Neale Richmond (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Senator Lombard knows that if I was going to start talking about the Inishannon bypass, he would be the first to call me out by telling me it is nonsense and I should know better. I am not going to do that. I admire and I am very grateful for the Senator's constant campaigning on this issue. Having sat in his office in Bandon and having spoken to the local businesspeople and residents of that fine town, I know how pressing this issue is and that the lack of progress on it has not only caused frustration but has stopped the development and modernisation of what is, as the Senator said, the largest and in many respects most important town in that beautiful part of the world. I am grateful for the Senator's constant campaigning.

I will not read out a script that does not provide the Senator with the information he needs. I will refer to a couple of points I think are important to put on the record to frame the debate, after which I will make a slight commitment to the Senator, if that is okay. As the Senator knows, an extension to the existing Bandon relief road - not Bantry - is intended to address a number of issues within the current road. Currently, this road ties back into the existing road network via a very steep downhill gradient. Traffic also needs to negotiate a number of roundabouts and priority junctions within the built-up area. There is heavy traffic on the N71 in this area, with average daily traffic of between 9,000 and 13,000 vehicles. Heavy goods vehicles comprise up to 5% of this traffic. The proposed relief road extension would involve bridging the R603 to remove the steep gradient and the constriction of approximately 2.5 km of new single carriageway tying back into the existing N71 to the west of the town. I said that for the record. The Senator and I both know all of that, having experienced the road in Bantry so many times.

As the Senator also knows, during 2023, Cork County Council held a competition to appoint technical advisers to complete phase 2, option selection, and phase 3, design and environmental evaluation. Assessment of these tenders is ongoing with an appointment expected very shortly. As the Senator laid out, under the national roads allocation for 2024, €150,000 was allocated to this scheme. I will make this commitment to the Senator before I leave the Chamber.I will write letters to each of the Ministers in the Department of Transport, asking them not only to engage directly with the Senator's office, but to visit the town. I will follow up on that directly, because it is the least the Senator deserves at this stage. More importantly, it is the least the people of Bandon and its surroundings deserve.