Minister forced into U-turn on bypass opening
Transport Minister Noel Dempsey was yesterday forced to do a U-turn on his earlier decision to put off the opening of part of the M9 motorway until after Christmas. The 28km stretch from Kilcullen in Co Kildare to the Carlow bypass will open on Monday as scheduled.
Earlier this week, Mr Dempsey agreed to requests from local TDs because of concerns over the effect it would have on trade, particularly that of a petrol station, on the existing route.
The minister had agreed to defer the opening, despite the current route scoring badly in a report by the European Road Assessment Programme, because it is a single carriageway serving a busy route, increasing the chance of accidents.
A multi-vehicle accident on the road in March left two men dead and 16 others injured when a minibus overturned. Following a number of phone calls and emails to Mr Dempsey’s office yesterday concerning the safety of the old route, he decided the opening should not be deferred.
The €300 million road will shorten the driving time from Waterford to Dublin and, according to the AA, will be a major addition to the country’s growing motorway network.
“We were very concerned that the opening was being deferred for no good reason,” said AA director of policy Conor Faughnan. “We are very pleased that common sense has prevailed and Minister Dempsey made the right decision. No harm done.”
Fine Gael Wicklow TD, Billy Timmins, said he found it “outrageous” the minister considered deferring the opening, accusing him of “putting the interest of a few individuals at the expense of the common good”.
Fianna Fáil Kildare South TD, Seán Power, yesterday denied reports he had made representations to the minister on behalf of businesses.
“The information available to me up to last week was that the road was not ready for opening,” he said.
The National Roads Authority signed off on the completion of the road earlier this week.
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