Anne Rabbitte (Galway East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

There is no doubt that there are a number of road projects in my and the Leas-Cheann Comhairle's county that we would love to see progress. The Deputy stated that 120,000 cars go through the Carrigtohlil area. We have 100,000 cars going through Clarinbridge and traffic calming measures would be welcome in that area. While it is not in my script - these are my words - when it comes to safety works, I cannot understand how the TII cannot prioritise them.

Where there are schools and children's crossings, there has to be prioritisation of works. When we are looking at climate change, there has to be prioritisation when it comes to different forms and methods of transport that can enable fair accessibility. It is a prioritisation.

At the same time, however, it is also important to flag that €320 million, and the last €4 million in the Deputy's county, is not an unfair or mean share. We would love to get a portion of that in the west, particularly in my own county. The sort of work and relief works that would bring would be amazing. In saying that, however, the Minister for Transport has allocated national roads funding for 2023 in a manner that sought to achieve the following key outcomes: protection and renewal of existing national road networks; progressing major projects in or near construction, hence the cutting of the ribbon on the opening of the Dunkettle project on Monday; progressing major projects that are at preconstruction but well-advanced in the development of pipelines, which is the Mallow project about which the Deputy spoke; and prioritisation of any remaining funds for major projects that provide local bypasses and compact growth in Ireland's towns or villages.

The key piece for me as an outsider looking at this, however, is that safety has to be a priority at all times when decisions are being made.

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