Martin Conway (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

With regard to the remuneration of councillors and the work they do, in the days before the Christmas recess last year, we had a debate on the issue and only 15 of the 60 Members contributed. The Leas-Chathaoirleach was one of those who contributed. This issue has, therefore, not only been highlighted by this Seanad.

I wish to raise a decision by Transport Infrastructure Ireland, TII, which was formerly the NRA, to reject a proposal by Clare County Council to deal with the extraordinary traffic difficulties caused by Blake's Corner, Ennistymon, on the N67, a national secondary route. It is the worst junction on the Wild Atlantic Way. It has national significance because 1.5 million people will attend the Cliffs of Moher Visitor Experience this year, the vast majority of whom will have to navigate this corner, where there can be delays of up to two hours. The county council proposed a bypass of the buildings on the corner by constructing a new bridge. I have maintained consistently for a long time that this approach is not correct and would not deal with current and future traffic challenges. I am glad TII agrees with my assessment. Will TII fund a full bypass of Ennistymon, which is the only way to deal with the year-round chaos? I call on the Leader to write to the chief executive officer of TII and ask what are the plans of the organisation to deal with the traffic congestion that has chocked the town. I seek a clear statement about what TII will do and the timeline for this because there is utter chaos, which needs to be dealt with. The cost of a bypass would be between €15 million and €20 million and that would solve the problem. The county council's proposal would cost between €6 million and €8 million.

The Cliffs of Moher Visitor Experience is the No. 1 or No. 2 tourist destination in the country. It is not too much to ask that a proper road infrastructure be provided to the millions of people who travel there to give them a pleasant experience of Ireland. It is not good enough that they face traffic chaos going to and from the cliffs. Usually, they are the first or final destination for tourists using Shannon Airport. This issue creates an impression and an impact one way or another. The wonderful work done by the management at the Cliffs of Moher is being negated by the incompetence of both Clare County Council infrastructure section and TII.