer that fate. The country has many monuments and other memorials to men from that period but we have fewer for women. This proposal had cross-party agreement but it fizzled out to nothing. Does TII have a policy on that? If it does not, I believe it needs to have one because in some places there is a desire to have bridges and other pieces of infrastructure named rather than having a series of anonymous numbers and letters behind them.

Does TII have a database of all lands that are part of future road plans? It is important to have a database available. Many good, layered GIS mapping systems are available. It has become a constant theme in County Clare and elsewhere where future transport initiatives are planned in TII offices and indeed in the local authority there may well be maps giving details of future plans but many landowners may not be privy to those. There is not a one-stop shop to get that information. People need to know what kind of infrastructure is intended in their locality and how that interfaces with their landholdings.

For a long time, I have been asking Clare County Council to salt and grit the roads leading to Clonmoney National School. I am glad that is now in the winter maintenance programme. TII has a major competency in salting and gritting. Some of its main salt barns on the Clare to Galway motorway are located just outside Ennis. At times, when we get a hard freeze, the resources of TII could be made available beyond the national road network. I believe it needs to play a role in making salt and grit resources available to local authorities.

I know I am throwing out several questions. I do not expect Mr. Llewellyn to have all the answers today. There was a fabulous project in County Clare last year, but it could not proceed even though there was funding available. It involved a series of looped walks, but it needed sanction from TII to progress. That has become a recurring theme. Many projects that councils heretofore would have led, now require the higher sanction of TII. Perhaps in his tenure, Mr. Llewellyn might be able to address this matter. TII should have a unit that engages with groups and local authorities to ensure that these kinds of projects receive the rubber-stamp and seal of approval so that they can progress.

I wish Mr. Llewellyn very well in the future. He may be able to respond to some of those issues in a general sense now and can come back to me with some of the specifics at a later date.