Danny Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent)
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This is to discuss the long-awaited N22 Killarney bypass from Lissyviggeen to Farranfore and from Lissyviggeen to Castlelough on the Muckross Road, the N70, and that this be prioritised to be progressed in this year's programme.

I attended the Oireachtas transport committee last Wednesday evening and when I asked Peter Walsh, a senior official of Transport Infrastructure Ireland, TII, whether this project was on the programme, I learned from him that it was not on the national development plan for 2024. To say the least, the people of Kerry are very disappointed with this utterance from this man. It is in this context that I am raising this issue with the Minister of State again tonight. Many people are disappointed, including Kerry County Council and the TII officials locally in Kerry who have been trying to progress this scheme for many years.

This scheme, the Killarney bypass, has been on the table for 24 years since 2000. A route was selected in 2004 and was presented to the public in the Great Southern Hotel in that year. It was dropped because of the downturn in 2008 until I started raising it again here in the House when I was elected around 2016. Because of the delay, TII decided that it should go out for public consultation again, identifying four new possible routes in 2021 and one was to be selected in April 2022.

Councillor Maura Healy-Rae raised this issue again last Monday with Kerry County Council and the reply given by the council was that the N22 Farranfore to Killarney scheme was at phase 2, options, selection stage. The draft options selection report was peer-reviewed by Transport Infrastructure Ireland in October 2022 and TII requested that additional work, including the further appraisal of all tenders, including combinations of road and non-road solutions, active travel and public transport modes which could potentially meet the scheme objectives and confirm the Climate Action Plan 2023 requirements be undertaken. This was ordained by the Minister for Transport, Deputy Eamon Ryan. TII allocations are awaited and will determine whether the option selection phase can be completed or not in 2024.

In addition, Kerry County Council have procured consultants to prepare an area-based transport assessment for Killarney and work is under way. Some €500 million to €800 million is required to allow this project to go ahead, to allow for the planning and development of our county and to assist our tourism, industry, commercial transport and, indeed, farming. Our town of Killarney has been clogged for the past number of summers, evening after evening. Above all, this is for the safety of all who use this road. There are 24,000 vehicular movements daily, six dangerous junctions intersecting on this current N22 primary road, and many lives have been lost here.

To give back the unwanted three routes to landowners who have had their land effectively sterilised for many years, I am appealing to the two Kerry Government TDs, Deputy Griffin and the Minister, Deputy Foley, to use their influence at this critical and crucial time. This is their time; this is our time. When Jackie Healy-Rae was in the position he held and when the Government was depending upon him, he used his influence. I am asking those two Deputies to use their influence now to ensure that we get for the people of Kerry what they rightfully deserve.

Josepha Madigan (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputy for raising this very important project for Kerry and its environs. I am, obviously, answering this question on behalf of the Minister for Transport who has responsibility for overall policy and Exchequer funding for the national roads programme. Once funding arrangements have been put in place with TII, which is mentioned by the Deputy, under the Roads Acts and in line with the national development plan, 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 national development plan.

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 which 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 has meant that there is a constraint on the funding available for new projects in 2023 and 2024. However, approximately €491 million of Exchequer capital funds were provided for national roads through TII to local authorities in 2023.

Having regard to the funding constraint outlined above, I understand it was not possible to provide an allocation to all national roads for projects in the NDP for 2023. However, the majority of projects did receive funding, including the N22 Killarney to Farranfore project, which received an allocation of €100,000 in 2023. This project is listed in the current NDP. It would provide bypasses of Farranfore and Killarney and would deliver an improved road between the two towns.

The allocations for 2024, as mentioned by the Deputy, are due to be announced later this week and will provide a full list of projects in Kerry that are receiving allocations. It is not possible to provide an allocation to every project in the NDP for 2024. However, it is important to point out that the N22 Killarney to Farranfore project remains part of the NDP and I can assure the Deputy that sufficient funding is in place to ensure that the route options phase will be concluded in 2024, with a preferred route selected. As with all national roads projects in the NDP, the delivery programme for the N22 Killarney to Farranfore project will be kept under review in future years and considered in terms of the overall funding envelope available to TII.

Danny Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent)
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I thank the Minister of State for the reply. If I understood her right, she said funding would be made available to ensure the route selection. I hope this happens. She mentioned all the other projects and I am sure they are all very worthwhile, but this project has been awaited for almost 25 years, which is a quarter of a century. We have waited long enough and people have lost their lives. The Government is talking about road safety and how it is going to do drastic things to try to curb the number of accidents, many of which are not real or which will have no effect. I am appealing to the Minister of State and my colleagues from Kerry who have a say in the Government's ear and on whom the Government is depending. This is their time. The election will be over by this time next year and there will be a lot of changes. This Government will not be the same the next time out. Who knows who will be here? Deputy Griffin has already said he is not standing the next time. I am appealing to him and the Minister, Deputy Foley, to ensure Kerry gets this funding because it is important to all of Kerry. All of Kerry is adversely affected by the lack of this bypass and we need the funding to progress it.

The Minister of State mentioned that it is up to TII. It is up to that body and I am sure it will perform once the Government gives it the funding. No money, no fun. That is where we are now. So many people have done so much work over a long number of years. The local TII office, formerly the NRA, initiated the project back in 2004 and Kerry County Council's senior management have put, and are putting, a lot of resources and effort into ensuring this worthy project goes ahead. I am appealing to the Minister of State to deliver the message to Government. She is not in the Department of Transport, but I ask her to please bring my message to the Minister, Deputy Ryan.

Josepha Madigan (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputy for his passionate contribution. I will bring it to the attention of the Minister, Deputy Ryan, and the Deputy's Kerry Oireachtas colleagues, who he mentioned. As I said, there is sufficient funding in place to ensure the route options phase will be concluded in 2024 with a preferred route selected. I note the Deputy's comments around road safety and he makes a valid point. It is important to say that in the period between 2020 and 2023 approximately €118 million in Exchequer capital funding was allocated to the national road network in County Kerry. This has resulted in many improvements to the network, as demonstrated by the Listowel bypass, for example, the construction of which is approaching completion. I have outlined the fact the allocations will be happening later this week and I will certainly bring the Deputy's plea to the attention of the Minister and to TII.

Danny Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent)
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I am sorry, but I just have one query. The Minister of State said the funding is in place. I am advised it is not and €500 million is needed to get the project rolling.

Ruairí Ó Murchú (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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I thank Deputy Healy-Rae.

Josepha Madigan (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
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The briefing I have, and what I am told by the Minister and indeed the officials in the Department of Transport, is that sufficient funding is in place to ensure the route options phase will be concluded in 2024 with a preferred route selected. As with all national roads projects in the NDP, the delivery programme for the N22 Killarney to Farranfore project will be kept under review in future years and considered in terms of the overall funding envelope available to TI. There are allocations coming out later this week and I hope the project will be successful.