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

I thank the Minister for the information he has provided today to Dáil Éireann. As he stated, there is no definite project at this stage but that is something I am elected here to try to work upon and to resolve, as I have been doing in recent months. I recently met representatives of TII at its facility at the Jack Lynch tunnel to discuss this project. It is absolutely crucial that we recognise the major shortage of road infrastructure in east Cork. I will give the Minister an idea of the scale of the lack of investment on the eastern side of Midleton. There is a proposal for more than €200 million to be spent on improving the N25 near and around Cork city, on the eastern side, but once we go beyond Midleton, we cannot even secure a commitment to get between €20 million and €40 million that this project is expected to cost, depending on what type of project TII deems suitable. I know it has been working alongside Padraig Barrett, who is the director of roads on Cork County Council, to try to push this issue along. I am aware that €100,000 has been allocated to Cork County Council to carry out a feasibility study but I know for a fact that if we cannot get this on the national development plan later in the year, this project simply will not go ahead because of the costs involved, given that it is a major scheme.

We must acknowledge that the current situation is unacceptable and is causing massive damage to the economy in east Cork and to the residents of Youghal who have been through extraordinary hardship. When I was growing up, thousands of jobs were lost in the town at the turn of the millennium. We have been waiting ever since to rectify that. As the first Government Deputy the town has had since the 1960s, I am committed to ensuring this issue is solved once and for all by improving the competitiveness of our area by investing in our road infrastructure and by taking other necessary measures as well. I strongly encourage the Minister to give a commitment that he will look into the issue in his role as Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport. We are counting on him. I thank him for hearing what I have had to say.

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