Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire (Cork South Central, Sinn Fein)
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This has been a saga for the people of Lehenaghmore and Lehenagh Beg. To give the Minister of State some context, since she might not be familiar with the locality, this is an area just south of the link road in Cork city. Hundreds upon hundreds of houses have been built there in recent years but, effectively, it is an island. It is within walking distance of Ballyphehane and Togher but, because there are no footpaths, you would be taking your life into your hands going out onto the road. There is inadequate public lighting there as well, but the lack of infrastructure there reflects the worst excesses of Celtic tiger planning. All the houses went up and none of the infrastructure went in. So many people would love to be able to walk down to the shops. There are children who would like to be able to walk down to their friends. There are people who might like to cycle there. It is an absolute disaster. It is challenging for motorists as well. Fundamentally, at the minute, it is unsafe.

It is a large enough community at this stage but, unfortunately, they have seen an awful lot of frustration in recent years. This is fundamentally about footpaths, and while there is a substantial scheme, because of the way in which the road is congested, it is difficult to put in footpaths, much as I might like that to be possible. The scheme was first promised in 2008 or 2009 to the residents living there and it has gone on and on, and each deadline seems to be missed. That is causing huge frustration among residents. I recall that even after this had gone to planning - the initial application has cleared planning for three years now - I was given a timeline of quarter 1 of 2022 for publication of the CPO, quarter 2 of 2022 for the tender for construction contract and quarter 3 of 2022 for commencement of construction. We are a long way beyond that.

The CPO was appealed to An Bord Pleanála. I understand that while it has not been heard by An Bord Pleanála, the council has progressed with dealing with the individual property owners and hope to wrap that up to be in a position to proceed without the CPO. Where central government comes in, because a lot of this happens at the local authority level, is that, this year, €450,000, as I understand it, was allocated under the NTA's travel funding. Two years ago, €1.9 million was allocated for the same scheme. Obviously, that could not be spent because of the difficulties with CPO, An Bord Pleanála and all the rest of it, but there was an awful lot more committed at that stage. My concern is that if it is possible that the council is in a position to proceed without an An Bord Pleanála hearing, and I hope it will be, the funding that is allocated this year will not be sufficient to deliver a large amount of progress this year.

This is a shovel-ready project once the go-ahead is given. The design and all the rest of it are ready to go. The need is profound and urgent. It is in the interests of everyone, as I said, including motorists, cyclists and pedestrians. It is about allowing this community to link in with its neighbours, and that is not a lot to ask. It is very much about safety.

I hope the Minister of State can give me an update. I also hope she will take back to the Minister my request that if an additional application for funding comes forth, it will be considered.

Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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The Department of Transport has responsibility for the provision of funding and setting of policy on transport issues, including active travel. The National Transport Authority has responsibility for the allocation of funding to projects at local authority level and works with the local authorities to ensure delivery of same.

The Deputy will be aware that a significant increase in funding has been allocated to walking and cycling infrastructure projects in recent years, following a commitment of approximately €360 million per annum in the programme for Government across this Government's lifetime. The NTA's active travel programme receives most of this funding each year, with around €290 million allocated through that agency across all local authorities in 2024. The years 2022 and 2023 saw full allocation spend by local authorities, with €310 million and €340 million, respectively, invested in active travel. This was only made possible through the increase in the capacity of local authorities through the provision of funding for dedicated active travel staffing by the Department of Transport.

A consequence of the recent success of the programme is that there is a huge pipeline of projects to be funded, including a significant number reaching the aforementioned high-cost construction stage. As such, the programme is moving into a so-called project prioritisation stage, whereby funding will be allocated to projects which should see the greatest impact in terms of modal shift away from private car use. The process of identifying such projects is undertaken by the NTA in collaboration with the relevant local authorities.

Walking and cycling projects are funded across the Cork City Council area through allocations from the NTA's active travel infrastructure programme. As with all local authorities, funding allocation is based on demand, user need and project phase. Typically, projects at an early stage in development, such as concept development, will have a lower allocation need than projects that are at or approaching construction phase.

