Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank Senator Gallagher for raising this important matter in the House today. I acknowledge the very serious road safety concerns he raised and the fact that the fatality rate and collision rate has been seriously high and concerning on this road. Many lives have been lost. The Senator mentioned 24 deaths, which is shocking. Particularly as the population increases, as part of the national development plan, NDP, and national planning framework, having balanced regional development is important. Obviously, a core component of that will be to have improved infrastructure from a North-South perspective. Engineering and infrastructure is a key component of road safety.

To give context for what has happened this year, when funding arrangements have been put in place by the Department with Transport Infrastructure Ireland, TII, under the Roads Act and in line with the national development plan, the planning, design, improvement and upgrading of individual national roads is progressed by TII in conjunction with local authorities. TII 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 roads projects from 2021 to 2030 as part of the NDP. This funding will enable improved regional accessibility across the country. The funding will provide for the development of numerous national road projects, including the completion of projects that are already at construction stage as well as the development of others. As the greater portion of this funding becomes available in the second half of the decade, this means there has been a constraint on some funding for projects.A major priority in line with the Department's investment plan is to ensure quality and safety are part of the national road network. In the NDP for this season, an allocation of €2.9 billion is for the protection and renewal of existing roads over the ten-year period to 2030. Four projects on the N2 have been identified, as the Senator has said, in the NDP. These include the N2 from Clontibret to the Border, the N2 from Ardee to Castleblayney, the N2 Slane bypass and the N2 from Rath roundabout to Kilmoon Cross. I can provide the Senator with some further details on each of them. These projects are in line with the national planning framework, in particular the national strategic outcomes of enhanced regional accessibility and strengthening rural economies and communities.

The TII is working to progress these schemes to the planning, design and construction stages. Approximately €491 billion of Exchequer capital funds are being provided for national roads through the TII to local authorities in 2023. These allocations were announced by the Department of Transport in February of this year. Funding in 2023 for new projects on the N2 comprised €2.5 million for the N2 from Clontibret to the Border, which was contingent on a successful application for funding under the Connecting Europe Facility, CEF. It was awarded earlier this year. There was €600,000 for the N2 from Ardee to Castleblayney, €350,000 for the N2 Slane bypass and €750,000 for the N2 from Rath roundabout to Kilmoon Cross.

I am aware of the concerns in this regard, having engaged directly with Monaghan County Council, its officials and the local authority members there on the funding allocation for this year, which did not allow for sufficient progress, as the Senator has stated. That is a matter of fact. There is ongoing engagement between the Department of Transport and the TII about the funding allocations for next year. As the Senator has said, this road has a concerning road safety record and that has to be a core consideration as part of our overall funding paradigm. As I said, no decision has been made by the Government yet on what the funding allocations will be for next year. However, this road is in the national planning framework and the national development plan. It has an important North-South dimension as well. That is something I am also acutely aware of from the Senator’s representations.