James O'Connor (Cork East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I wish a good morning to the Acting Chairman, the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan, and the other Deputies who are present. It is worth reading into the record that it is now 2.20 a.m. I thank the Minister for being in the Chamber to speak about an extremely important issue to the constituents of Cork East, whom I am elected here to represent and to me as their local Deputy and a former councillor in the Midleton and east Cork municipal district. I refer to the issue of traffic congestion on the N25 at Castlemartyr in east Cork.

Castlemartyr is a beautiful village located in east Cork between the towns of Midleton and Youghal, and, of course, the N25 is the main economic artery on the southern side of my constituency, in the municipal district of Midleton. It connects Waterford city and Rosslare to Cork. It is an extremely well travelled route and is an incredibly important economic artery for the region. Unfortunately, there is a severe issue at Castlemartyr, where consistent issues have arisen for a long number of years as the traffic has reached a point where it is no longer at a sustainable capacity for the local area.

I have extreme concerns, which during my time as a county councillor I highlighted with previous Ministers, the Taoiseach, Deputy Micheál Martin, and the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Deputy Michael McGrath, to ensure that this issue is solved. From the research I have been doing into this issue for more than a year, it is quite clear that, unfortunately, the section of the constituency in east Cork that I call home, which is near Killeagh and Castlemartyr, has been left out of the existing national development plan. Something that excites me and which I am looking forward to is the opportunity for the national development plan to be reviewed, which will be completed in the last quarter of 2020. Will the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport give serious consideration to looking into this issue?

As a Fianna Fáil Deputy, I share enormous interest in public transport as I am sure does the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan. Before I ever became an elected representative of the people I made an enormous effort to ensure access to public transport was improved upon for rural communities and for young people throughout the country. My record speaks for itself with regard to that issue.

As for the issue of infrastructure that is required for heavy goods vehicles, private cars and public transport, it is absolutely crucial that this issue be solved. It is a detrimental situation in Youghal, which has suffered extraordinarily massive economic problems. I have been working alongside a very good friend of the Acting Chairman and mine, Sandra McLellan, at Youghal Chamber of Commerce and her colleagues, to try to push this issue up the political agenda. It is one of the main priorities I hope to achieve in my time here as a Dáil Deputy.

I cannot reiterate enough to the Minister how important this is to me, and it would be a societal game changer for people who are living beyond Midleton in east Cork and would change the way they live their lives so they do not spend an additional 20 minutes or half an hour stuck in traffic. Local residents in places such as Mogeely, Killeagh, Garryvoe and Ballycotton would not get caught up in severe traffic on their way home from work or their way to work, school and university.

It also would give people throughout west Waterford and east Cork the opportunity to live at home and commute to university and third level institutes, which at present is not an option for so many families. This is not just about a piece of road infrastructure or the economy. It is about the society which I have the honour of being here to represent as a Deputy. I strongly encourage the Minister to give this matter the utmost consideration.

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