Michael Moynihan (Cork North West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for the reply. The two last paragraphs in the script were the important ones. TII identified a high collision location in the town through the network safety analysis undertaken in 2019. This is not just about collisions, but about life and death. People are losing their lives on the main street in Charleville. I do not want to exaggerate the issue, but it has happened and is happening. We must ensure urgency is brought to bear on this issue.

Can we get representatives of TII and the local authority together as a matter of extreme urgency to resolve this issue and to try to make Charleville safer in the short term, as well as to examine a medium-term solution for the town? This approach can be twofold. It can address further development in Charleville in the longer term, as well as the short-term priority of a solution to try to resolve the current issues. I ask that TII, the Department and Cork County Council meet urgently. Will the Minister of State ask the Minister for Transport to organise this meeting urgently?

As public representatives, we can input into this matter. It is greatly important, however, that this matter is addressed with serious urgency. Does the Minister of State have information regarding ongoing discussions between TII and Cork County Council? If so, I ask him to make any such information available to me, which I would appreciate. If he does not have the information to hand, I ask him if he could make it available to us as a matter of urgency. Councillor Ian Doyle and I have been working on this issue and it is an urgent priority. We need a short- and medium-term solution to this matter. The long-term solution will come with the bypass in time to come.

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