David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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I thank the office of the Ceann Comhairle for selecting this issue, as well as the Minister for being here this morning to debate this with me.

When I was elected here for the first time 27 years ago, when I was a lot younger with a lot more hair, the big campaign in east Cork was about opening the railway line to Midleton and I got involved in that campaign. I raised the issue a lot here and I debated it with the then Ministers, Mary O'Rourke and Noel Dempsey, and others. Nearly 15 years ago, on 30 July 2009, it finally opened and it has been a massive success.

The Minister, as he said himself, was in Cork at the weekend and on Monday or perhaps Friday; I cannot remember as things are moving so fast. It was about another enhancement of the rail network. At the time, there was a trade-off between the county council and the Department of Transport, as it was then, with respect to the fact that we needed people to use rail. There was an agreement made to zone a lot of housing along the rail line in Midleton and Carrigtwohill and so forth in order that people would use it and it would have a critical mass. That has now happened.

We have now, for instance, planning permission in Water-rock for 2,500 units. A large town in its own right will be going in there. The problem is the road infrastructure between Carrigtwohill and Midleton. That 5 km infrastructure has not improved. It is very poor and of very low quality. I am worried about the safety side of it more than anything else. I am told that there are up to 30,000 vehicles travelling that road every day at 100 km/h. It is a double dual carriageway. One can imagine trying to get onto that. There are a number of low standard-grade junctions, medium crossings and direct-access points going on to that road. At peak times, it is bumper to bumper with two lanes going at speeds of 100 km/h. We are all extremely concerned there is going to be a major smash someday and people will be killed or whatever. It is only waiting to happen. Everybody I meet down there is talking about it. It is extremely dangerous. I invite the Minister to come down and drive that road at some stage to see exactly what I am talking about. There are places on the carriageway, for instance, where traffic comes from roads on the left and there is no space at all. There are three lanes merging into two and they are all moving extremely quickly. There have been a number of accidents in the past. Pedestrians have been knocked down as well. It is not safe for vulnerable users.

In the past, there were plans by the TII and the county council to upgrade the road between Carrigtwohill and Midleton. Phase 1 feasibility studies were completed in July 2020. Other potential routes were identified and the preferred option was outlaid in July 2021 to September 2021. Way back then, we expected that length of road to be upgraded and to be made safe. It has not happened. We are going to have even more traffic if all these houses go ahead as planned and I know they will. I have looked at some of the planning applications for housing for that area. The experts are saying on those planning applications that the road is already at capacity. The roundabouts are at capacity and the Lake View roundabout in Midleton is at over capacity. It is extraordinarily dangerous. It is a signal and a sign of success for east Cork.

I am sure my colleague, Deputy O'Connor, who has taken the Chair, will agree with me. It is a sign of success. The rail link has been a game-changer. The greenway that recently opened is another game-changer. It is a great place to live, to work and to raise a family but this little bit of infrastructure really needs to be done as soon as possible.

I have no skin in the game. I am out of here after the next election, but I am really concerned. I do not want to be going to funerals in east Cork because of this lack of progress on this road. The Minister should at least try and make it safe. I am not sure how that could be done because the volume of traffic is not going down. We all want more people to use the train - I more than anybody. I use it all the time. However, an increased number of cars, and hopefully electric cars, are still on that road travelling at high speeds and other traffic trying to merge into it. The medians across it are absolutely lethal but they cannot be closed them because that would force more traffic into Carrigtwohill and back into Midleton again. The old Amgen site, one of the best IDA Ireland sites in the country, is sitting there and cannot be used because the road infrastructure has not been upgraded. There are good reasons for the Minister at this stage in the budgetary cycle to get some funding to get this project moving again and I implore him, from the point of view of safety, if nothing else, to get working on this as soon as possible.

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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I thank the Deputy.

My Department has responsibility for overall policy and Exchequer funding relating to the national road 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, 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 road projects from 2021 to 2030, inclusive, 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 has meant that there is a constraint on the funding available for new projects in 2024. However, approximately €411 million of Exchequer capital funds were provided for national roads through TII to local authorities this year.

Since 2020, approximately €320 million in Exchequer capital funding has been allocated for the national road network in Cork, county and city. This has contributed to the substantial work that has taken place on the national road network in County Cork, as demonstrated with the recently completed upgrade of the Dunkettle Interchange, and the N22 Ballyvourney-to-Macroom project, which was completed late last year.

The N25 Carrigtwohill-to-Midleton project is one of a number of new national roads projects in Cork that were included in the NDP. In 2024, almost €56 million in Exchequer funding was allocated to Cork County Council through TII. This will be used to fund a number of new roads projects, including the M28 project between Cork and Ringaskiddy, which will improve freight access to the port and allow for the redevelopment of lands in the city. In addition, funding has been provided for the Mallow relief road and the N25 Castlemartyr and Killeagh bypasses. This will remove through traffic from town and village centres, improving the lives of local residents and reducing journey times. Furthermore, development of the N-M20 project between Cork and Limerick is ongoing, and a preliminary business case is expected to be presented in the coming months. This project would provide increased opportunities for developing the Atlantic economic corridor. It would also benefit a number of towns and villages in Cork, including Charleville, Buttevant and Mallow. Funding is also provided for the protection and renewal of the national road network in the county.

