Mattie McGrath (Tipperary South, Independent)
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Ar an gcéad dul síos, ba mhaith liom mo bhuíochas a ghabháil leis an gCeann Comhairle as ucht na saincheiste seo a ghlacadh. I am delighted that the Minister of State, Deputy Healy-Rae, is here because I know that he is an understanding man who travels rural roads every hour of every day of the year. He knows how important this project is. He travelled on this road recently on his visit to Cahir. The N24 from Cahir to Waterford is a massive project that is at a critical juncture this year.

Only €80,000 was given in 2025 to keep the project alive. It did not keep it alive; it actually wound it down. The councils of Tipperary, Waterford and Kilkenny met last Monday night. They are very anxious that this will go ahead. They called on the local Oireachtas Members. I thought that Deputies Cleere, Cullinane and McGuinness would be here. However, Deputy Murphy and I are here pushing with the Minister of State to try to have this important road link moved on.

The number of fatalities over the decades has been just appalling. Twenty-five percent of all fatalities are on that part of the road, which goes from Foynes Port to Rosslare Europort and on to Waterford Port. It is so important for infrastructure, connectivity, trade, business, tourism and everything.

We are making progress on the Cahir to Limerick and the Cloghabreeda to Limerick sections, and that is very welcome, but we want this project now. I am appealing to the Minister of State to ask the Minister for Transport, Deputy O'Brien, whom I speak to on a weekly basis about it, to try to make sure this project is kept alive and that we get the requisite funding to bring it to An Coimisiún Pleanála.

As the Minister of State knows, a lot of money has been spent on this over the decades - almost €20 million. It is wasted money if we are not able to continue it. When Shane Ross was Minister for transport, I took him to the Piltown stretch where it was a slaughterhouse. Thankfully, we installed flyovers there now, although they should have been in on the first day.

I cannot impress enough how important this is for people living on the route, farming on the route and people who want to get planning permission for anything else. This development must get the green light. We must know where we are and get certainty. We have to be sure where we are going.

Michael Murphy (Tipperary South, Fine Gael)
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The N24 upgrade, particularly the Cahir to Waterford section, is a critical piece of national infrastructure yet throughout all of 2025, the project has remained stalled at the preferred route stage with no movement towards detailed design. At the same time, the Cahir to Limerick section has advanced, creating what is a clear imbalance along a single strategic corridor.

In my role as Chair of the Oireachtas committee on transport, I have engaged directly with the Minister and also with Transport Infrastructure Ireland, TII, including as recently as Wednesday last, and I thank both for their engagement. However, engagement is not enough. We now need delivery.

On the ground, the urgency is obvious. The Clonmel bypass is carrying more than 20,000 vehicles every single day, far beyond its intended capacity. This results in daily congestion, compromised safety and real economic loss for businesses and communities across Tipperary and the wider region.

It is not a local issue. It is a bottleneck that is affecting connectivity between Limerick, Tipperary and Waterford and ultimately the functioning of our ports and supply chains. The N24 is a spine linking two major cities yet one half of the corridor moves ahead while the other is left waiting. That is simply not tenable.

I am appealing to the Minister of State for any support and his direct intervention with the Minister, the Department of Transport and TII to ensure the Cahir to Waterford section moves to detailed design in 2026. It is crucial that funding be provided in 2026 to put this project firmly back on track. This not about delivery or delay. We just need to get this project moving.

Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent)
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I thank Deputies McGrath and Murphy for raising this very important issue. Deputy McGrath is correct, in that I travelled the road recently. I know Deputy Murphy has important issues for me to see. I will be going to meet him in the near future because of issues he is raising on behalf of his constituents. I confirm that I will be doing what he wishes.

The Minister for Transport has responsibility for overall policy and Exchequer funding in relation to the national roads programme. Once funding arrangements have been put in place with TII under the Roads Acts 1993 to 2015, and in line with the national development plan, NDP, the operation and management of individual national roads is a matter for TII, in conjunction with the local roads authorities concerned. This will ultimately deliver the national roads programme in line with Project Ireland 2040, the national planning framework and the NDP.

Funding allocated for new national roads projects under the NDP is intended to 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.

With regard to the N24 Cahir to Waterford project, this project aims to enhance regional accessibility and improve connectivity between Limerick and Waterford. The project would bypass towns such as Clonmel and Carrick-on-Suir, as well as deliver significant road safety improvements. In addition, the project would provide improved access to international markets, as the N24 connects to the N29, which links directly to the port of Waterford. The N24 also connects to Rosslare Europort via the N25. The project would improve the quality of life of commuters and local residents through improved journey times and the provision of new cycling and walking facilities. It is envisaged that the N24 will enable connection to the Waterford Greenway, which will in turn connect to the South East Greenway which will run from Waterford city to New Ross.

