Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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There is confusion as to whether the Minister of State is taking this Topical Issue matter. He does not have a reply. Is Deputy Feighan happy to proceed? Perhaps the Ceann Comhairle will facilitate him on another day.

Frank Feighan (Sligo-Leitrim, Fine Gael)
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I will proceed.

I thank the Minister of State for taking this Topical Issue matter. It is very topical in counties Sligo and Mayo. There is no allocation of funding this year for this road project. The Minister for Transport, Deputy Ryan, has confirmed that there will not be any funding for the N17 for many years, which is the Knock to Collooney road project. Design work began on this scheme in 2018 and in August of that year the project appraisal plan was approved by the strategic research analysis division of the Department of Transport. This led to Transport Infrastructure Ireland, TII, giving approval to progress the planning and design of the scheme in accordance with the TII project management guidelines. An emerging preferred transport corridor for this scheme was released in January 2023 and was followed by a two-month consultation period. The upgrade will deliver on national policy, including key strategic objectives and deliverables of Project Ireland 2040, the national planning framework and the national development plan, NDP. As the Minister of State will be aware, the project aligns with the national investment framework for transport in Ireland and the national road safety strategy. The Minister has made clear that the project will not be removed from the NDP. It is also clear that the scheme is effectively suspended if no funding is going to be allocated in the next few years to develop the design and progress it to the planning stage. This a huge disappointment. It is a dangerous stretch of road and to leave it behind without funding is tantamount to ensuring that the section of vital connectivity between counties Sligo, Galway and Mayo, the River Shannon and the west more generally is forgotten.

We have had great progress from Clare, effectively, to north of Tuam but this area is forgotten about. We have Ireland West Airport Knock, cancer care services from Sligo University Hospital going to Galway, and very significant industries, to name but a few. These are in Sligo, Westport, Castlebar and Galway and they rely on that connectivity. We are going to grow in the west and something is happening in the west of Ireland, in Sligo and the north west, where many people have moved in from Dublin and London after Covid-19 and Brexit. I always say that Sligo is now the new Galway but we need that connectivity to our airport and to Dublin. We have fallen behind.

If you look at a map of Ireland and at the routes from Dublin to Belfast, Dublin to Galway, Dublin to Limerick, Dublin to Cork, Dublin to Waterford and Dublin to wherever; there is a void when you go into the north west. That is because we did not have that investment. We are just catching up. We need to catch up and we need somebody to listen to those concerns. Again, the road from Sligo to Galway is badly needed.

I understand that as Minister for public transport, the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan, is prioritising the number of towns and city bypasses. Moreover, what is happening with the greenways is just fantastic. One has the Sligo greenway, the Sligo, Leitrim, Northern Counties Railway, SLNCR, greenway and many things are happening but on this occasion I believe we need to reverse this. That is not to reverse the decision but to give priority to the N17.

Again, we have worked together on many areas within Government. The Green Party is part of the Government and the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan, is a valued member of it, for whom I have great respect. We have worked together on cardiac services in Sligo University Hospital. Sligo Airport was delivered, we are working on Sligo Garda station, on Atlantic Technological University and on housing. There are many issues which can be dealt with in government and this is a situation which we need to deal with here. I hope the Minister of State will have a reply that is comfortable for the people of Sligo and the north west.

Neale Richmond (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
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I thank Deputy Feighan for raising this issue. The Deputy will forgive me for saying this is not the first time I have heard him raise this issue although, admittedly, it is the first time I have taken it as a receiving Minister of State in the Dáil Chamber. He is a real champion for his county and for the counties affected by the N17. I have heard him speak many times at our own parliamentary party and I believe he raised it also just in the past week with the Taoiseach.

As the Deputy is aware, the Minister for Transport has responsibility for overall policy and Exchequer funding for the national roads programme. Once funding arrangements have been put in place with Transport Infrastructure Ireland, TII, under the Roads Acts 1993 to 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 local authorities concerned. TII ultimately delivers the national roads programme in line with Project Ireland 2040, the national planning framework and the NDP.

Approximately €491 million of Exchequer capital funds have been provided for national roads through TII to local authorities in 2023. These allocations were announced by the Department of Transport and TII on 16 February 2023. The Government has earmarked €5.1 billion for capital spending on new national roads projects from 2021 to 2030 as part of the NDP. This funding will enable improved regional accessibility across the country, as well as compact growth, which are key national strategic outcomes. The funding will provide for the development of numerous national road projects, including the completion of projects that are already at construction stage and those close to it, as well as the development of a number of others.

