Ken O'Flynn (Cork North-Central, Independent Ireland Party)

I thank the Minister of State. I am very grateful for his help in securing the money for the Mallow distributor road. We accept that it is vital that we get it up and running. In the meantime, I am delighted with the Minister of State's reply to the effect that the NTA is exploring looking at putting the orbital route in place. The Minister of State visited my constituency several times. I invite him to Mallow to have a look at the congestion. I know he is very familiar with the area. I would like to bring him to see what downtown Mallow is like. The fact is that you cannot get from Ballyviniter into the town itself, and we do not have enough parking. It is a wonderful, fantastic town. I chose to live there myself for the last 24 years, but it does have its challenges. Until we have the Mallow distributor road built, we need orbital bus routes to get the traffic off the streets because it is so spread out, and because it has been a success story with housing estate after housing estate. Orbital bus routes could be very helpful. That could probably be introduced as part of the Fermoy to Mallow bus service.

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