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

I am aware that the Deputy attended the meeting of the transport committee yesterday at which we looked at some of these issues, but he was not able to ask these particular questions. I am glad he can avail of the chance to do so today. As he heard yesterday, we have some €5.1 billion allocated to national roads under the NDP between now and 2030. The reality is that a large proportion of that, amounting to some €4 billion, will be spent in the latter half of the decade. A large number of public transport projects are coming through, including the Connecting Ireland rural public bus service, BusConnects and rail projects across the country, which require a large upfront capital investment in the next four to five years. This means there will be a tight constraint on the roads budget in the immediate coming years. Within those circumstances, we have to prioritise and give a clear signal on what should come first. I am saying to Transport Infrastructure Ireland, TII, which has responsibility for this, that priority should back up the national planning framework, which is about balanced regional development, compact development and low-carbon development, and should particularly complement the Government's town centres first strategy, which is about bringing life back into the beautiful 19th century market towns all over the country.

Tipperary town is a perfect example. It is a beautiful town with great people but it is suffering from really heavy volumes of traffic, particularly freight traffic, going right through its centre on Main Street. If I recall correctly from a survey carried out in the town, some 30% of retail businesses are not working because the town is dominated by that through traffic. I am glad to put on the record of the Dáil what I have often said to TII and will say again, namely, that in looking at the upgrade of the Cahir to Limerick Junction roadway, which is what is has been commissioned to do, it should, first and foremost, look at, and proceed with, the option of a bypass of Tipperary town, which could, as the road is later developed, be part of a wider upgrade. First things first, we must rescue Tipperary town from the excess domination of through traffic, particularly heavy freight.

It is a perfect example of what we can do, with a fairly small budget allocation, to advance the town centres first policy. It is perfect in terms of balanced regional development and it helps compact development and low-carbon development, which are the centre points of our transport strategy. Tipperary Town Council will have an opportunity to transform the centre of the town by taking as much through traffic out as possible and really improving the public realm. We have seen what happens in towns where that is done. There are examples across the country but I always pick Clonakilty because, in our family, it was a case of, "Clonakilty, God help us", and now it is an incredibly thriving town. That came about partly because the through traffic was taken out of the town, pedestrianisation was introduced and a really high-quality public realm was created. We can do the same in Tipperary town and that is what I will be saying to TII. We must make sure we get the design of the bypass right and get it built first. That is the priority for roads investment, as an example.

See this speech in context