Cathal Byrne (Fine Gael)
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I thank the Minister of State for coming in to address this absolutely crucial piece of strategic infrastructure for County Wexford, one of the single biggest projects that the county needs in order to capitalise on its potential. I am aware that the Minister of State will be visiting south Wexford tomorrow. I look forward to welcoming him to Lady's Island. He will travel the same road on which I am looking to get an update on today. I refer to the need for the Oylegate to Rosslare motorway to be delivered and developed. I am seeking an update on that. At the moment, the road travels the whole way from Larne in Northern Ireland all the way down to the little village of Oylegate. Any traffic that is heading to Rosslare Europort must travel through the village of Oylegate, around the Wexford ring road, into Drinagh, down then to Killinick, to Tagoat and on then to Rosslare Harbour.

As a result of Brexit, we have seen a €230 million investment into Rosslare Europort. I was there with the Minister, Deputy O'Callaghan, only a few days ago. The reality for the people living in that area is that the harbour having gone from 20 sailings a week to now close to 75 sailings a week means the volume of traffic making its way to the port is now directly affecting the lives of all those residents living in that area. The infrastructure has not followed and there is quite a lot of frustration that, due to the court case relating to the Galway ring road and the knock-on impact of that judgment on requiring active-travel considerations, this had added over a year extra to the time it will take to deliver the motorway. A preferred route has been selected for the motorway. Will the Minister of State provide an update on where things currently stand in relation to the motorway and the commitment from the Government for funding this project beyond the planning stage? When we finally get through the planning stage, is the commitment there from Government to put the money in place to go to tender, CPO and construction?

Christopher O'Sullivan (Cork South-West, Fianna Fail)
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I know the road very well because it leads to Lady's Island and also down to Tacumshin. Any birders or birdwatchers out there are very familiar with the road. I have travelled it quite a lot and I totally understand where the Deputy is coming from in terms of the need for this development. I am taking this on behalf of the Minister for Transport. The Senator will know a lot of the information in the reply already but I will certainly elaborate on anything I can.

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 Transport Infrastructure Ireland, TII, 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 is a matter for TII in conjunction with the local authorities concerned - in this case, Wexford County Council. TII ultimately delivers the national roads programme in line with Project Ireland 2040, the national planning framework and the NDP.Approximately €502 million of Exchequer capital funds were provided for national roads through TII to local authorities in 2025. This is used for the construction of major new roads as well as the protection and renewal of the existing network. Under the NDP, a number of major new roads projects have already been delivered since 2021. These include the Dunkettle interchange in my county, the N5 from Westport to Turlough, the N22 from Ballyvourney to Macroom and bypasses of Moycullen and Listowel. Other new roads projects, such as the Adare bypass, are under construction or in the design phase. The Oylegate to Rosslare Harbour project falls into the latter category. In other words, it is in design phase. In the context of the national roads programme capital budget, which is provided by the Department of Transport to TII, significant funding has been provided for the development of the N11-N25 Oylegate to Rosslare Harbour project, which was allocated €4 million in 2025. This important project will increase the safety and capacity of the N11-N25 corridor, in addition to improving connectivity between Wexford, the surrounding areas and international markets.

In that regard, it is important to point out that Rosslare Europort has seen greatly increased traffic since the departure of the UK from the European Union. As such, the project will also strengthen Ireland’s international links, having positive economic benefits for the country as a whole. The proposed project will also provide journey time reliability for road users, which will improve the quality of life of local residents. A major benefit provided by the proposed project is the improvement in road safety, and provision of infrastructure that can accommodate a larger volume of road users, including passenger traffic, freight traffic and road based public transport. The Senator already knows all this. It is essentially what he said in his opening statement.

Furthermore, the safety performance of some sections of the existing N11 are substandard, with collision rates twice the national average. The existing corridor also fails to provide dedicated and high-quality facilities for vulnerable users such as pedestrians and cyclists. The scheme is intended to address this.

Technical advisers have been appointed to progress the project through the planning and design phases, including statutory processes. A preferred route option was selected in late 2021 and work on the design and environmental phases began shortly thereafter. It is anticipated that these phases will be completed late next year, following which a preliminary business case will be submitted for Government approval, as required under the infrastructure guidelines. Subject to the necessary approvals, a planning application will follow.

I also mention the Rosslare Europort access road, which is expected to commence construction next year. This project will provide greatly improved access to Rosslare Europort for freight and passenger traffic and will complement the Oylegate to Rosslare Harbour project.

What I have outlined is the need for the project. I think we are all in agreement on that. There is a design process to go through. Like most public representatives, I dislike the term "preliminary business case", but considering the response from the Department of Transport and the Minister, there is a sense of priority and urgency, so I have no fear of it. We will do anything we can to speed it up. I thank the Senator for raising it.

Cathal Byrne (Fine Gael)
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I welcome the Minister of State's commitment to this important infrastructure for County Wexford. Given the Government will shortly announce a series of measures on how the delivery of strategic infrastructure projects might be accelerated, can consideration be given to including the Oylegate to Rosslare Harbour motorway when those proposals are published? It is important infrastructure for County Wexford and I cannot stress enough the impact the success of Rosslare Europort is having on local communities there. A lady said to me during the week that the Wexford ring road is now effectively like a car park at times coming up to sailings. As we now have 75 sailings a week, up from 20 pre-Brexit, the Minister of State can imagine the impact that has on local residents.

Christopher O'Sullivan (Cork South-West, Fianna Fail)
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We should be in a position to welcome and rejoice about the fact that Rosslare is busier. We want that, but we cannot have it impacting residents and the county. A preferred route was selected in 2021. That is a while ago now. I get the Senator's frustration. This should be more advanced at this point. Let us get the design done and go through the statutory process as quickly as possible. From the Department's response, I get a sense that there is now a bit of urgency about it, so I hope we will see progress soon and that I will see the Senator in Lady's Island.