Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire (Cork South Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

This has been a saga for the people of Lehenaghmore and Lehenagh Beg. To give the Minister of State some context, since she might not be familiar with the locality, this is an area just south of the link road in Cork city. Hundreds upon hundreds of houses have been built there in recent years but, effectively, it is an island. It is within walking distance of Ballyphehane and Togher but, because there are no footpaths, you would be taking your life into your hands going out onto the road. There is inadequate public lighting there as well, but the lack of infrastructure there reflects the worst excesses of Celtic tiger planning. All the houses went up and none of the infrastructure went in. So many people would love to be able to walk down to the shops. There are children who would like to be able to walk down to their friends. There are people who might like to cycle there. It is an absolute disaster. It is challenging for motorists as well. Fundamentally, at the minute, it is unsafe.

It is a large enough community at this stage but, unfortunately, they have seen an awful lot of frustration in recent years. This is fundamentally about footpaths, and while there is a substantial scheme, because of the way in which the road is congested, it is difficult to put in footpaths, much as I might like that to be possible. The scheme was first promised in 2008 or 2009 to the residents living there and it has gone on and on, and each deadline seems to be missed. That is causing huge frustration among residents. I recall that even after this had gone to planning - the initial application has cleared planning for three years now - I was given a timeline of quarter 1 of 2022 for publication of the CPO, quarter 2 of 2022 for the tender for construction contract and quarter 3 of 2022 for commencement of construction. We are a long way beyond that.

The CPO was appealed to An Bord Pleanála. I understand that while it has not been heard by An Bord Pleanála, the council has progressed with dealing with the individual property owners and hope to wrap that up to be in a position to proceed without the CPO. Where central government comes in, because a lot of this happens at the local authority level, is that, this year, €450,000, as I understand it, was allocated under the NTA's travel funding. Two years ago, €1.9 million was allocated for the same scheme. Obviously, that could not be spent because of the difficulties with CPO, An Bord Pleanála and all the rest of it, but there was an awful lot more committed at that stage. My concern is that if it is possible that the council is in a position to proceed without an An Bord Pleanála hearing, and I hope it will be, the funding that is allocated this year will not be sufficient to deliver a large amount of progress this year.

This is a shovel-ready project once the go-ahead is given. The design and all the rest of it are ready to go. The need is profound and urgent. It is in the interests of everyone, as I said, including motorists, cyclists and pedestrians. It is about allowing this community to link in with its neighbours, and that is not a lot to ask. It is very much about safety.

I hope the Minister of State can give me an update. I also hope she will take back to the Minister my request that if an additional application for funding comes forth, it will be considered.

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