Christopher O'Sullivan (Cork South West, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for being here tonight to take this matter in his role in the Department of Transport. The N71 is the most important route in west Cork. It is the national route that serves the entire region, coming from Cork city through Inishannon, Bandon and Clonakilty out to Skibbereen, Ballydehob, Bantry and Glengarriff. That will give the Minister of State an idea of the expanse of the route and number of communities it connects. It is much more than that. It is important infrastructure for those who commute from the towns I mentioned, perhaps to Cork city for work. It is important from a tourism point of view. It is the main route for those landing in Cork Airport, who will eventually connect with the N71 or for those coming by boat. Whichever way tourists choose to arrive, the N71 is key for access to west Cork and for transporting goods to the various different industries in the area. The Minister of State will get the point about what an important piece of infrastructure it is.

Unfortunately, for decades that route has been overlooked for funding. No significant schemes have been carried out there in previous decades. From my recollection, the last significant improvement to be done to that road was between Cork city to what we call the halfway roundabout, the first few kilometres. That was done decades ago, in the time when Joe Walsh, Jim O'Keeffe and the great Paddy Sheehan from Mizen Head were Deputies. Since then nothing has been done. Plenty of Deputies and Senators have represented the area in the time between theirs and mine. I plead with the Minister of State to look at some of the schemes that are on the table. For example, I have been told for years that a business case is being made for a section east of Rosscarbery town, between Newmills and Owenahincha, but funding or works are still not appearing. We are not seeing any movement on the bypass in Bandon or the southern relief road that has been mooted for years. The surface of the section of the road mentioned in the Topical Issue between Bandon and Clonakilty is like moon craters. At some times of the year, - it can be comical but it is actually unsafe - queues of cars are pulled in along the side of the road having to change tyres because of the condition of the surface there. We need realignment works to be done in strategic sections and proper resurfacing. The Topical Issue deals with the section between Clonakilty and Bandon, but I am talking about the N71 from Cork city all the way to Glengarriff. There are several sections for which, for the purpose of health and safely, for ease of commute and for the good of everyone we need to see funding.

Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

As the Deputy will be 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 TIl, 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.

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 roads projects, including the completion of projects which are already at construction stage and those close to it, as well as the development of a number of others. 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 TIl on 16 February 2023.

In the context of the national roads programme capital budget, which is provided by the Department to TIl, significant funding has been provided towards the improvement of the N71 since 1994, funding a variety of improvement schemes. Regarding the N71 between Bandon and Clonakilty, there is a proposed scheme to extend the existing Bandon relief road. The proposed relief road extension would involve bridging the R603 to remove the steep gradient and the construction of approximately 2.5 km of a new single carriageway, tying back into the existing N71, just to the west of the town. Some €150,000 was allocated for this project in 2023. A public consultation has been held and procurement of technical advisers is ongoing to advance the scheme based on the feedback received.

On the Deputy's query on the N71 Newmills to Owenahincha road realignment scheme, it aims to improve the safety of this section of the N71 and to provide for active travel options. A public consultation was held by Cork County Council in October 2022 as part of the option selection process. A procurement of technical advisers is ongoing to advance the scheme based on the feedback received.

Christopher O'Sullivan (Cork South West, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The last part of the Minister of State's statement on the procurement of technical advisers is encouraging. It sounds familiar and I feel like I have heard it before when it comes to the section between Owenahincha and Rosscarbery. We need to get cracking with significant improvements. There have been several incidents along this route and there have been fatalities.

There are two problems that stick out in the reply the Minister of State has given me. He stated that there has been significant funding of the N71 since 1994. It was around 1994 that the section between Cork city and the Halfway roundabout was done, which was the last significant improvement. The problem is that the Minister of State said that €150,000 has been allocated for the bypass in Bandon. As the Minister of State can imagine, with the cost of construction works that €150,000 might fund a feasibility study or something.

I do not mean to be flippant but I am just asking for a ball of cash to bring back to west Cork to carry out significant improvements. That is what is needed and what has been lacking. Other national routes have benefited from significant funding over the years. Macroom has a fantastic new bypass that is state-of-the-art and that will serve that region so well, right into Kerry. West Cork and the N71 have been forgotten and that needs to stop. We need to fund significant improvements.

Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I appreciate what the Deputy has said. Each year that funding for new roads projects occurs, the allocations that are required to ensure there is continued progress can vary. Some years it requires a multiple of what I have outlined earlier and when construction occurs it is at a much greater scale. To move through the different gateways and to make progress in the decision-making process, the amount can vary from year to year, which does not give a reflection of the overall progress. As I have said, technical advisers are being procured following the public consultation and the scheme is being advanced based on the feedback received.

The overall NDP allocation is heavily weighted towards the latter part of this decade in Cork. There is huge ambition within Government in transport to build the road safety improvements that are needed across communities. I take the Deputy's point and one thing I am prioritising is that I chair the ministerial road safety committee. It concerns me when we have increased collision data and significant increases in the use of particular roads that need funding. That is a concern in the context of our overall approach to road safety and vision zero in road safety. We have to make sure we continue to upgrade our national roads. In recent decades there has been a huge impact from the improvement of our road network in the overall reduction in road deaths.

I will take away what the Deputy has said and I will be engaging with TII on the importance of this road and on making progress with the N71. I will keep engaging with the Deputy on it.