To get down to the nub of the Deputy's question, Cork City Council has received funding allocation of just over €29 million this year, of which €950,000 has been allocated to the Lehenaghmore improvement scheme. Cork City Council plans to carry out a road widening and enhancement project to serve the needs of residents and businesses in the Lehenaghmore and Togher area of Cork city. The project aims to upgrade the L2455 and L2454 roads. The scheme will provide road enhancements consistent with the urban nature of the area and the evolving transport demands of its residents and employment centres. The Lehenaghmore Road active travel improvement scheme overall is approximately 2.6 km in length. The proposed works will include road realignment, road widening, signalisation of the Forge Hill junction, a new mini roundabout at Barrett's junction, with associated pedestrian crossing, public transport shelters and bays, new footpath construction, new cycle facility construction, road reconstruction and resurfacing, services diversions, a new surface water drainage system, new road lighting, new boundary treatments, retaining walls, embankments, accommodation works, new hard and soft landscaping, new road signage and street furniture. It is quite a big project.

A 4 m-wide pedestrian and cycle bridge is proposed on the outbound-eastern side of the old Bandon railway bridge.

The new bridge will run parallel to the existing stone bridge, but it will not impact on the existing bridge. In addition, the proposed development has been screened to determine whether an environmental impact assessment is required, and it has been concluded that there will be no real likelihood of significant effects on the environment arising from the proposed development and an environmental impact assessment is not required. Cork City Council accepts these findings.

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire (Cork South Central, Sinn Fein)
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I thank the Minister of State. It is a substantial scheme; there is no question about that. The Minister of State can imagine the situation for a resident who, fundamentally, just wanted footpaths and to be able to walk to the shops and to Togher or Ballyphehane. They would have liked progress to be made an awful lot more quickly. As good as the scheme may eventually be, this still impacts their day-to-day quality of life and will continue to do so until it is developed.

I note the response states €950,000 has been allocated. That is a bit different from a parliamentary question I saw on the Dáil website but perhaps it is under two schemes or something like that. It is a bit more than I had realised. I welcome that. It is still only about half of what was allocated in 2022. I am still a bit concerned. I hope that the Minister of State might take back that this is very shovel-ready. If there are other projects under these travel funds throughout the State that are ready to go further, faster, that funding should be reallocated. This project has been waiting long enough.

I note it is potentially holding up access to public transport as well. The bus travels up most of the Lehenaghbeg side of the hill. It is a kind of horseshoe-shaped road. It cannot go past the junction and down Lehenaghmore. The NTA told me in correspondence, referring to the road scheme, that when the scheme is complete, it will be possible to extend bus services to operate along at least part of the L2454, which is the Lehenaghmore side of the road. One option, which the Minister of State discussed, was to include the planned route 4 onto Togher Road, which is broadly the route of the 203 currently. It is something the NTA is actively looking at, which is important to people who currently do not have access to a bus route. A bus cannot currently get past the junction. That is also being held up by this issue. I appreciate the update. I hope it can be progressed soon enough. Will the Minister of State please take on board the point on additional funding?

Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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I think the rest of this response will answer some of the Deputy's questions. I thank him for his views on this matter, which is obviously a very important issue to the residents of Lehenaghmore Road and the wider community. The safety of road users, especially vulnerable road users such as cyclists and pedestrians, is paramount to the Department of the Minister, Deputy Ryan.

The Lehenaghmore improvement scheme is currently at detailed design and land acquisition stage. Cork City Council deemed it necessary to seek a compulsory purchase order to secure the required lands for the scheme as acquisition of these lands through agreement was not possible. An Bord Pleanála has set 22 May as the date for the compulsory purchase order oral hearing. The detailed design stage cannot be concluded without first securing the required lands. If the CPO is approved, the detailed design stage will be finalised and the proposed works will proceed to the construction tender and award stage. Construction is anticipated to commence thereafter. The 2024 funding provision for the Lehenaghmore Road improvement scheme aims to cater for all costs arising in 2024, with subsequent funding to be provided in subsequent years. That may answer the Deputy's question on funding. An Bord Pleanála has set 22 May as the oral hearing for the compulsory purchase order. I hope that will now get movement on that scheme and people will be able to walk in safety, especially older and young people, when trying to access the various roads in that particular area.