Jerry Buttimer (Cork South-Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for raising this project on behalf of Deputy McCarthy, which I know is of great importance to him. The Minister for Transport has overall responsibility for the allocation of Exchequer funding for national roads. As part of the annual allocation process for national roads, TII prepares the booklet for funding for each project for the year. We announced this year's allocation last week. Approximately €139 million in Exchequer funding was allocated to Cork County Council for national roads in 2026. This represents an increase of over €66 million for Cork County Council when compared to last year, and will help to progress a number of major national road projects such as the M28 and N25. I know Deputy O'Shea has been advocating a greater increase in funding for Cork.

I am pleased to confirm that Cork County Council's allocation also includes €500,000 to enable of the progression of the Carrigtwohill to Midleton project, which has been paused at the route options selection phase since 2021 due to funding constraints. This project consists of an upgrade and realignment of approximately 5 km of the N25 dual carriageway from Carrigtwohill to Midleton. It will separate local and strategic traffic, and deliver upgraded junctions. Most important, it will improve safety for all road users on the N25 between Carrigtwohill and Midleton. Those of us who use that road know that it has become very congested and popular.

In addition, over the past number of years, TII has provided funding to Cork County Council for identifying smaller, more localised interventions on this section of the N25, including €100,000 this year for junction safety improvements. These are badly needed and we would all welcome them. While interventions on this section have proven challenging due to the number of access points, limited land in public ownership and budgetary constraints, one measure that has been developed and proposed by Cork County Council is at Milebush, where it is hoped to provide improved access by utilising lands owned by the local authority. I hope that will be progressed this year.

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