Kevin O'Keeffe (Cork East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister. This is an old hobbyhorse of mine because the problem has not gone away. The Minister may recall that in May 2017, I and some of my colleagues, including Deputies Moynihan and Niall Collins from Limerick, raised the need for the M20 to be put in place via Mallow, Buttevant, Charleville and Patrickswell past Croom. The issue is being debated. Consideration is being given to rerouting the M20 via the N7 to Cahir and connectivity to the N24, namely, the Waterville to Limerick road. The local authorities concerned have their own priorities.

In October 2017, the Taoiseach confirmed in the House that he would ensure the M20 route selection process would involve a corridor from Cork to Limerick via Mallow, Buttevant and Charleville. We thought that the project had been agreed. The Minister and his Department have provided money for a study to be carried out. The issue has raised its ugly head again in the past couple of months. I am concerned that the lead authority is Limerick County Council, which seems to be in agreement with the Tipperary and Waterford local authorities in terms of giving priority to the N24 and using it as a route to add to the N7 to get to Cork.

The Southern Regional Assembly compiled the regional spatial and economic strategy for the southern region for the next ten or 20 years. It stated that the options available include the M20 route to Cahir and connecting to the N24, which is a major concern. I thought everything had been buried, but when I met regional statutory bodies like the IBEC section for the southern region and CIT, they raised their concerns with Oireachtas Members that the M20 route selection encompasses many alternatives.

I want some confirmation that the Minister, under the guidance of the Taoiseach, will give solace and comfort to the people of Mallow, Buttevant and Charleville that they will have a motorway. I know the Minister will tell us we have to change our strategy because of climate and green energy initiatives and so on, but there is no point comparing us with other countries which may be more advanced in terms of infrastructure and development. As we know from the document on regional planning guidelines from the South Western Regional Authority, an important aspect of mobility within the region is the upgrading of principal routes. This is a principal route. Mallow is totally congested. I will put my hand up and admit that when my party was in government in the 1990s and 2000s we got distracted in terms of Mallow and the bypass. We went for major projects such as the M20. The project went as far as consultation and route selection, and submissions were received in 2008 but because of the recession it was, understandably, pulled.

The economic positives, including access and so on, for the south-west region must be taken into account. The Minister is forgetting about the people of west and north-west Cork and Kerry in terms of connectivity. He must remember that the route is made longer by going via Cahir. I ask that the Department and Minister provide an update. He is able to have his say with other Departments. I ask that he be responsible for his Department and ask Transport Infrastructure Ireland, TII, and all of the local authorities in the Munster area to acknowledge that the preferred route has to be via Mallow, Buttevant, Charleville and Limerick.

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