With regard to the current status of the N25 Carrigtwohill-to-Midleton project, technical advisers have completed their assessments of the route options and have determined the preferred solution. Improvements to crossings over this very busy section of the N25 to enhance active travel are being considered as part of the scheme. The project did not receive funding in 2024 but as with all national roads projects in the NDP, the delivery programme for this project will be kept under review for 2025 and future years, and considered in terms of the overall funding envelope available to TII. The project remains very much part of the national development plan.

David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Minister for his response and for the work that he is doing in his Department and that TII and Cork County Council are doing as well.

I note the point that it is still part of the National Development Plan 2018-2027 and it is also part of Project Ireland 2040.

I also want to point out that a lot of work has been done on this 5 km route. As the Minister said, the preferred option has been identified and publicised. However, the real issue here is the safety of that particular roadway. The only way to make it safe is to follow through on the plans that TII and Cork County Council had developed to a fairly extent by identifying the preferred option route. Will the Minister, when he is discussing the review for 2025 and beyond, have another look at this particular route?

My primary concern is saving lives. I am sure the Cathaoirleach Gníomhach will agree with me as well. My own heart has been in my mouth on a few occasions on that route when I have seen what is going on. I have had a number of escapes and I know of cases where there have been accidents with older people trying to get onto that road with traffic travelling on it at 100 km/h, bumper to bumper. It is extremely dangerous. I do not want to be standing up here in a few weeks or seeing another Member standing up here bemoaning the fact that we did not take action to make it safe, apart from the fact that it can constrain economic development as well with the old Amgen site sitting there for all those years when it cannot be used.

I laud the fact that the N25 Castlemartyr-to-Killeagh bypass is getting funding and is going ahead. That is badly needed. The Mallow relief road needs further funding. I have had that debate previously.

However, I call on the Minister to have a serious look at the N25 between Midleton and Carrigtwohill. The volume of housing that has been planned for the area is dramatic and, thankfully, it is happening, not only in Midleton but in all the villages in east Cork. Everywhere I go, there are more housing estates being built as we speak.

People want to live there but they have to travel on that section of roadway. Not only is the surface very poor, but, as I stated earlier, they are medians across the carriageway. That means that people are crossing four lanes of traffic going at 100 km/h. It is bonkers. As far as I can see, there is no way of making it safe and maintaining the level of service we need.

Finally, the lake-around road for Midleton really needs attention. I would call for something such as a flyover on that because we will see a smash there also. I hope I am wrong but, inevitably, it is going to happen.

Lives are at risk here. I would call on the Minister to use his good offices to make this work happen as soon as possible.

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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I happened to be in Cork at the end of last week and was on the road. The Deputy is right. It is not up to the standard for safety that we want and we have to do everything to try and improve the safety standards on the roads.

The reality is we have a series of projects. I mentioned the Castlemartyr-Killeagh bypasses. The Cathaoirleach Gníomhach mentioned to me last week that there were very serious incidents at both locations in recent weeks and our thoughts go to all the families of those involved. Deputy Stanton also mentioned the Mallow bypass.

I have to be upfront and honest. I have said clearly at every stage that the priority should be such bypasses because there are very high volumes of traffic on these roads. The basic point is accepted. These are roads with very heavy traffic. That is all the more reason we would say in the case of Castlemartyr-Killeagh or Mallow that we have to free up those towns and villages as much as we can first but I had said to TII that this should not stop us examining safety issues, particularly on sections where there is concern as there may be a high record of incidents or accidents, etc. As an interim solution, while we are looking for the longer-term big investment, we need to consider average-speed camera systems to try to reduce speeding if weather conditions or other traffic volumes or whatever generate concern. What the officials are starting to do, and we provided additional funding this year, is to look, as the Deputy said, at the risk on roads like these, which is where the entry points onto them are not designed to the standard that we would do if we were to do it today. By all means, with safety coming first, I will encourage TII to look at that specific road section to see what can we do on an interim basis.

I visited Cobh as well as being in other parts. The Deputy has mentioned the Belvelly bridge to me on many occasions. There is a real issue on that, at Cobh. Much of that traffic feeds onto this section of road. There is that as well. It is not an easy one to solve. Looking at it, I am scratching my head and thinking, "How do you manage that?"

Lastly, what we launched in Cork last week is hugely significant for Carrigtwohill, Glounthaune, Midleton, and for all the new stations, such as Ballynoe near Cobh and Waterrock, that will go into that very area.

These will facilitate new housing, development and expansion and a sustainable solution. Those morning trains are packed at the moment and those two-carriageway diesels sets are jammed. As soon as we put in the new services and go to a ten-minute service there, that will take a great deal of traffic off the road and it is part of the solution.