David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Ceann Comhairle. Personal responsibility is important when it comes to road safety but it is important for us as Oireachtas Members to feed back local projects we are being lobbied on by constituents, officials from local authorities and campaign groups who believe that investments are necessary in road safety improvements.

I want to pick up on one of the issues mentioned by Deputy Cleere which is the N24 Waterford to Cahir bypass. We have all been lobbied very heavily, and rightly so, by the chief executives of the local authorities in counties Waterford, Kilkenny and Tipperary. Phase 2 of that project, as I understand it, has been funded but funding is also necessary for phases 3 and 4. This will allow for design, the statutory process and to commence the environmental impact assessments. All that needs to be done. If phases 3 and 4 are not funded, that will stall the project and will call into question whether it will even be done in the lifetime of this Government. Everybody accepts that road improvements and projects of that scale take time but we have to get through all the various processes. Can the Minister of State ensure the requests of the local authorities involved and the Oireachtas Members in the south east regarding the N24 road? The N25, Waterford to Cork road, is also important and needs to be improved. These are two important projects for the south east and for Waterford.

I also want to raise another issue regarding Ballymacarbry, County Waterford. It is really important that we give respect to people in communities who come together to set up action groups in the best interest of the people who live there. I pay tribute to the committee of the Ballymacarbry road action group, which was established on the foot of a meeting last October. There were real road safety issues in Ballymacarbry village, in particular a need for traffic calming measures to be implemented at Ballymacarbry National School. The group has since engaged with Waterford City and County Council. My understanding is that it is making an application for traffic calming measures on the R671 to the Minister of State's Department. I ask that this would be treated favourably. It is an important issue for the parents and young pupils attending that school. As others have pointed out, these are local examples of what we can do as legislators or what Departments can do to improve road safety. I ask the Minister of State to relay my comments on those projects back to the senior Minister.

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