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

I spent my working life going from Cork to Kerry and around Killarney before coming into this House. I have a particular interest in and understanding of it. I thank the Deputy for his question as it raises a number of important points, including the issue of road safety. Since 2020 this Government has invested approximately €237 million in the road network in Kerry to ensure the protection and renewal of the existing network across the county and to deliver major new projects, such as the Listowel bypass which I mentioned earlier. This investment is supported through the national development plan which has earmarked €5.1 billion for capital spending on new national roads projects from 2021 to 2030 as part of the NDP, with a further €2.9 billion allocated for the protection and renewal of the existing national roads network over the same period.

The proposed N22 Farranfore to Killarney project involves approximately 27 km of road improvements on the N22 between the two towns. The project would link to the N71 and provides for a bypass of Farranfore village, a realigned N22 including a link into Killarney town and an outer bypass of Killarney town. Public consultations on route options were held between May and June 2021 and work is ongoing on the development of the preferred route, with this phase expected to be completed early next year. TII provided a grant allocation of €100,000 to the project in 2023 in this regard. The delivery programme for the project will be kept under review for 2024. The scheme remains part of the NDP and will be considered in terms of the overall funding envelope available to TII in future years. In this year alone, just over €70 million in Exchequer funding has been provided to support the road network in Kerry and I look forward to working with the roads authority in delivering a safe and sustainable network in the years ahead.

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