Michael Moynihan (Cork North West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I want to discuss the issue of the Kanturk link road. This project has received planning permission and it is shovel-ready. Significant progress has been made by the local authority in terms of the purchase of the land and the design process. The lands required having been already fenced off by Cork County Council. Councillor Bernard Moynihan has put a great deal of work into this project at council level. It is a priority project. Kanturk has the unique distinction of being the largest town in the largest barony in the largest county of Ireland.

It is a focal point for Duhallow. It has significant potential. We have secured funding for a number of significant projects, which are moving on. I am talking about the link road and the relief which it will give to the town centre at points during rush hour, for example, when the town is choked and congested with traffic. This link road has been discussed at local authority and other levels over the last 25 years. This project is almost ready. It was submitted under the rural regeneration programme when it was last open at the end of last year. I am extremely disappointed that funding did not come through on that occasion. It is a shovel-ready project. Substantial emphasis has been put on developing the town. Why it did not get funding at that stage is beyond me.

The Department of Rural and Community Development has to accept that this is a worthwhile project. It has been prioritised by Cork County Council. The local authority has done substantial work to advance this and other projects going through the planning and design process which are awaiting funding, such as the school. Planning permission has been secured. The county council has purchased the required lands. It is a shovel-ready project. The Minister might allude in his response to why the funding was not forthcoming to the last round in November. There was another round in February or March. The link road in Kanturk is a project which would contribute to economic development in the region. It is vitally important to ensure that Kanturk town can grow and develop and that we have a centre for the greater Duhallow region, a market town similar to many other towns. I need not advise the Minister of State about the number of shops closed in many of these towns and the decay in these communities, including Kanturk. Will the Minister of State explain why it has not been funded to date? What funding can the Minister of State offer for the link road in Kanturk in County Cork?

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