Alan Kelly (Tipperary, Labour)
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I thank the Minister for making himself available to take this issue. Will he seriously consider, as part of the capital programme, which I presume will be announced when we come back after the summer recess, funding the N24 to motorway standard? This road connects Limerick and Waterford. This is a very valid proposal and given where we are with regard to the national spatial strategy and the national planning framework, which, coincidentally, I kicked off myself a couple of years ago, this would fit right into the plans and requirements set out in them. It also fits into the plans set out in the submission from County Tipperary as part of that and also submissions and plans from the south east. The local authorities of Tipperary, Waterford and Kilkenny have written to the Minister and made a submission on this motorway proposal.

We need the motorway in order to open up the south of the country. Not only would it link Cork, Limerick, Waterford and all the towns in between, it would link the ports of Rosslare, Waterford, Limerick, Foynes and Cork. Based on my knowledge as a former MEP, I think there is potential for funding from the Trans-European Transport Networks, TEN-T, programme because this would link up all the ports and in doing so, meet all its requirements.

The current N24 is substandard. It links many towns in Tipperary, including Clonmel, Carrick-on-Suir and Tipperary town, with many others. It has slow journey times. It would be a game-changer because it would link up the whole southern region. It would also open up Shannon Airport as an access point. Furthermore, it would create the possibility of opening the M8 and linking it with the M7.

The Minister has decisions to make on capital funding which will be tight. He will be under pressure in regard to requirements in Dublin, which are also all valid. I was in his Department a number of years ago when similar decisions had to be made and when our envelope was much smaller.

Will the Minister consider doing this motorway? If he cannot do the whole motorway, will he consider doing a component of it? The cost associated with linking up Limerick with the M8, for example, would come in at €500 million or thereabouts. The cost associated with doing the Cork to Limerick road would be much higher and that is a very worthy project in its own right, but the Minister is obviously going to have to fit the projects within the envelope he has.

This is a fantastic project that would tick all the boxes in regard to the Action Plan for Jobs, the plans for opening up rural Ireland and regionality. IDA Ireland and those looking to bring investment into this country would be very excited if the Minister could go some way to funding this road to bring it to motorway standard, whether by upgrading the road or, probably more likely, building a new road. In the coming months will the Minister consider this favourably, if at all possible?

Shane Ross (Dublin Rathdown, Independent)
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I thank the Deputy for raising this very important subject. He will be aware that I cannot make any commitment at this stage and that he is putting a case which is competing with many others in what is not a bottomless pit. I acknowledge the fact he has made a very good case for upgrading the N24, in particular when he mentioned the spatial strategy, which is important, and the fact the road is undoubtedly substandard. I point out to him, because I do not want to raise expectations and I have had a multitude of requests about roads, that we really have not been able to do anything to even keep up with the steady state in recent years and that will not happen until 2019 or 2020. We are coming from behind but, as the Deputy said, the capital review will I hope release capital.

The N24 services the cities of Limerick and Waterford. The route originates at the junction of the N24 and the N7 at Henry Street in the city of Limerick and terminates at the junction of the N9 and N25 at the Brother Ignatius Rice Bridge in Waterford city. The overall route length of the N24 is approximately 120 km. An approximate breakdown of the route length by local authority means that the largest stretch of the route is in the Deputy's home county of Tipperary. A number of significant upgrades to the N24 were being planned before the financial crisis but were, unfortunately, suspended at route selection stage due to lack of funding. These included the Bansha-Tipperary-Oola bypass, the Cahir-Bansha road, the Carrick-on-Suir bypass, the Clonmel-Cahir bypass and the Mooncoin bypass. The Government's capital investment plan, building on recovery, infrastructure and capital investment, provides the financial and strategic framework for Transport Infrastructure Ireland's, TII, activities during the period from 2016 to 2021. The N24 was not included among those projects which were identified for development during the period of the plan. However, as the Deputy is aware, mid-term review of the capital investment plan is being undertaken by the Government and the position on the development of the route will be reviewed in the light of the outcome of the review and any additional funding priorities that may be identified by the Government for the national roads programme.

The Department's submission, as part of the capital plan review, includes provision for the development of a project pipeline for national roads. Among the projects included in the pipeline is an upgrade of one section of the N24, from Cahir to Limerick Junction, which is 27 km. The capital review process is under way and decisions on the outcome will be made before budget 2018.

Alan Kelly (Tipperary, Labour)
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The Minister and I have had our differences in the past on a range of issues. One matter on I have great sympathy for him is the issue of roads and capital spending because there will never be enough funding. Obviously, he has other competing capital public transport projects across Dublin and other cities. I was in that Department and have sympathy for him.

I will ventilate some issues for the Minister to put into the mix. This opens up together all the ports across the south of Ireland. Given our issues in regard to a range of other areas, including climate change, that should be considered. Second, it opens up Shannon Airport. It meets our spatial strategy plans. We cannot continue developing this country based on the conurbation around Dublin. We need to open up other parts of the country and I believe turning this into an motorway, even if we have to do it in stages, is critical in order to achieve it.

I very much welcome what the Minister said. I am taking it as a move in the right direction that, in consideration of upgrading the road from the Cahir on the M8 to Limerick Junction, which is a road desperately in need of being upgraded, it allows a continuation of the M8 motorway on to Limerick Junction and then from a road from Limerick Junction into Limerick, which is not as bad as the other area. I implore the Minister. Even if he could countenance doing that component of it, that would be welcome. It would open up that part of the country and allow for continuation of the work when more funding is available. I encourage the Minister to do that. I believe it would open up the whole area, particularly a part of the country that has not had infrastructural investment. There are serious issues, for instance, in Tipperary town and the surrounding areas. We need to allow for greater investment in that whole area and this would do so. Even if the Minister were to look on it favourably, it would be welcomed by all sides of the House.

Shane Ross (Dublin Rathdown, Independent)
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I will, of course, look on it as favourably as I possibly can. I am glad that the Deputy who has been in this position realises that the competing considerations are overwhelming in this case, particularly as the capital plan looms and decisions have to be made in the autumn. I will certainly bear in mind what he said about the ports and Shannon Airport. They are strong points.

The plan provides for a gradual build up of capital funding towards the levels needed to support maintenance and improvement works. It will, however, take some years yet to restore the steady State funding levels for land transport. There will be a significant increase in funding from 2020 which will facilitate the construction of the national road improvement projects included in the plan. While available funding is not sufficient to address all the demands for improvement schemes, including schemes such as the upgrade of the N24, by the end of the plan period I expect that capital funding for the road network will be back up to the levels needed to support maintenance and improvement works in the future.

As regards the possibility of additional funding within the plan period for national road projects, the capital plan review process is under way and my Department is making a strong case for extra funding to the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, including the development of a project pipeline for national road schemes. The final decisions on allocations are, however, matters for the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform and the Government as a whole.