As the greater portion of this funding becomes available in the second half of the decade, this means that there is a constraint on the funding available for new projects this year. Most national road projects in the NDP, however, will continue to be progressed in 2023. A major priority in the NDP, in line with the Department’s investment hierarchy, is to maintain the quality and safety of the existing national road network. The NDP foresees an Exchequer allocation of circa €2.9 billion for the protection and renewal of existing national roads over the ten-year period to 2030, allocated fairly evenly across the decade.

Due to the outlined funding constraints for national roads in 2023, a prioritisation exercise was necessary. In line with the NDP and Government policy, the Minister for Transport has allocated national road funding for 2023 in a manner which seeks to achieve the following key outcomes: the protection and renewal of the existing national road network; progressing major projects in or near construction; progressing major projects which are pre-construction but well advanced in the development pipeline; and prioritising any remaining funds for major projects that provide for local bypasses and compact growth in Ireland’s towns and villages.

This is in no way to dismiss the importance and need for the upgrade of the N17 referred to by Deputy Feighan and I understand the pressures to deliver this project as soon as possible are real and important. The situation has been laid out clearly by the Deputy as it is at the moment. I will, however, undertake to bring the Deputy's representations back to the Minister, Deputy Ryan, and I, of course, encourage the Deputy to continue this engagement which he has been doing for a long time both in this House and, indeed, previously in the Upper House, as well as to engage directly with TII.

Frank Feighan (Sligo-Leitrim, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Minister of State and I also thank the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan, and the Green Party. They are fighting hard for climate, for community and for equality. These are the three aspects: climate, community and equality. I appreciate that this is just funding and I will talk to my leader, the Taoiseach, Deputy Varadkar, to try to get this resolved. Again there are many things which we need to work on but this is an issue that certainly needs addressing.

Again, I state that this is a national road and one which opens up the west of Ireland to the west of Ireland. It is vital for the local community.

I also wish to pay tribute to Sligo, Leitrim, Roscommon and Donegal county councils, areas which I represent. These are people who are passionate about their communities. We are fortunate to have both very good CEOs and great staff there, together with great members of the local authorities. This is an issue which bubbles along.

I do not normally bring things, as the Minister of State will be aware, to the floor of the Dáil and normally raise these matters directly with him, as I have done with both him and with the Taoiseach, Deputy Varadkar, and with the former Taoiseach, Deputy Micheál Martin. This is an issue which needs to be resolved as quickly as possible. It is a very important issue for the connectivity of the west of Ireland and for the saving of people's lives. If it is a matter of money, then we have to get money. If it is a matter of a difference of opinion, we have to work on those differences of opinion.

I say again that we need to get the funding to keep this moving along because I have never seen such anger from businesses, individuals, communities and local authorities, which feel that they have been let down. We have to work together to deliver funding for this project and I ask that the Minister of State might bring his concerns back to the senior Minister, Deputy Ryan. We greatly welcome the vast amount of funding that has been coming for the Sligo greenway and the SLNCR greenway. It is making a difference with the cycleways, greenways, walkways and so forth but we just need to get this project over the line. I will work with the Minister, Deputy Ryan, and with whoever else, to try to get this project moving. As the CEO of the local authority said, we need to keep this project bubbling along.

Neale Richmond (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
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I believe the Leas-Cheann Comhairle would agree with me that when it comes to Deputies in the Dáil, Deputy Feighan is one who would be consistently pushing matters at every available angle. For him to bring something to the Dáil Chamber is a signal not just of his intent but of the seriousness of the matters to him and to his local community.

The N17 Knock to Collooney scheme has been identified in the national development plan and TII has been working to progress the scheme through planning, design and construction. I can confirm to the Deputy, however, that €400,000 has been allocated for the Knock to Collooney scheme in 2023. As with all national roads projects in the NDP, the delivery programme for the project will be kept under review. The proposed project, as the Deputy is aware, assists in the delivery of a high-quality road network along the Atlantic corridor. It is vitally important not just for regional accessibility but also for access to Ireland West Airport Knock, as referred to by the Deputy. Through the provision of improved infrastructure, the project will support commercial growth and investment in the area. The proposed project will remove through traffic from a number of towns and villages, which will have positive social and environmental impacts on local residents. Road users will benefit from improved journey time certainty and, in addition, the project provides the opportunity to introduce active transport facilities.

The close-out of option selection reporting is ongoing on this particular project and an emerging preferred transport corridor is expected to be complete in the third quarter of 2023. Additional tasks, including traffic modelling and reporting, are ongoing following a peer review and a project appraisal guidelines audit.

As I indicated to the Deputy in my initial response, I will take this back to the Minister, Deputy Ryan. Moreover, I will encourage him to visit the north west and Sligo with Deputy Feighan to underline how important this project is, not just to the local people but to the entire Government, and how important Deputy Feighan's role is in delivering this for the people of his community and the constituency which he represents.