Alan Kelly (Tipperary, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister. I have no doubt of his sincerity but we need more than hope. I do not want to be in a situation where in years to come or after a short space of time I will be playing back this video to the Minister and others. If there is not serious consideration of the manner in which the on-off ramps in Roscrea and Moneygall work, as well as an examination of what is happening in Birdhill, which is also something strange, people will die on the M7. I believe that will happen in the near future. It is subject to some weather patterns because it is inland, but there are definitely engineering issues. I ask the Minister to please consult the TII and provide it with the funding. It is one of the busiest routes in Ireland. It is the gateway to the south of Ireland. Everyone knows the turnoff for the Barack Obama Plaza and many people go into it.

Birdhill provides access to a range of areas on the west coast. Roscrea and Templemore are on the same road. I ask the Minister to please look at those.

The Minister has admitted that the identification of 150 road safety projects in the Road Safety Authority strategy is overly ambitious. Will the Minister provide a figure in respect of what will be built by 2020? There are 42 projects being done and there is not a hope in hell of getting to 150. As a result of this and the lack of funding, people will die. I am going to examine the 150 projects with TII in the coming weeks. They will be evaluated on the basis of priority and safety. That means some will miss out. How many will miss out and what is the estimated cost in lives as a result of the funding not being provided by the Government?

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