Pressure on Government to deliver key Cork road projects
Cork Chamber said there must be a commitment to fund the construction of the N/M20 Cork to Limerick project.
Pressure is mounting on government to deliver key road projects when it unveils details of the National Development Plan (NDP) following a Cabinet meeting in Cork on Monday.
With last-minute negotiations set to continue across the weekend, Cork Chamber said there must be a commitment to fund the construction of the N/M20 Cork to Limerick project.
And Fianna Fáil spokesperson on transport, James O’Connor, said two schemes in East Cork - the €105m Cobh to Cork road upgrade, and the €40m relief roads of Killeagh and Castlemartyr on the N25 - must be included.
He said there are major complexities around the upgrade of the R624 Fota Road, which connects Cobh to the N25, which requires its reclassification from regional to national status - transferring it from Cork County Council to Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII).
“The upgrade proposal is one of the most expensive and difficult projects under consideration by cabinet but its progression will have major strategic consequences,” he said.
“Upgrading the R624 will increase Cobh’s economic capacity and solve major concerns about the existing connection to the N25.”
Mr O’Connor also said that TII has refused to progress the relief roads for Castlemartyr and Killeagh - two notorious bottlenecks on the N25 - because they were not in recent NDPs.
Investment in the N25 would dramatically improve connectivity between Cork and Waterford, and would help transform the economic fortunes of Youghal especially, he said.
Meanwhile, Cork Chamber said there is overwhelming support from the business community in Cork, Limerick, Tralee, Galway, Shannon and Ennis for the N/M20 project.
They released the findings of a survey of chamber members in the region which show 87% believe it will improve business, 80% believe it will give access to a wider labour pool, and 65% believe it will be a key driver in expanding their business.
Conor Healy, CEO of Cork Chamber, said towns cannot thrive where traffic dominates, and commercial logistics cannot function appropriately when they encounter town centres and substandard road infrastructure.
“The M20 project must comprehensively address connectivity along the whole of the corridor, incorporating road, rail, bus, cycle, and pedestrianisation. It has the potential to create a contemporary multimodal intercity transport corridor that is unmatched elsewhere in Ireland,” he said.
Patrick Buckley, the MD of EPS said the proposed M20 route has been through a long discussion, consultation, and planning period and it is essential now for the project to move to the construction phase.
“The benefits for business activity and community development within the region are currently disadvantaged as a result of not having the type of interconnectivity it will bring,” he said.
David Jefferys, the founder and CEO of Action Point said since the M18 to Galway was opened in 2017, his firm has hired 20 new employees representing an increase of 25%.
“We would anticipate similar levels of growth with the delivery of the M20,” he said.
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