Joe O'Reilly (Fine Gael)
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I welcome my good friend, the Minister of State, Deputy Buttimer, to the House. All his friends in County Cavan are hoping that he will have good news for us today. A bombshell was dropped at Cavan County Council last Monday when Virginia councillor, Mr. T.P O'Reilly looked for an update on the progress of the Virginia bypass. The Virginia bypass is currently at stage 3 and it had been proposed to go to stage 4 in the spring of 2026, following a delay of 18 months. At the meeting last Monday it was announced that stage 4 will not happen until the fourth quarter of 2027. Effectively, this means a two-year delay on top of an 18-month delay, on top of a 50-year discussion around the need for this bypass.Naturally, Councillor O'Reilly was incensed by this. Many of his colleagues, from his own party and all others, subsequently spoke on the matter and the general consensus was that they were angry and disappointed. This is a shocking situation. To use northern terminology, the wee roads around Virginia, the smaller roads, are now being destroyed and cut to ribbons by cars diverting to avoid the backlog on the N3 Virginia road. They are going on the small roads and cutting them to ribbons. That is a huge problem in itself. It is also a danger for children on these roads. The roads are residential and were not intended for this kind of traffic. There is a health and safety issue there.

There are inordinate delays for commuters on the N3 going into Virginia. After a day's work in Dublin, someone could sit on the N3 for up to 45 minutes waiting to get through Virginia. They may have had the same experience in the morning. I often get text messages from people who are angry at having to sit there. One particular person, a good friend of mine who constantly texts me, sent a message saying they had been sitting there for an hour waiting to get through Virginia when they should have been at home with their family. It is strangling the town commercially. It is affecting the whole life of the town. It is a beautiful town in an idyllic setting. It has potential for more residential development and all of that. It is just a horror that this is the case. I know the Minister of State will say there was a capital announcement at Christmas on the matter, but what does that mean to someone sitting outside Virginia at the moment, trying to get to Dublin? It is already costing a lot. People are working an eight-hour day in Dublin, spending a couple of hours commuting to work and another couple of hours home. It is horrendous.

Jerry Buttimer (Cork South-Central, Fine Gael)
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I thank Senator O'Reilly for raising this very important matter. I thank him for articulating the frustration expressed by motorists and people in the town of Virginia. I also thank the Senator and Councillor TP O'Reilly for their advocacy and continued lobbying in respect of the importance of the Virginia bypass to the people of Cavan. I am not sure I have good news on the timeline for him this morning. I am taking this matter on behalf of the Minister for Transport. As the Senator will know, the Minister has responsibility for overall policy and Exchequer funding in relation to the national roads programme. Once that funding has been put in place, it is transferred to TII under the Roads Acts and, in this case, to Cavan County Council. Planning and the upgrading of individual national roads under the national development plan is a matter for TII. Under Project Ireland 2040 and the NDP, TII will ultimately a deliver a national roads programme.

It is important to point out that we have had a number of major projects successfully concluded. Our colleague and friend, Senator Lynch, can testify to the N22 Baile Bhuirne to Macroom road. I thank her for her work on that. Along with the N2 Clontibret to the Border and N2 Ardee to Castleblayney projects, the N3 Virginia bypass is one of a number of new national road projects in the north east identified for development over the lifetime of the national development plan. Furthermore, in the sectoral investment plan for transport, which was published last year, the Virginia bypass was listed among projects identified to be in procurement or under construction by 2030. The proposed project will ease congestion in the town of Virginia. As the Senator has hoped, it will provide an opportunity to improve public realm facilities, the lives of people in the area and road safety, particularly for vulnerable road users, through the provision of dedicated cycling and walking infrastructure. As we have both said, the reduction of congestion will have a positive impact on the wider region. Journey times will also be improved and there will be a prosperous economic upturn for the region.

Some €502 million of Exchequer capital funding was allocated to TII last year to be used for the construction of major new road projects and the protection and renewal of existing roads. Cavan County Council received €9 million. Next week, the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, the Minister of State, Deputy Canney, and I will announce the roads projects for this year. I confirm that €1.2 million was allocated for the N3 bypass scheme in 2025. In relation to the current status of the scheme, following the selection of a preferred route, the N3 Virginia bypass is currently advancing through the design and environmental evaluation phase of TII's project management guidelines. During this phase, the design of the project is being further refined with topographical work and geotechnical investigations ongoing, along with the determination of land take requirements. A preliminary business case for the project is expected to be completed this year, as is required by the infrastructure guidelines. Subject to approval, the project will then proceed through the necessary statutory processes, including a planning application.

A major priority of the NDP, in line with the Government's investment hierarchy, is to maintain the quality and safety of the existing national road framework. This includes funding for minor improvement projects and safety schemes such as junction upgrades, road realignment and pavement renewal. I look forward to next week's allocation of national roads funding being published. I hope this will help to clarify the status of funding for roads in County Cavan. I take the Senator's point and hear him very clearly as regards the capital announcement last year and the need for infrastructure development to be progressed. That is why, in government, the party of which we are members asked for a stand-alone Department of infrastructure. We need to see projects like this fast-tracked on behalf of the residents. I thank the Senator for raising this matter this morning.

Joe O'Reilly (Fine Gael)
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I know the Minister of State giving the response is personally committed to rural Ireland and to our communities but this answer is extraordinarily disappointing. It is disappointing that there are these inordinate delays. If I understand the answer correctly, the problem is not so much one of money as one of governance and management. In keeping with the new view, articulated by the Minister of State just a minute ago, that we have to speed up infrastructure projects and remove delays, all the actors and stakeholders need to be brought around a table. Will the Minister of State suggest such an initiative? The Minister responsible, Deputy O'Brien, should bring in TII, the councils and everybody in the area for a functional and practical meeting where decisions would be made. This kind of delay is unacceptable. If somebody was able to listen to this on the radio in their car this morning and heard all of this while sitting outside Virginia, trying to get through the town on their way to a hard day's work in Dublin and looking forward to the prospect of the same delay in the evening while other people were cutting the other roads in the area to ribbons, what comfort would they take from this answer? In truth, I am hugely disappointed. The Minister of State is a man of action and a decent and good man. These people need to be brought into a room. Action is needed here. This is unacceptable to people who have paid their taxes.

Jerry Buttimer (Cork South-Central, Fine Gael)
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I do not disagree with the Senator's reply. As he has said this morning, this project will alleviate traffic congestion, improve connectivity and bring an economic lift to the region. The Government is committed. It has allocated €9 million to Cavan County Council, including €7.4 million for capital protection, renewal and active travel and €1.5 million for new roads along with almost €500,000 for current maintenance. The M3 motorway and N3 national primary road is a strategic radial corridor for the north east. I will certainly bring the Senator's views back to the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, and to the officials in the Department. As I said in my response at the beginning, the preliminary business case is being submitted by TII. That does take time but it highlights the importance of the faster and more expeditious delivery of infrastructure on behalf of the people the Senator has spoken about his morning. I will take his concerns and views back to the Department.