Colm Burke (Cork North Central, Fine Gael)
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I am seeking confirmation that the N20-M20 road project from Cork to Limerick will proceed with urgency in view of the fact, as reported in The Irish Timesrecently, that 62 people have died on this road in the past 25 years. Between 2016 and 2018, 87 collisions were recorded on the N20, seven of which involved the death of road users, and a further 13 collisions led to serious injuries, with the remaining 67 resulting in minor injuries to road users.

The route of this project was to be announced in September. Even if the route was announced in the morning, we should consider the case of the bypass for Ringaskiddy. Although it was announced in 2014, it took six years before it was finally signed off on as the route. There is huge pressure locally to allow the existing route, especially the stretch from Cork to Mallow, to continue to be used but that it be upgraded and widened.

Bypasses are to be constructed around Mallow, Buttevant and Charleville. A new road will obviously have to be built from Mallow to Charleville because a section of this route is extremely dangerous and not suitable for the volume of traffic that uses it. To give the Minister an idea of this volume of traffic, 25,000 cars pass the section from Waterloo Road and Blarney to Cork City every day. Some 17,000 pass the section around the Mallow area. The figure is the same for the section in the Limerick area. Some 13,000 cars a day use the section from Charleville to Buttevant on what is an old country road.

I will give the Minister an idea of the challenges this presents. There are 625 access points onto the N20. Some 216 of these provide access to fields, 295 to houses and 114 to public roads. That is the challenge faced by anyone travelling on this road. Someone may suddenly decide to turn right and leave the road while one is behind them. There is also the danger of having to cross the path of oncoming traffic.

We face a major challenge. There is a massive volume of traffic comprising both cars and commercial vehicles. As the Minister will know, the Port of Cork has been upgraded and now has additional capacity. We will, therefore, have further commercial freight traffic using this road in the coming years. I ask that this project be prioritised and not postponed again because, if we decide to start in the morning, we will still have a long journey to travel before we turn the first sod on this project.

Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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I thank the Deputy very much. I am taking this issue for the Minister, Deputy Ryan. Obviously, as Minister for Transport, Deputy Ryan has responsibility for overall policy and Exchequer funding in respect of the national roads programme. Once funding arrangements have been put in place with Transport Infrastructure Ireland, TII, under the Roads Acts 1993-2015 and in line with the national development plan, NDP, the planning, design, improvement and upgrading of individual national roads is a matter for TII, in conjunction with the various local authorities concerned.

TII ultimately delivers the national roads programme in line with Project Ireland 2040, the national planning framework and, of course, the NDP. In the new NDP, which was launched in Cork in October, approximately €5.1 billion is earmarked for new national road projects up to 2030. This funding will enable improved regional accessibility across the country as well as compact growth, which are both key national strategic objectives. The funding will provide for the development of numerous national road projects, including the completion of projects which are already at construction stage and those close to it and the development of a number of other projects. The N20-M20 project is included on the list of projects to be progressed during the period covered by the NDP.

The existing N20 is a national primary road which, as the Deputy mentioned, connects the cities of Cork and Limerick. Buttevant, Croom, Charleville, Mallow and Blarney are all major towns along the route. The N20-M20 project is included in the list of projects to be progressed in the NDP and it is being actively progressed. This year alone, TII allocated €5 million to Limerick City and County Council to progress the scheme. The N20-M20 road corridor options to augment or replace the existing N20 Cork-Limerick road are currently being evaluated by TII. These options include a new motorway, the M20, or the upgrading of various sections of the N20. These road options largely follow the existing N20 corridor.

As part of the evaluation, rail scenarios are also being considered as potential solutions in improving Cork-Limerick connectivity. The two rail scenarios being considered by the project team cover the existing Cork to Limerick rail line and a new rail line spur from Charleville to Limerick. Overall, this project has the potential to improve safety - the Deputy spoke about safety issues - and journey time reliability for passenger and freight traffic using the route. More generally, it has the potential to provide economic benefits to the region.

With regard to the next steps, an online public consultation on the possible route options, carried out by the N20-M20 project team, had a high level of public engagement. The closing date for submissions was extended to 15 January 2021. The scheme is currently at route option selection stage, where all the road and rail options I have mentioned will be considered. The preferred transport corridor is expected to be announced by TII in the first half of next year. Subsequent to this, work on design and environmental evaluation will be undertaken by the project team, in addition to the scheme business case required under the public spending code. The business case is expected to be submitted to the Department of Transport and the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform in early 2023 for Government decision. Subject to its approval, the submission of any necessary statutory documents for the project to An Bord Pleanála will follow thereafter.

Colm Burke (Cork North Central, Fine Gael)
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I am concerned that the Minister has spoken about the first half of 2022. It was my understanding that planning for this project was to start in January 2022, in other words, the route would have been identified by that time. Consideration has already been confined to two possible routes with regard to bypassing Mallow and so on. The Minister is now talking about the first half of the year. I am a bit concerned about that. When he speaks about the first half of the year, does he mean January or June? There is a huge difference. As I said, the volume of traffic on this road will not decrease. We need work to be carried out. I highlighted what occurred in respect of the Ringaskiddy bypass, which is in the constituency of the Taoiseach and the Ministers, Deputies Coveney and Michael McGrath. From the day the route was announced, it took six years before the route was finally agreed and all of the court proceedings and so on concluded. We still have not turned a sod on that project. I ask that this issue be given priority and that there be no further delays.

Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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I take the Deputy's point with regard to clarity on what is meant by the first half of the year. I cannot deliver that clarity right now. I will engage with the Minister, Deputy Ryan, and ask him to come back with some more clarity on that particular point. It is important to note that the route selection element is being progressed. TII is actively progressing it and is engaging with Limerick City and County Council and providing money to undertake those design and research elements of the project. It is recognised that this project has the potential to address the safety issues on the route, issues of connectivity between our second and third cities more widely, and wider issues in respect of economic development. The project will form part of the further development of the Atlantic economic corridor and further subsequent connections to west Cork and Kerry. As I have said, that route selection element is to take place in the first half of next year. We will seek further clarity on that for the Deputy. The business case is coming to Government. Even in my own Department, when we have these big projects we have to make business cases. Of course, that is appropriate to ensure that public money is used wisely. Everyone recognises that the N20 is a strategically important route. It is recognised that the route is not fully fit for purpose at present. We have to address those safety issues and make the route more efficient with regard to journey times. Those goals will be progressed through the strategy outlined.