Dan Neville (Limerick, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to raise an important issue for my constituency. It concerns the road coming into Adare, the N20 from Limerick to Kerry. The road into Adare has been named by AA Roadwatch as one of the country's worst in terms of traffic tailbacks. It appears in the list of seven of the county's slowest roads compiled by the Automobile Association based on its own experience and information from the Garda Síochána and bus companies. That is no surprise to the people of Adare, because tailbacks have been experienced for a number of years, which has caused delays for traffic coming into and leaving Adare. Last Monday, which was a bank holiday, there was a two-mile tailback coming into Adare from the Kerry side as a result of people returning from Kerry after the weekend. It happens both ways, but the problem is very serious at weekends, especially on Friday nights. It is no surprise to the people of Adare that it is on the list of the seven slowest areas compiled by the AA.

I wish to highlight a number of issues. Obviously, commuters going west experience great frustration. Many commuters who travel through Adare morning and evening are from the west of the county but work in the city. There is also a serious problem on the small country roads because of what are often referred to as rat-runs. A total of 133 people have signed a petition calling for a speed limit on those roads but the council is not prepared to concede that because it is not a 24-hour issue. There are serious concerns about the safety of children. At certain periods people cannot walk those roads because of the traffic going west avoiding Adare.

This has been a problem for almost 30 years. Several routes for a bypass have been identified over that period. We were extremely disappointed last autumn that An Bord Pleanála turned down the last route the council proposed, using the excuse that the motorway from Limerick to Cork is being delayed and it was to be part of that.

I am making the case for the bypassing of Adare, similar to the bypassing of many other towns. Castleisland is a recent example, but the bypassing of Adare stands on its own, so to speak. I would like to know how much this project has cost in terms of planning and other changes in the past 30 years. As the Minister of State is aware, Adare is a premier tourist product. It has been described as one of the prettiest villages in Ireland. There is a good deal of tourist activity in Adare, but that could be enhanced by the removal of the traffic from the village, which would facilitate more local traffic and more tourist traffic coming into the village.

I put the case for a bypass to the Minister of State. There are strong feelings about the issue in Adare. The demand for a bypass is supported by Limerick County Council. The Minister, Deputy Leo Varadkar, when he was in Adare, expressed his disappointment at the decision of An Bord Pleanála to turn down the plan. I ask the Minister to respond and give us some hope after almost 30 years that this bottleneck can be overcome.

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