Tim Lombard (Fine Gael)
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The Bandon southern relief road, commonly known as the bypass road, is important infrastructure that for decades has been half complete. Bandon has been through major upheaval in the last ten years. It has been flooded several times and we are halfway through a major flood relief programme, which is very welcome and will revitalise the town. We also hope a public realm scheme will start shortly and help the town and its development.

One of the key issues in the town, however, is the traffic passing through it. Bandon is the gateway to west Cork, and the volume of traffic going through the town could be from 9,000 to 14,000 movements on a given day. It is not only cars, however; we also have heavy goods vehicles, mainly articulated trucks, going through the town. That has an impact on the economic and social fabric of the town. We need to see a programme put in place to ensure we can get the second leg of this bypass sorted out. The benefits, not only to Bandon but to all of west Cork, will be great. It concerns economic benefits, sustainable development and ensuring that Bandon is a better place to live.

It is hard for people in Bandon to have much quality of life with such movement of traffic through the town. It is important, therefore, that we get movement on this important infrastructure, which is basically a 2.5 km extension to the motorway and which might cost from €7 million to €8 million. It is, however, infrastructure which is important for the development of the entirety of west Cork. Bandon is the biggest town there and the gateway to that area, and it needs this boost in connectivity. When this bypass is completed, therefore, it will be of benefit not only to Bandon but to all of west Cork. We need movement on this project, and the Minister of State might give me an update on where we are with it now.

Malcolm Noonan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Green Party)
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We spoke before about west Cork, and I stated that it is one of my family's favourite places to visit. We were lucky to get there again this summer. The Minister for Transport, Deputy Eamon Ryan, has responsibility for overall policy and funding regarding the national roads programme. Once funding arrangements have been put in place with Transport Infrastructure Ireland, TII, under the Roads Acts 1993 to 2015, planning, design and construction of individual national roads is a matter for TII, in conjunction with the local authorities concerned.Overall, TII is responsible for the delivery of the national roads programme in accordance with Project Ireland 2040 and the national development plan, NDP.

The programme for Government commits to a planned review of the NDP and a public consultation by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform is under way. The review will be used to set out an updated NDP for the period out to 2030. Work is under way within the Department of Transport to contribute to this review. Within the overall context of Project Ireland 2040, the NDP was developed to underpin the successful implementation of the national planning framework, NPF. This provides the strategic and financial framework for the national roads programme for the period from 2018 to 2027. The review of the NDP will be aligned with the NPF and Project Ireland 2040. The focus of TII's activities is, accordingly, being directed towards the development of the major national road improvement schemes that are included in the NDP, along with the maintenance of the existing national road network.

All projects, including those listed in the NDP or any revision of the NDP, require statutory approval and compliance with the public spending code. In that context, TII provides the Department of Transport with regular updates on its delivery of the national roads programme. Within the timeframe given in the lead-up to this debate, the following information is the most up-to-date information available to me on TII's delivery of this project.

Currently, the N71 relief road around Bandon ties back into the existing road network via a very steep downhill gradient. Traffic also needs to negotiate a number of roundabouts and priority junctions within the built-up area of Bandon. There is quite heavy traffic in the area on the N71, with an annual average daily traffic of between 9,000 and 14,000 vehicles, as has been noted by the Senator, and a heavy goods vehicle, HGV, percentage of up to 5%. The proposed relief road extension would involve bridging over the R603 to remove the existing steep gradient and construction of approximately 2.5 km of new single carriageway tying back into the existing N71, just to the west of the town.

A feasibility study was completed by Cork County Council and TIl is currently reviewing this. The project appraisal plan was approved by my Department early this year and TII allocated €100,000 to Cork County Council to progress this pre-appraisal work during 2020. This work on early planning and design will continue in 2021 with a preferred route for the bypass extension to be identified. The timeframe for the delivery of any major or minor works projects that require statutory approval, whether for an environmental impact assessment report or a compulsory purchase order, or both, is between eight and 13 years.

In the context of the national roads programme capital budget provided by the Department of Transport to TIl, significant funding has been provided towards the improvement of the N71 in Cork since 1994, with funding of approximately €2 million provided in 2020 for various improvements on the N71 route. Previous investment includes major improvement schemes such as the Skibbereen and Bandon bypasses; pavement and minor scheme works; safety schemes; and planning and design for further upcoming schemes. This is a good opportunity to highlight that all projects, including those listed in the NDP or any revision of the NDP, require statutory approval and compliance with the public spending code.

Tim Lombard (Fine Gael)
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I thank the Minister of State for his comprehensive response to this very important issue for the people of west Cork. I am aware that the feasibility study by Cork County Council, about which the Minister of State spoke, is still under review by TII. That is a very important part of the jigsaw. We need the design of the route to be brought forward as best we can because the need for that route is great. We need to know where it will go through a school site, where it will come out and whether it is going to be longer than 2.5 km. There are so many variables pertaining to that site and where the route will be is very important.

I am concerned about the timelines the Minister of State mentioned. Eight to ten years would be very severe for this project. This project has been on the books for the last 25 years and it would be very disheartening for the people of west Cork to wait another ten years or more for a project of this nature. We need to get the design and the route sorted and then we need to put the budget in place in order that we can deliver this project.

Malcolm Noonan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Green Party)
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I take on board the points made by the Senator and will take them back to the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan. The €100,000 allocation to Cork County Council for the pre-appraisal work for 2020 shows the level of commitment from the Government. It is important, as the Senator said, to try to progress matters in as timely a manner as possible.