Jerry Buttimer (Cork South-Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I congratulate the Acting Chair on her nomination to the Seanad. Comhghairdeas leat. I also congratulate Senator Gallagher on his re-election and look forward to working with him in a different capacity. We always had a good working relationship under the confidence and supply arrangement and in government, which I hope continues.

I thank the Senator for raising the important matter of the N2. As he said, it is a road that has a high accident rate. The number of fatalities is incredible. As he said, people have lost their lives and families are without their loved ones.

As a Minister of State in the Department of Transport, with the Minister for Transport, Deputy O'Brien, and the Minister of State, Deputy Canney, we have responsibility for overall policy and Exchequer funding in respect of the national roads programme. Once funding arrangements have been put in place with Transport Infrastructure Ireland, under the Roads Acts 1993 to 2015, and in line with the national development plan, the planning, design, improvement and upgrading of individual national roads, as the Senator will know, is a matter for TIl but in conjunction with local authorities which in the Senator's case is Monaghan County Council. TII will continue to deliver road projects under the national roads programme, in line with the national planning framework and the NDP.

The Senator raised the issue of the N2 from Ardee to Castleblayney. As he rightly said, this project is about connectivity, enhancing local and regional accessibility and improving connectivity between Dublin, Monaghan and the north west, which would enable improved connectivity for businesses and deliver road safety improvements for all road users. A preferred route option has been selected and the scheme is in the design and environmental evaluation phase, after which a preliminary business case for the project would be submitted to the Department.

The Government, as a whole, has earmarked €5.1 billion for capital spending on new national road projects from 2021 to 2030, as part of the national development plan. This funding will enable improved regional accessibility across the country as well as compact growth, which are key national strategic outcomes. The funding will provide for the development of numerous national road projects, including the construction and completion of projects, which are already at construction stage, and those close to it as well as the development of a number of others.

A major priority in the NDP, in line with the Department's investment hierarchy, is to maintain the quality and safety of the existing national road network. The NDP foresees an Exchequer allocation of around €2.9 billion for the protection and renewal of existing national roads over the ten-year period to 2030, allocated fairly evenly across the decade. This includes funding for minor improvement projects, safety schemes, such as junction upgrades and road realignment, and pavement renewal. As the Senator rightly said, the N2 certainly fits into that category given the level of collisions and fatalities.

In the latter half of this decade, more of the funding in the NDP will become available. Last year, €411 million of Exchequer capital funding was provided to the TII. As the Senator rightly said, funding constraints meant there was no funding made available last year for the N2 Ardee to Castleblayney project. However, it is a very central part of the NDP and I am sure his advocacy this morning will not fall on deaf ears. As such, the delivery programme for the N2 Ardee to Castleblayney scheme will be kept under review for 2025 and will be considered in terms of the overall funding envelope available to Transport Infrastructure Ireland.The allocations for this year will be announced in the coming weeks. Given that it will cost less than €1 million and it is a priority in terms of cross-Border connectivity but it is also about the enhancement of road safety in tandem with the Government road strategy of reducing accidents on the road, I will make a case for the Senator and with him regarding this project. I thank him for raising the matter this morning. It is an important project for very good reasons. I will bring his remarks back to the Minister and the Department.