Fiona O'Loughlin (Kildare South, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for being here. I live in Newbridge, which is a fine town. I imagine the Minister of State has been there several times. It has a population of close to 29,000 and the figure is growing. There has been significant growth and development in recent years but unfortunately the town has been overlooked in respect of putting in place the necessary infrastructure and services. While the town has many challenges, this particular challenge of a second bridge is one that I wish to highlight.

At peak times the traffic delays and congestion are significant and impact negatively on the lives of people. I put it to the Minister of State that a second bridge is vital not only for the future development of our town but also for what is going on currently. The traffic into and leaving town is ever-increasing. We have only one main bridge, which was built in 1930, over the River Liffey. The bridge causes a major build-up throughout the day.

Newbridge is an excellent destination town for retail with local independent shopping and the Whitewater Shopping Centre and Newbridge Silverware. People come there from all over the country.

The part of Newbridge where this particular bridge is situated is the only way that Newbridge can be accessed. There are almost 6,000 people living there. There are five schools with 3,000 pupils and teachers. There is a church and crèches as well as a doctor's office etc. One can only begin to imagine what it is like with five schools congested in an area and only one bridge. The other 22,000 people do not live on the Dublin side of the bridge and they are trying to get through the town and over the bridge to get to the schools. Equally, we have the 6,000 people trying to come in to the town. We have people trying to leave Newbridge to get onto the M50 motorway or the Dublin dual-carriageway. Others want to get to Naas, where our council offices are located and where many people can access employment.

Lidl has its head office in Newbridge and is currently building its main distribution centre on the outskirts of the town. Pfizer is continuing to grow, with staff numbers growing year after year. All of this is beneficial and the associated employment is welcome and important. However, I fear that the lack of a second bridge will catch up on development and obstruct future growth.

Kildare County Council has prioritised this as the main infrastructure project for south Kildare, together with another bridge in Celbridge. These are the two main focuses for Kildare County Council.

Funding was applied for under the urban regeneration and development scheme to construct a 1 km long road, including a new bridge over the River Liffey that would link the Great Connell Road and Athgarvan Road. This would be a significant benefit and bonus. Unfortunately, the application was turned down. I hope the Minister of State has good news with regard to a new bridge. It is estimated that building such a bridge would cost approximately €15 million. I accept that the latter is not an insignificant amount, but a new bridge would be very important and would greatly benefit all of those who need to cross into and out of Newbridge daily, often more than once.

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