Pádraig O'Sullivan (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the funding that has been provided for Cork in the past few years. We were at the Dunkettle interchange site on Monday with the Tánaiste cutting the ribbon. There has been an investment of €215 million over the past several years.

It will considerably enhance the lives and travelling habits of people across that area of Cork county and city into the future. I also acknowledge the Baile Bhuirne and Macroom bypass, which was opened by the Tánaiste last year. I am not for a second suggesting that Cork has not got its fair share of major infrastructural projects; it has. It is evidenced in those two projects in particular. However, I have fears and concerns about a number of projects. I understand that allocations for the National Roads Authority and Transport Infrastructure Ireland, TII, are imminent and will happen in the next few weeks. I will raise a few.

A few kilometres to the east of the Dunkettle Interchange is a stretch of road between Carrigtohill and Midleton that has many crossing points. It is quite dangerous and there have been a number of accidents over many years. TII officials will attend a transport committee meeting this morning where they will present a case for the priorities they will progress in the near future. Unfortunately, the Carrigtohill to Midleton project is only listed for safety works and, therefore, the proposal supported by Cork County Council that this road would receive a major upgrade akin to the Dunkettle Interchange because it connects to it seems to be on the back foot.

To the north west of the Dunkettle Interchange, there is a project that was previously known as the north ring road in Cork city. It has been talked about for 25 years. It has now been renamed the Cork city northern transport corridor or the northern distributor road, depending on the document. Essentially that ring road would provide many more bus lanes and cycles lanes. It is being described as a multi-modal project. It will improve access and all that, which is great. It is welcome. However, there is no mention of it in the TII document to be discussed at this morning's transport committee meeting. That is quite concerning.

I do not want to pre-empt the allocations announcement that will take place in a week or two. I have no doubt that the Minister of State does not have it in front of her and I do not think that good news will come from her. It might be somewhere else but I have serious concerns that project will be left to languish. It is difficult when I was at the opening of a €215 million road on a Monday and a few weeks later I might face the prospect of a road directly to the east and another directly to the north west not progressing when they only need a few million euro to progress through planning and design. We are not talking about building the roads yet, just progressing them to the next stage. It is quite difficult for people to understand how we can build a road for €215 million and leave behind a few other projects that are immediately adjacent to it and that connect to it that would enhance the access for everyone around that area.

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