Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)

It is the Cork-Kerry economic corridor. The Macroom and Baile Bhuirne bypass has been extraordinarily transformational environmentally, on public health grounds in terms of the air, on a road safety basis and also in terms of access and opening up Kerry to the economy of the wider hinterland right across the south west. Cork people are always anxious to benefit Kerry people as much as we possibly can in terms of sharing the economic fruits and so on. However, Killarney is choked; of that there is no doubt.

The rural regeneration and development fund has been an important fund in recent years in allocating moneys to rural towns in particular. Cahersiveen was awarded €2 million from the fund in 2022 for a strategic approach to proposed regeneration projects in the town. It was awarded €6.4 million in category 2 funding in May last year, which is very significant, to regenerate the town centre and make it a tourist destination. Key elements of that will be the Carnegie community building and, of course, the Daniel O'Connell Quarter. Daniel O'Connell is synonymous with Cahersiveen and I am looking forward to going down there this year to speak in honour of the Great Liberator.

Regarding the various road projects the Deputy alluded to in Killorglin and throughout Kerry, we accept the bona fides of the position that is being presented. There is a need for more funding. We are allocating a lot of funding but we acknowledge that more needs to be done. Sigerson Clifford put Cahersiveen on the map many years ago when he wrote of it:

The town that climbs the mountain and looks upon the sea,

And sleeping time or waking, sure it's there I long to be,

To walk again those kindly streets, where first my life began,

With the boys of Barr na Sráide, who hunted for the wren.

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