The project is currently nearing the end of the route options selection phase. Kilkenny County Council, as the lead authority for the project, is making final preparations for the publication of the route selection report. The report will be available from the project website once published.

While it was not possible to allocate funding to progress the project to the design and environmental evaluation phase in 2025, it is important to point out that the project remains part of the NDP. As with all national roads projects in the NDP, the delivery programme for the N24 Waterford to Cahir project will be kept under review for 2025 and in future years and will be considered in terms of the overall funding envelope available to TII. It is expected that allocations for 2026 will be announced very shortly in the coming weeks.

In the programme for Government, we have committed to investing in all road projects in the current national development plan and to increasing funding for the new roads as part of the NDP review. With the NDP review having been completed, the Department of Transport’s sectoral plan, which is based upon this review, will guide transport investment decisions in the coming years.

At its outset, this Government gave a commitment to the people of Ireland that it wants tar and that is what it will deliver, namely, tar for projects such as what the two Deputies outlined and others that are going to be announced very soon. This Government is committed to providing tar to the people in the interests of road connectivity, road safety and ensuring people will have proper, safe sources and route selections to go from A to B.

Mattie McGrath (Tipperary South, Independent)
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From a road safety perspective, the situation is stark. The 65 km stretch, which is through Tipperary, is 1% of the county's road network yet accounts for 25% of road fatalities, which the Minister of State will agree is an alarming and unacceptable statistic.

The proposed route bypasses Mooncoin and Carrick-on-Suir and provides a flyover for Kilsheelan, yet it inexplicably continues through the existing congested Clonmel bypass, the only urban area with daily traffic bottlenecks. We have to re-examine this and go back to the drawing board.

Along with thousands of landowners and people who live in the area, I am eagerly awaiting the publication of the route option selection documents. Seven homes have to be taken out. We have to twig and rejig this. It is not fair that we would take homes. I am glad the Minister of State is in his position and the Government has now gone back to roads rather than silly projects, many of which were active travel while you could not get funding for roads. I thank the Minister of State for his interest in Tipperary, his assistance with projects he has visited, his intention to visit again and continuing to support us with many projects in south Tipperary.

Michael Murphy (Tipperary South, Fine Gael)
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The message is very straightforward. The N24 is essential national infrastructure and the imbalance in its progression cannot continue. I have engaged with both the Minister and TII. I thank them for that but we now need delivery. The Cahir to Limerick section is moving at pace and will be subject to a significant announcement today. Unfortunately, the Cahir to Waterford section remains stalled. In the meantime, the congestion on the Clonmel bypass shows the cost of inaction. There is pressure on safety, lost economic potential and weakened regional connectivity. Advancing the Cahir to Waterford section to detailed design in 2026 and securing funding for 2026 are the steps required to put this project back on track.

I am very grateful for the Minister of State's support. I thank him for taking this question today. I know that, with his support, this can finally move from engagement to delivery. He is absolutely right. What we want in Clonmel, Kilsheelan, Carrick-on-Suir and the rest of Tipperary is tar and plenty of it.

Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent)
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I thank the Deputies for their diligence and commitment to their constituents, which are extremely strong. The Deputies' efforts on their behalf, with the heart of Government, is most welcome. A number of new road projects, which are included in the current NDP, have already been delivered. These include the N22 Ballyvourney to Macroom project, the Dunkettle interchange upgrade, the N5 Westport to Turlough route, and the bypasses of Moycullen and Listowel. As the greater portion of the NDP funding for national roads becomes available in the second half of the decade, this meant there was a constraint on funding available for projects in 2025. However, approximately €502 million of Exchequer capital funds have been provided to TII for national roads in 2025.

In line with the NDP and Government policy, TII has sought to allocate national roads funding to local authorities in a manner that seeks to achieve the following key outcomes: protection and renewal of the existing national road network; progressing major projects in or near construction; and progressing major projects that are at an earlier stage of the development pipeline. A number of new projects have already been delivered. They include the N22 Ballyvourney to Macroom project, which is of great interest and has been of great interest to Deputy Danny Healy-Rae, the Dunkettle interchange upgrade, the N5 Westport to Turlough, and bypasses of Moycullen and Listowel. The programme for Government commits to increased funding for new roads as part of the NDP review and the maintenance of existing roads.