Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy Cahill for raising this matter and firmly putting across the main concern he has for this year. Again, I will bring this back to the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan. I am at pains to indicate on his behalf that he is not personally involved with every decision on each project being brought forward. His main aim was to increase the budget allocation to the national development plan for road projects like the one mentioned here, the N24. He wants to ensure that through the work of the national development plan, such projects are completed. I will ask him to raise the matter outlined by the Deputy, which is that stopping the process now will cause undue delays and hassle for families that want to get on with plans for their livelihoods. I will make that point to him very clearly. Perhaps he could use his influence with TII on this project but I should be clear that he does not make a personal decision on each individual road project. He must allocate the money and ensure we are making progress overall as well.

The Deputy has made the case well and I am very familiar with it. When land is sterilised this way, it can really affect individual families. As communities, we all want to see projects and bypasses happening because of their associated benefits but it can be a difficult time as the route selection process is gone through. I undertake to bring the Deputy's concerns back to the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan. I will ask him to correspond directly with the Deputy. It is important to point out that this N24 project is still included in the overall plan and its progression is paused for this year. The €616 million in capital funds is required for other projects that are near completion and so on. It is important to realise that this project is continuing, although I hear the Deputy's argument that he wants to ensure this decision on route selection can be completed in 2022. I will bring it back to the Minister to see if there is any way it can be done with the available funds.

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