Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

First, I would like to explain that once funding arrangements have been put in place through the Department of Transport, under the Roads Acts 1993-2015, the planning, design and construction of individual national roads is a matter for TII in conjunction with the local authorities concerned. Overall, TII is responsible for the delivery of the national roads programme in accordance with Project Ireland 2040 and the national development plan, NDP. In that context, TII provides the Department with regular updates on its delivery of the national roads programme. Within the timeframe given in the lead-up to this debate, the following information was the most up-to-date information available to me.

Within the overall context of Project Ireland 2040, the NDP was developed to underpin the successful implementation of the national planning framework. This provides the strategic and financial framework for the national roads programme for the period from 2018 to 2027. The focus of TII's activities is, accordingly, being directed towards the development of the major national road improvement schemes that are included in the NDP, along with the maintenance of the existing national road network.

The section of national route to which the Deputy refers is approximately 20 km in length and goes from the completed Ballincollig bypass to the works currently under construction on the N22 Ballyvourney to Macroom project. Some works were completed on a proposed new or upgraded route design between Macroom and Ballincollig in 2002 and 2003 and a number of possible route options were considered until the scheme was suspended during the economic downturn due to lack of funding. This new scheme is not listed for delivery in the NDP and therefore remains suspended. As a result, there are no current plans to reactivate the planning, design or appraisal of this project. However, it should be noted that the programme for Government commits to bringing forward the planned review of the NDP and to use the review to set out an updated NDP for the period out to 2030. The review of the NDP will be aligned with the national planning framework and Project Ireland 2040. Work is under way within my Department to contribute to this planned review.

I would also like to take this opportunity to highlight the fact that all projects, including those listed in the NDP or any revision to it, require statutory approval and must be in compliance with the public spending code.

The Deputy will, of course, know about another national road project in the vicinity which is included in the NDP and on which there is good ongoing progress, namely the Ballyvourney to Macroom section of roadway, to which he has already referred. The previous Government approved the award of the contract in October 2019 and construction on the site commenced in December of last year. The estimated cost of the project is approximately €280 million. Good progress on construction is currently being made and it is expected that the dual carriageway will be operational in 2023. This new road development consists of the upgrade of 22 km of the N22 national primary route between Ballyvourney and Macroom to a dual carriageway standard. This will comprise a bypass of Macroom town and the villages of Ballyvourney and Ballymakeera in County Cork. This scheme is on the Trans-European Transport Network, TEN-T, comprehensive route and will strengthen the link between Cork and Kerry.

Through the provision of reliable transport infrastructure, this project will improve connectivity between Cork and Kerry ensuring enhanced regional accessibility, which is a national strategic objective under Project Ireland 2040. The project will significantly improve journey times and allow for safer and more reliable journeys for road users. In diverting daily traffic away from Macroom, the project will improve the urban environment of the town by reducing air and noise pollution. In addition to this, and with traffic redirected to the Macroom bypass, existing roads will be developed to facilitate safer cycling and walking routes. In addition, some pavement improvement works have been completed in Lissarda village, which is located on the N22 between Ballincollig and Macroom. These works were completed in 2017 at a cost of €1.67 million over a length of 1.3 km.

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