Tim Lombard (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State. I have raised the issue of the Bandon relief road on a continuous basis in this Chamber. We have a major issue in west Cork with regard to infrastructure. We must acknowledge that an amazing amount of money has been spent in Bandon town in the past ten years. We have had a flood relief scheme. We have had a sewerage scheme. We have had many millions of euro spent on a plethora of projects that have really benefited the town.

The job now is about trying to get the traffic out of the town. Bandon is the biggest town in west Cork, with a half-completed relief road that was built more than 30 years ago. We are now trying to make sure that we get the vast numbers of cars and lorries out of the town. Those numbers are quite frightening. When you look at the traffic that goes through South Main Street in particular, I would estimate anything from 10,000 to 14,000 cars and trucks pass my office there every day of the week. This is killing the town. It is choking the town. This town has the potential to evolve and become a really vibrant location. Bandon could become the heart of west Cork but we need to get the lorries out of it. That is why the relief road is so important.

We have been on this journey for almost 30 years. There was a feasibility study done with the relevant unit in the Department in 2001. It is 20 years later and we are moving on. I worked out the phases, and it is quite a complex process. We are on phase 2 of a four-phase project. We are in stage 1 of phase 2 and are moving to stage 2 of the latter. The Minister of State can imagine the issue within the town as to where matters stand with regard to the project.

We went through public consultation last July. There were eight options proposed in the context of the first stage of this consultation. Those involved are supposed to come back to us in the second quarter of this year with a report and, hopefully, go to a preferred option by the end of this year. It is important that we stick to the timelines, which were announced last year. We need to get movement in order that we will have a preferred option on the table by the end of the year. It is imperative that we meet the timelines. If we do not meet them, everything will be dragged out.

I look at truck movements. It is killing us to have heavy trucks going through Bandon on a continuous basis. We need get them out of the town and onto the bypass. If we do not do so, I fear the town will not reach its full potential. Bandon's potential Bandon is quite amazing.

The Minister of State might provide an update. Have we stuck to the timelines? Has there been slippage? It was announced last July that stage 2 of phase 1 would be announced in quarter 2 of 2023. We need to make sure that the timelines are right. We also need to make sure that stage 3 of phase 2 will be announced by the fourth quarter of 2023.

I will return to the matter of phases and stages. If those involved could make it any more complex, they would do so. It is beyond belief what we are dealing with.