Martin Browne (Tipperary, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for taking this matter, although I had thought the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan, might do so. This issue has been raised repeatedly by me and other Tipperary Deputies. It relates to the Tipperary town bypass, which was first promised 40 years ago. Anybody who knows the town can see how it is absolutely choked up with heavy traffic throughout the town. All the Governments of the past 40 years have promised the bypass for Tipperary town, and Independent Deputies go into the town every now and again and make claims and so on. Any Member of this House who has any responsibility for the area of transport or any regard for the plight of Tipperary town or any rural town will tell you the towns are overwhelmed by traffic, and they will be aware of Tipperary's desperate need to move this project forward. We were being told that from Limerick to Waterford, it is all being done and last year, there was a bit of a clawback on the Cahir-to-Waterford section. Public representatives in all these counties - Limerick, Tipperary, Waterford and Kilkenny - are in favour of the N24 going ahead but the Minister did a U-turn on it and the plans were suspended.

We are asking for the same thing to happen here. Tipperary County Council looked for €3.25 million to advance the bypass project and was told this week that all it will get is €1 million. This is a matter of heartbreak for people in Tipperary town. They have been on the streets previously, and anyone who knows the town will know they are going to go back onto the streets because this is another kick in the teeth. After all the promises they have been made through the years and when they thought they were getting somewhere this time around, they are now getting only one third of the funding that Tipperary County Council looked for. As I said, the fact the council was looking for €3.25 million and was told it would get only €1 million has infuriated everybody on the council I have spoken to before or since because it means the progress of the section of the road from Cahir to Limerick Junction will not go ahead for years and will fall behind the section from Cahir to Waterford. Tipperary County Council responded to Transport Infrastructure Ireland, TII, after the initial request asking it to review and revise upwards the funding, and it has now written to the Ministers for Transport and Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform to request that the money it initially sought be made available. The shortfall in funding here, while significant in stand-alone terms, is far higher than the funding shortfall experienced by Kilkenny County Council, which requested €2.6 million and was allocated €2 million in the 2023 grant. Why is one section of the road being fully funded while another is being given only one third of the funding?

We know there are delays all the time and the Minister of State will probably tell us road works throughout the country are looking for funding, which we appreciate, but promises have been made to Tipperary town for 40 years and it has been left behind the whole time. I am aware the Minister of State is not the decision-maker here but he has been chosen to represent the Minister, so I will ask him the following question. What is the reasoning behind the decision? We want a clear commitment that the funding sought will be made available and we want the Minister to meet the political representatives in whose communities this project is vital. My purpose in raising this matter is to move it forward such that the Minister will meet us, give us reasons for the delay and progress the project.

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