Mark Duffy (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State back to the Seanad and thank him for making the time to discuss this issue with me.

Investment in road infrastructure in the areas I represent in Mayo has been underwhelming, to say the least. For the past three decades, we have been campaigning and advocating for investment for the upgrade of the N26. It is an incredibly busy roadway with thousands of motorists commuting on it every day, but it has had little or no investment over three decades. It is the gateway to the north west and connects Ballina to Foxford, on to Swinford and into the main arteries connecting to Dublin. It is one of the last remaining roadways in the country that has such a volume of traffic but has not received any investment. I ask the Minister of State to prioritise this matter and communicate with his departmental officials the imperative need for this road to be upgraded to a national standard for the sake of safety alone. The large number of HGVs, cars and buses that use this route every day are constantly in jeopardy because of the poor condition of the road. Similarly, the N58 connecting Foxford to Bellavary, which is the spine that interlinks the north and south of County Mayo, is in desperate condition and requires investment.

On a more local level, when I was sitting as a councillor in Mayo County Council three or four years ago, the local transport plans were rolled out. These were identified as the silver bullet to sort all improvements at a local level in communities and neighbourhoods in large towns. In Mayo, we had Westport, Castlebar and Ballina creating local transport plans. We were told these plans would be the bibles from which engineers would cherry-pick projects and deliver them. We have seen zero delivery on any of the projects identified under the local transport plans. Consultants have been paid and overpaid for their work and we still do not have projects.

A good example of expertise and consultant work regarding active and sustainable travel is the safe routes to school initiative. We have brilliant proposals under this model that would improve safety and connectivity for students and teachers travelling to and from school. Unfortunately, investment from the Department in these projects has been paltry, to say the least. This model for safe routes to school is supposed to be all encompassing and transformative in one go, not itty-bitty investments to keep people quiet. I ask the Minister of State that, when we invest in safe routes to school, we prioritise transformational projects that address a full school route and area in totality, not just as itty-bitty projects.

Last night and as we speak, traders and shopkeepers from the Ballina community have been meeting and continue to advocate and campaign for improvements in connectivity, the dire need for investment in an orbital route and improvements and changes to traffic flows within the town. The engineers on the ground need to move quickly but the TII needs to empower local decision-makers, councillors and the local community to allow us to act to improve the desperate traffic situation that plagues towns like Ballina and others in County Mayo with similar settings.We need to work with the people on the ground and we need to address these issues.