Tim Lombard (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State and it is great to have the opportunity to have him in the Chamber to discuss this issue.

Kinsale is a thriving town and is the second biggest town in Cork South-West. It has a population of nearly 6,000 people and the population increased quite significantly in the last census. There has been a 13% increase in population in Kinsale since 2016. It is the start of the Wild Atlantic Way and has wonderful things going for it. The hand of history and the hand of geography have been really kind to Kinsale over the last millennium. However, we need to look at the key issues affecting the town and how we try to make sure the town is a fit-for-purpose town in this day and age.

It is a heritage town and has so much going for it such as Charles Fort, James Fort and Desmond Castle, as well as real historic sites like the Battle of Kinsale sites. Unfortunately, traffic and congestion are a huge issue in the town itself. At present, 70% of traffic goes through the town and does not stop there. Last Sunday, when I was going through the town of Kinsale, I was in a traffic jam for 25 minutes. It is unfortunate that we have a scenario whereby Kinsale is suffering from a huge traffic issue that affects the town.

As for my vision for Kinsale, it is that the majority of streets be pedestrian-only. We should have fewer cars in the town and should take the cars out of the town. What a gem and a wonderful place it then would be. It really would be an iconic visitor location and people would visit in higher numbers than they do at the moment.

We need to do more about trying to work on this congestion issue. We have increased the frequency of the bus service, which has doubled in the last few months. We now have a bus service every 30 minutes going to Cork city, which is really welcome and has provided a great connectivity for the town. However, the key issue is trying to make sure that we have a solution to get the cars around the town, because beaches are at the other side of Kinsale. I speak of Garrylucas, Garrettstown and Coolmain Strand, which are wonderful locations the Minister of State should visit himself if he has the opportunity. That is the key issue that we have for the next six or seven months, namely, that people will be trying to get through Kinsale and will not have the ability to go around it.

This strategy that has been brought forward is really welcome and is something that has been talked about for so long. What engagement will there be, what engagement will there be with the local authorities and how will that engagement happen? We need to make sure that that engagement is going to include both local authorities and community groups. I am speaking in particular about Kinsale Chamber of Tourism and Business. That has produced a really dynamic report about how we can make sure that Kinsale is going to be a thriving town going forward when it comes to the key issues of infrastructure. It produced a significant report that reimagines Kinsale. They got their own private consultant in to do it. We need to engage with groups like that, that have done so much about trying to make sure Kinsale is a thriving town going forward. We also need to engage with the local authority. Our relationships with the local authority, the public and Kinsale businesses need to be worked on.

This issue about trying to get a bypass to relieve the traffic around Kinsale is something we need to start generally talking about. There is no major plan or line in the map there and the conversation needs to begin somewhere. I hope that this document brought forward is the start of an actual conversation about how we can reduce the congestion issues that are damning the wonderful town of Kinsale. The Minister of State might give me an update on where this proposal is, where he plans to go regarding the consultation and whether there is a possibility of a roadshow. Could the Department go to locations that are being affected by congestion in order that they can take into consideration the people's views regarding what can be brought forward?