Garret Ahearn (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I wish to raise an issue I have raised numerous times before in this Chamber, which is the N24 road. I noticed that the Taoiseach has spoken about a Ministry for infrastructure. This is the key infrastructure for the south-east region. It has been in the plan for a number of years but it has not received funding this year to get it to planning stage. My colleague, Councillor Pat Dunphy in Kilkenny, was speaking at the Piltown municipal district meeting about how critical this is for the area and region. As a Government, we have spent €5 million on this project so far to get it to planning stage.It has been shelved temporarily, but if that continues, all of the money spent on contractors will be wasted because the project will have to go back to the start. It just needs an extra €2 million to get to planning stage. At some point in the future, a decision will be made by the next Government on whether funding will be provided for construction. People are in a buffer zone, in that they cannot get planning permission for buildings and are waiting on a decision to have the road completed. I am suggesting that we do what we did for the first four years of this Government and get this route, which is of strategic importance for the area, to the planning stage. A decision on construction can be made after that.