Gareth Scahill (Fine Gael)
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I thank the Minister of State for coming to the Chamber. I welcome the students from St. Paul's College. I am sure the Cathaoirleach will make an announcement before they leave.

I raise an issue that is very important in the area I am from, Castlerea in west Roscommon, which is to prioritise the upgrading of the N60 national road through Castlerea. With the imminent completion of the N5 project - the extension from Scramoge to Tibohine, representing an investment by the Government of over €450 million - everyone will be heading to Roscommon at some stage in the coming months to cut a ribbon. I hope people do not have any trouble getting there, though, because the N60 goes through Castlerea and there is going to be an increased amount of traffic coming off the N5 into Castlerea for people who wish to access towns such as Williamstown, Dunmore and Ballyhaunis. Castlerea is already a town that suffers significantly at certain times in the day at the intersection, which we know as "Hell's Kitchen corner" but is officially the R361 road where the N60 junction is.

In the past two years, there was a plan by Transport Infrastructure Ireland, TII, to introduce safety measures and a scheme that would allow the traffic to flow easier at that junction. An investment of just under €1 million was made available. TII produced a plan, but it was a take it or leave it plan. It did not consult with the people and businesses of the town and the people who were using it. There are many examples of monitoring traffic trends and coming up with a solution without understanding the traffic trends. That is what I would like to engage with, and I encourage that there be engagement.

Today is about coming up with a strategy for the N60. When I was young fella in the early eighties, there was talk of a ring road or relief road around Castlerea. In the county development plan from 2013 to 2018, there was talk of exploring a strategy for a ring road or float road around Castlerea. None of these strategies or plans ever materialised. However, what we know from the TII's plan is that 70% of the traffic that goes through Castlerea passes directly through the town. The national road goes through Castlerea. It does not stop.

We are lucky in Castlerea to be national beneficiaries and involved in the town centre first plans. We are looking into opening up our town and making it more accessible and easier for the demographic that lives in the area, the majority of whom are older. We have one of the highest percentages of over-55s in the country. We need to make our town accessible to people. I would very much welcome an inclusion in the national development plan, NDP, to explore the strategy for our relief road or to do a scheme on Hell's Kitchen corner in Castlerea that makes the town flow an awful lot easier and make it a lot more accessible.

Recently, I did a walkability assessment with the Brothers of Charity Services in Castlerea. The majority of people from two different sides of the town identified that as the most dangerous area for them crossing the road. Be it in cars or on foot, all the service users with the Brothers of Charity Services highlighted that as a major issue. I welcome a discussion on this.

Kieran O'Donnell (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Senator for raising this matter, which I am taking on behalf of the Minister for Transport, Deputy O'Brien. The Minister for Transport has responsibility for overall policy and Exchequer funding in relation to the national roads programme. Once funding arrangements have been put in place with TII under the Roads Acts 1993 to 2015, and in line with the national development plan, the planning, design, improvement and upgrading of 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.

Funding for national roads is provided in the context of the NDP. The review of the NDP was published by the Government on the 22 July. This plan sets out capital ceilings for transport to 2030. The Department will now progress the sectoral plan for the 2026-30 period, which will be published later this year. This will take into account transport priorities in the coming years for all parts of the country, including County Roscommon. Funding provided through the NDP continues to deliver capital investment on new national roads, enabling improved regional accessibility across the country as well as compact growth, which are key national strategic outcomes.The funding provides 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. 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. This includes funding for minor improvement projects and safety schemes such as junction upgrades and road realignment and pavement renewal.

As a greater proportion of funding becomes available in the NDP in the second half of the decade, this has meant there has been a constraint on the funding available for new projects in 2025. However, approximately €502 million of Exchequer capital funds for national roads was provided through TII to the local authorities for the construction of new roads and the protection and renewal of the existing network. I understand from TII that Roscommon County Council has not been in a position to prioritise the proposed ring road scheme in Castlerea due to the many competing demands from other schemes for these resources. Given the recent review of the NDP, TII is not in a position to consider funding a project on the N60 to bypass Castlerea until the sectoral plan for transport is published later this year. I made inquiries and my understanding is that there were informal discussions between Roscommon County Council and TII on the issue. However, no formal application has been made. I suggest that the Senator follow up with Roscommon County Council to interact with TII on this proposal in advance of the sectoral plans for transport, which will be published later this year.

In 2025, approximately €88 million was allocated for the construction of new national roads in Roscommon, with an additional €8 million being allocated for the improvement of the existing network. This has delivered significant improvements to the network, as demonstrated by the N5 Ballaghaderreen to Scramoge project, the construction of which is well under way. This important project will enhance regional accessibility and improve connectivity in the region. It will deliver improvements for all users of the N5. In addition to the investment into the national road network in County Roscommon, there is also significant investment in place for regional and local roads in the county. On 14 February 2025, the Minister for Transport announced an investment of €713 million in regional and local roads across the State. This is an overall increase of more than 8% in funding this year. Roscommon County Council received an allocation of almost €23 million, which is an increase of approximately €1.65 million on the 2024 allocation.

Gareth Scahill (Fine Gael)
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We know the money has been allocated for the N5. I take on board what the Minister of State said about engaging with the local authority. When the TII conversation came before the councillors, it was a matter of taking all or none of the safety measures. As a result of the lack of engagement on the ground, none of the measures was taken on board. However, the roads engineer in Roscommon said at the time that if we were to try to look at a ring road or a float road in Castlerea we would be looking at an eight-to-ten year project. That was two years ago and nothing has happened since, as the Minister of State has outlined. That is very disappointing to hear. The right time to do this, and the most cost-effective time to do it, was 20 years ago. The second right time to do this is now. We cannot wait for this to be a more expensive project in a few years' time. Every plan has produced and has suggested this. Seeking NRA funding for the process of development of this scheme was suggested in the 2013 plan. I, as a layperson, contacted the then Minister, Eamon Ryan, in December 2023 about this project. I made a proposal to him and produced maps. I forwarded that work to the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, in August of this year. I have not got a response on that yet. With all of the positive schemes that are out there, I cannot see why there cannot be a more joined-up approach to this. We are participants, as I said, in the town centre first scheme. That would be the perfect time to highlight that this is a growing need and it is a necessity at this stage. If the Minister had been here, I was also going to ask if age-friendly housing could be included in the discussion, because I think that would open up the town as well. I will follow up with the Minister and his Department. I thank the Minister of State for coming in today.

Kieran O'Donnell (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Senator for raising this important matter which I am taking on behalf of the Minister for Transport, Deputy Darragh O'Brien. Due to the issue of funding constraints for national roads, a prioritisation exercise was necessary in line with the NDP and Government policy. The Minister of Transport allocated national road funding in a manner which sought to achieve the key outcomes of protecting and renewing the existing national road network, progressing major projects that are near completion and progressing major projects which are in the early stages of development. In 2025, approximately €96 million was allocated to the national road network in Roscommon. This funded the protection and renewal of the existing road network and included new national road projects such as the N5. I will follow up with the Department to respond to the Senator's correspondence. I suggest that the Senator follow up himself with the Minister for Transport and I encourage him to engage with Roscommon County Council regarding its engagement with TII. The sectoral plans will come on stream at the end of the year. There is a process there. I thank the Senator for raising this matter on behalf of his constituents.