Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
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I thank the Minister for coming to the House to deal with the issue at hand. To be fair, I acknowledge the role of the Minister, Deputy Ross, in keeping the northern relief road on the agenda, as he has with regard to the M20. I was in receipt of correspondence previously from the Minister on the M20 Cork to Limerick route, but there is a need for the interurban network of roads to be facilitated also, which why I am making the case here today for the N72 and N73 bypass.

The Minister may be in possession of the economic assessment case made by Indecon consultants and issued in June 2015. It makes a strong case based on the future projected growth of towns such as Mallow. We welcome wholeheartedly the funding provision made for the M20. There is a parcel of funding behind it of approximately €900 million, and we acknowledge some grant aid has been given through Transport Infrastructure Ireland, TII, to allow for feasibility studies and further works on the northern relief road.

Will the Minister give us further clarity on timelines for the progression of the project? Is there a possibility that further moneys might be made available for the project? The key findings of the Indecon international economic analysis state Mallow is the largest town in the north of County Cork and is one of the fastest growing towns in Cork with regard to population. The agrifood sector is a key sectoral strength in the immediate conurbation, and it supports more than 12,000 people in the agriculture sector alone. We have seen the growth of Dairygold as one of the key reference points nationally for the production of milk powder and the expansion of dairy. This is giving rise to major transport movements through HGVs, and it is putting a constraint on the local infrastructure.

Is it possible for the Minister to engage further through TII, with a view to seeing whether there is a possibility for further grants to be made available, from his finite budget, to progress this project and reflect the realities of the fact Mallow is a growing town, ensuring it facilitates and dovetails with, or runs in parallel with, the M20 Cork to Limerick project?

Shane Ross (Dublin Rathdown, Independent)
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I thank Deputy Sherlock for raising the issue, of which I am aware, because, as the Deputy knows, it has been the subject of some attention recently.

As Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport I have responsibility for overall policy on and funding of the national roads programme. The planning, design and implementation of individual national road projects is a matter for Transport Infrastructure Ireland under the Roads Acts 1993-2015, in conjunction with the local authorities concerned. Within its capital budget, the assessment and prioritisation of individual projects is a matter in the first instance for TII in accordance with section 19 of the Roads Act.

Ireland has just under 100,000 km of road in its network and the maintenance and improvement of national, regional and local roads places a substantial financial burden on local authorities and on the Exchequer. As a result of the national financial position, there were very large reductions in the Exchequer funding available for roads expenditure after the financial crisis. For this reason the focus has had to be on maintenance and renewal rather than major new improvements in recent years. The capital plan Building on Recovery 2016-2021 and the capital plan review allocations mark a significant step forward in terms of restoring funding to the levels needed to maintain the road network in a steady state condition and allow for investment in road improvement schemes. The allocations and planned projects for the first years of the proposed ten-year capital investment plan will align with the existing capital plan, as supplemented as part of the capital plan review. Allowing for the extra funding secured under the capital plan review, roads investment in the four year period to 2021 will be €4.26 billion.

The Mallow relief road is one of the limited number of improvement projects included in the original Building on Recovery plan. TII is advancing these projects on a phased basis, in line with the annual funding allocations available to it. The inclusion of the Mallow project reflected the fact there was recognition at Government level of the impact on the people of Mallow and on businesses in the area of the amount of traffic travelling through the town centre. The project requires necessary project approvals. In this context, the approval process includes compliance with the requirements of the public spending code and my Department’s capital appraisal framework, together with the submission of the scheme to An Bord Pleanála for development consent.

Cork County Council is responsible for progressing the project in liaison with TII. In this context, I understand from TII that a feasibility report, referred to by the Deputy, on the scheme has been completed recently and that Cork County Council is now preparing a brief to commence the procurement of technical advisers to bring this project through phases one to four of TII’s project management guidelines. These phases cover project appraisal, design and progression through the required statutory processes.

Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
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I thank the Minister for his reply, which was positive. Given his commitment to ensuring the interurban networks get attention throughout the country, as per his statements on the national development plan, I hope the Minister will keep Mallow in mind, and when funding becomes available to progress the schemes beyond the project appraisal, design and progressing through the statutory processes, that funding would become available to ensure the project continues and stays on the political agenda.

Shane Ross (Dublin Rathdown, Independent)
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Of course, I will keep it in mind. Responsibility for the allocation of funding to progress the project, as the Deputy knows, lies with TII, which has to manage its expenditure in the overall funding available to it. In this context, the projects included in the capital plan are being implemented on a phased basis. TII has allocated €300,000 to the Mallow relief road this year.