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

I reiterate that public safety is the number one priority. When I was bringing people into and around Kerry, they were vulnerable road users. Road safety has to come first. I will go back to the earlier discussion, if I can. We have over €100 billion of projects and we have a €35 billion budget. I will put it to the Deputy this way: it is not that one project is always compared against another but that there is a number of different projects in the NDP for progression and there will have to be certain prioritisation. The Abbeyfeale and Newcastle West bypasses, which are at a similar stage in terms of route selection and in terms of real critical investment decisions we need to make, are critically important for the towns themselves and for road safety but they are also critical because everyone gets stuck in traffic, as the Deputy and his constituents will be aware. The Adare bypass will be a huge game-changer in terms of the massive traffic jams one might encounter when one is going to Tralee or Killarney from Dublin, Galway or further points to the west and north west. If we did Abbeyfeale and Newcastle West, it would be transformative on that route. We cannot develop all of the projects at the same time. We must have a certain sequencing and a certain prioritisation. As I have stated on a number of occasions in this House, with regard to a number of different counties and areas, town bypasses that ease gridlock, shorten journey times and improve safety are important as well.

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