Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy Lowry for raising this important issue. All Oireachtas Members from Tipperary are united in revitalising Tipperary town and addressing social disadvantage and deprivation there. As the Deputy said, the entire community came together publicly to demonstrate its concerns but, above all, its objectives in terms of revitalising the town and its hinterland and providing for greater social inclusion.

The task force has been created. The recruitment of a dedicated project manager and the production of the collaborative town centre health check have taken place as part of the contributions by the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage. I am interested in working with the task force and all involved in a multi-agency approach, which is key and essential.

Traffic congestion in Tipperary town is very severe. The Minister for Transport, Deputy Eamon Ryan, met all the local Deputies on 12 March. He agreed that there were congestion issues in the town and that there was broad support for a bypass. The Deputy is correct in identifying the Minister's preferences in terms of the review of the NDP. In that context, the Minister is keen on the option for smaller bypasses which address immediate congestion in town centres and can be delivered on a shorter timescale to support the town centres first strategy. It will need further development and consideration and it is under active consideration by the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, in consultation with the Cabinet economic committee in respect of those issues.

As Deputy Lowry knows, the NDP includes the proposed N24 Cahir to Limerick Junction improvement scheme, which includes a bypass of Tipperary town. I am aware that opinions have been expressed in Tipperary County Council that a short-term relief road should be built to the south of the town in an effort to immediately relieve the congestion that exists there, rather than wait for the completion of the major scheme. These are issues we will actively consider. We understand the urgency and importance of it but also the broader picture that, where we have communities that need additional help and assistance, we should, across all Departments, go the extra mile in facilitating and doing things rather than putting them on the long finger. That is my approach to this. It is part of a wider Government initiative in which we are working on a new programme to try to help areas of significant disadvantage. This would involve all Government Departments and agencies doing extra to facilitate early alleviation of that disadvantage. The Minister for Education is also working on educational disadvantage as well.

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