Jerry Buttimer (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for being here. This is an important and ambitious plan for Ireland and, more importantly, for the regions. In the context of what the Minister for Transport, Deputy Ryan, is trying to achieve, with a modal shift in traffic from cars, then this plan is to be admired and supported. However, the M20, the Cork to Limerick motorway, is of gargantuan importance to the development of the region in the context of connectivity. I impress upon the Minister of State, the House and the Government the centrality of the Cork to Limerick motorway because if that project does not proceed or if it is diluted or changed, it will cause bother for a generation from an economic and socialisation point of view and from the point of view of investment in people and in the region. As a member of the Joint Committee on Transport and Communications, I fully support what the Minister is trying to achieve with, for example, Bus Connects and a light rail service for Cork, but this motorway is of absolute importance.