James O'Connor (Cork East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

That is simply not true because there is a project in Mallow, the relief road, which is ready to go tomorrow and the Department will not allocate the funding. I ask the Minister to please refrain from making claims that he cannot stand over. As in Mallow, the same situation applies in Castlemartyr and the road I was promised there. I have been waiting for about four months for someone in the Department to just sign off on the appointment of the design consultant. It is simply a signature on a sheet of paper but it is impossible to obtain.

I accept that the N25 Midleton to Cork is controversial but it could start tomorrow with a sign-off from the Department. I could continue by mentioning projects in Tipperary, south Kilkenny and Carlow where there is no movement. This all comes back to the Department of Transport and, ultimately, to the Minister's desk. Why is this happening?