Malcolm Byrne (Fianna Fail)
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I too welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Peter Burke, and congratulate him on his important role. Unlike my colleague, I would certainly not describe him as hapless. He is well able to express opinions on a range of issues. While this matter relates to the transport brief, the Minister of State's role on EU affairs is pertinent given the importance of Rosslare Europort and the completion of the last leg of a 340 km motorway that runs all the way from Belfast to Rosslare. For that reason this is vitally important.

The Minister of State will be aware of how Rosslare Europort has grown, and how it has become even more important in the post-Brexit context. Cumulative trade in the port has grown by 53% in the past two years. The increase in continental trade in the port has been of the order of 398% in the past two years. Last week, a deal was signed between the ESB and Rosslare Europort on the development of an offshore wind hub in Rosslare. Rosslare is becoming even more critically important. Coincidentally, Glenn Carr, the manager of Rosslare Europort was before the Joint Committee on European Union Affairs this morning to outline how the port is developing. He stressed the importance of the road and rail connections into the port and why they need to be improved.

Today, I seek an update, as I have done previously in this House, on the completion of the last section of the M11 motorway from Oilgate to Rosslare. Rosslare is now the number one port for direct freight and passengers services to the European Union. Therefore, although my question is on transport, it is also critical to the Minister of State's European responsibilities. There is a master plan in place for Rosslare Europort and the port is proceeding apace with its development. It is important that we have good transport access in and out of the port. The completion of the M11 is essential not only for the port itself but also for the communities in central and south-east County Wexford who are currently dealing with all the traffic. Anyone travelling south at the moment does so along the very fine M11 road into the village of Oilgate, where there are regular traffic jams and delays. It is a great community there and the village will be freed up once the motorway is completed, as will other villages and communities along the existing route.

The project has been stated to be a Government priority but some concerns were expressed recently about the length of time it is taking to move on this critical piece of infrastructure. It is not just important for Wexford and the south east, this is now of all-Ireland importance. The rail connections are also important but in particular, given that this is a roll-on, roll-off port, we must make sure that the last leg of the journey is completed as soon as possible. I understand there are now moves to carry out a design and environmental evaluation of the selected route. I hope the Minister of State will be able to provide us today with a realistic timetable as to when the M11 will be completed.

Peter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)
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I am aware that this is very important infrastructure which the Senator has raised a number of times. There is a fivefold increase in freight going through Rosslare Europort post Brexit.A number of key connectivity ferry routes have increased which have been discussed at a European level recently. I appreciate that connectivity is critical for it.

The Minister for Transport has responsibility for overall policy and Exchequer funding for the national roads programme. Once funding arrangements have been put in place with Transport Infrastructure Ireland, TII, under the Roads Acts 1993 to 2015, and in line with the national development plan, NDP, the planning, design, improvement and upgrading of individual national roads is a matter for TII in conjunction with the local authorities concerned. TII ultimately delivers the national roads programme in line with Project Ireland 2040, the national planning framework and the NDP.

In the new NDP launched in October 2021, approximately €5.1 billion is earmarked for new national road projects to 2030. 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 completion of projects which are already at construction stage and those close to it, as well as the development of a number of others.

The Oilgate to Rosslare Harbour project focuses on improvements to both the N11 and N25. The project commences south of the M11 Gorey to Enniscorthy motorway, which opened in 2019. The existing route runs through Oilgate village and on to Wexford where it connects with the N25 road from Wexford to Rosslare Europort through the villages of Tagoat, Kilrane and Rosslare Harbour. This project consists of approximately 33 km of high-quality route which will form a strategic link between Rosslare Europort, Dublin and the rest of Ireland. The project will form part of two strategic links between Rosslare Europort, Wexford and Dublin via the M11-N11, and between Rosslare Europort, Wexford, Waterford and Cork via the N25.

Technical advisers were appointed, and the concept and feasibility stage has been completed. The route option selection was completed in November 2021 with approval then granted to proceed to the design and environmental evaluation which is ongoing. The next stage after this is to proceed to statutory approval. TII allocated €1.15 million to Wexford County Council for the project in 2023.

Malcolm Byrne (Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Minister of State for the response. I am grateful that the commitment is still very much there. Concerns were raised locally that there have been delays. This is certainly welcome. I had hoped the response might have given a more indicative timeframe as to where we are going with this, especially given that Iarnród Éireann and Rosslare Europort have now committed to the development of a master plan with Government support. We cannot have a world-class port put in place if the necessary infrastructure linking it has not been completed. I welcome that this remains a top priority for the Government. I ask the Minister of State to convey to the Minister for Transport the sense of urgency about getting this completed in parallel with the master plan that is being developed for Rosslare.

Peter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)
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It certainly is a priority. We have very clearly pointed out the increase in freight and passenger numbers passing through Rosslare post Brexit. To take advantage of these opportunities, additional infrastructure is needed to connect all the routes together and the strong connectivity that lies between Dublin and the rest of the country. It is a very important project and as I have said, more than €1.1 million has been allocated this year. I will follow up with the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan, to reaffirm how important his commitment to the project is for the Senator's locality and for the entire region.