Conor McGuinness (Waterford, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

When we speak about road safety, speed is one of the key talking points. Undoubtedly, one of the major causes of accidents on our roads is people driving too fast. However, we cannot ignore the impact on road safety of the quality and standard of our roads. In my constituency of County Waterford, I see it all too often. A major contributing factor to accidents, including very serious accidents, is the condition of the road. There are stretches of road where there adjustments to junctions are needed. Dangerous bends need to be taken out of roads. There are places where the road surface leaves a lot to be desired. I was a county councillor for many years before being elected to this House and I know that there are areas where the potholes and the surface of the roads force the traffic into dangerous predicaments. We need to address that issue.

I was disappointed by the lack of priority given in the programme for Government to a number of roads that need investment and require action to be taken. I am thinking of the N25, which stretches from Rosslare to Cork and forms the backbone of County Waterford's road transport infrastructure. It is a hugely busy road that a number of years ago was named by The Irish Times as the most dangerous stretch of national road in the State. There are accidents on the road every single week and there was a fatal collision last year. People are injured and damage is caused. I implore the Minister of State and his colleagues in the Government to ensure that when the national development plan, NDP, is reviewed, hopefully later this year, the N25 is restored as a priority. It should never have come off that list in the first place. We need that investment.

We also need investment in the N24, which links Waterford to Limerick. That road is quite poor in patches, which is an impact on safety. Someone driving from my town of Dungarvan to Limerick has to take the R671, which is the main road between Dungarvan and Clonmel. The road carries traffic of an agricultural nature, heavy goods vehicles and commuter traffic. There are big pharmaceutical employers in both Dungarvan and Clonmel, which provide considerable employment. There are a lot of journeys on this stretch of road. The R671 needs urgent intervention. I am thinking in particular of Ballymacarbry, which my colleague, Deputy Cullinane, mentioned earlier. We need safety improvements at the national school in Ballymacarbry on the R671.

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