A €1bn 25-stop light-rail system linking Ballincollig to Mahon via a new docklands bridge is among the proposals contained in the long-awaited Cork Metropolitan Area Draft Transport Strategy (CMATS).

Work on a €1bn light rail system for Cork will not start until 2031 at the earliest with the focus in the interim on improved roads and increased bus lanes.

A €1bn light rail system between Ballincollig and Mahon Point via the city centre, as well as eight new railway stations and 100km of bus lanes, are contained in a radical new transport plan for Cork.

The deadline for deciding on whether to give the go-ahead to a controversial incinerator in Cork Harbour has been pushed out for the eighth time. It is one of the State’s longest-running planning sagas.

A widow became emotional yesterday as she explained how she would become “a prisoner” in her own home if plans for a €180m Cork-Ringaskiddy motorway were given the green light.

Residents and major industries in Ringaskiddy are united in their opposition to the proposed M28 motorway route as it will sever the Co Cork harbourside village.