Eugene Murphy (Roscommon-Galway, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Kehoe, for coming to the Chamber to provide a reply on this matter. I acknowledge that it is not his area of responsibility and that the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Deputy Ross, is not available this afternoon, although he has previously dealt with this issue in the Topical Issue debate. I refer to the issue of safety along the N5 national primary route. The road crosses the Longford border at Termonbarry and continues across County Roscommon and through Ballaghaderreen. A bypass from outside Ballaghaderreen to Scramogue Cross, which is in my parish on the eastern side of Roscommon, is being progressed.

I will try to point out to the Minister of State the dangers posed to people going about their everyday business in the villages and towns along the road. This issue affects parents bringing their children to school, people alighting at halls and older people going to daycare centres. Every day, they are faced with a significant volume of traffic. There has been a big increase in the population of Termonbarry in recent years. Many houses have been built and many people live in the area. It is probably one of the fastest growing areas in the county. However, very few new traffic control measures have been put in place in the village. Scramogue Cross is a well known point in County Roscommon. A regional road cuts through it and there have been several accidents there through the years. Strokestown has not been bypassed and a significant amount of business comes to the town as a result. However, there are now two major housing estates on the Tulsk road on the edge of the town. On numerous occasions in recent weeks, lorries have almost hit cars going into or coming out of those estates. There have been families in those cars. People live in fear of such situations. In Tulsk village, a major regional road cuts through the national primary route. There was a serious accident at that junction only the other evening and I raised it with the Minister yesterday. There are similar issues in places such as Bellanagare village and Frenchpark. There is a danger to people going about their business in locations along that national primary route. Through the possibly 40 years since the N5 was built, significantly more than 30 people have lost their lives on it. If that had occurred in any other part of the country, there would be a significant outcry.

I am here to plead with the Minister of State to bring back a message to the Minister, Deputy Ross, that something must be done in the short term. In his reply, the Minister of State will refer to the bypass and how it is progressing. It will not be in place for a significant number of years - three, four or possibly more. If something is not urgently done in the meantime, there will be loss of life. There are measures that can be taken and which will not cost the Government or Transport Infrastructure Ireland, TII, a lot of money. A measure that has worked on other parts of the route is a roadside sign on which a driver's speed flashes up. That is one of the best ways of controlling traffic and the signs are working very well across the country.

I want the Minister to spend an hour travelling the road with me, as he previously promised to do. Immediate contact should be made with TII such that within the next week or two it looks at what can be done in the short term. An example of an issue that could easily be addressed is the lack of a double continuous white line on the Tulsk road in Strokestown. Many large trucks go through the town and onto that road. It is a threat to people's lives. I ask that the Minister of State, please, bring this message back to the Minister and immediately request that TII carry out an assessment of that issue without further delay.

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