Tim Lombard (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State. It is great to have her here to discuss the issue of Pewterhole Cross in Kinsale.

I asked the Minister for Transport for an update on the funding request from Cork County Council to carry out necessary upgrade works at Pewterhole Cross in Kinsale. This is a significant issue for the residents of Kinsale. It is a thriving town that has seen huge population growth in the past few years. Kinsale is now the second largest town in the constituency.

One passes through Pewterhole Cross on the outskirts of Kinsale when driving on the Cork to Kinsale Road. It is a junction of the R600 where the road meets Charleville and Charlesfort on the left and the industrial estate on the right. The crossroads and junction are a significant issue for the residents of Kinsale. The majority, if not all, of those heading towards Cork have to go through the crossroads, including the blind junction. There are huge traffic volumes. We are trying to find a solution to the problem.

Unfortunately, the proposed solution goes back many years. In 2007 the proposal was originally pulled. It was one of the last projects ever pulled from a funding stream. The project was supposed to have been completed in 2007, but has been on and off the list ever since. The latest update from Cork County Council regarding this issue does not give me much hope. Applications for funding were made in 2022 and 2023. The council has now applied for funding of €50,000 to move forward with the appraisal assessment work. Unfortunately, the money has not been allocated for 2024.

How can we get a significant funding stream in place to make sure the crossroads can be dealt with? We need to make sure it is safe. At the moment, unfortunately, it is not safe. When we knock on the doors and talk to people, they tell us the economy and everything else is going well, but an issue like this is significant for the people of Kinsale. The majority of the residents of Kinsale pass through this junction twice a day and need a solution.

We are trying to get the project on the list for appraisal work so it can move forward to the design stage and we can then make sure we can deliver the works. The project is 20 years in the making. The town has developed and changed like no other town in Cork South-West. It is a thriving town. This piece of infrastructure is badly required.

I refer to other towns in Cork South-West. The Bandon bypass needs a funding stream to be put in place. The project will take traffic out of the town, which will benefit the entire area. Bandon is the gateway to west Cork. At the moment, the majority, if not all, of lorries in the area have to go down south Main Street and past my office. We need funding for key projects that would mean so much for people.

Councillor Marie O'Sullivan in Kinsale continually raises this issue and calls for updates and funding to be made available. Her campaign needs to be acknowledged. It is about trying to make sure that we get movement. I know we are in the last dying days of a Government, but we need to make sure there is movement on this for the residents of Kinsale.