Hauliers want Cork and Limerick linked via Cahir and a further road to Rosslare Europort

Irish Road Haulage Association conference hears that direct link from the West of Ireland to the port ought to be prioritised

Eugene Drennan argued that a direct connection between the West of Ireland and Rosslare Europort in Co Wexford should be prioritised. 

The Irish Road Haulage Association (IRHA) believes priority should be given to building a motorway off the M8 to link Cork and Limerick via Cahir, Co Tipperary — and to develop another one from that point on to Waterford and Rosslare Europort.

IHRA president Eugene Drennan said the main economic driver for the country should be a focus on creating better linkage between the West of Ireland and Rosslare, and that this could be achieved by building a motorway connecting Limerick with Rosslare, which would hook on to the Cork-Dublin motorway at Cahir.

He said this is a more cost-effective option than the planned new highway directly between Cork and Limerick, although he and his members would like to see bypasses built for safety reasons at Buttevant and Charleville in North Cork.

Mr Drennan said a number of trucking companies from the West of Ireland travel to Cork via Tipperary town, on to Bansha, and into Cahir because they can then access the M8 and head straight down to the Port of Cork container terminal at Ringaskiddy.

He said they do this to avoid traffic jams in Charleville, congestion in Blackpool, Cork City centre and on the North Ring Road.

'More sense' to use the M8

He pointed out most of the major industry in Cork is on its eastern and southern sides and therefore it makes more sense to access the region via the M8, especially in the absence of a new northern ring road.

The planned construction of that is likely to be several years away and unlikely to start until after the Cork-Limerick’s road’s upgrade is completed, which will be at least 2030.

“It [a Limerick-Waterford motorway] would be a better utilisation of money. They could build the bypasses in Buttevant and Charleville soon and then finish off the rest of the Cork-Limerick road at a later date,” he said.

The IRHA represents haulage firms which have around 40,000 trucks on the road.

Access to the port in Rosslare has become even more important as freight traffic passing through it has increased by 400% since Brexit.

Meanwhile, the Port of Cork is planning to move all its container operations out of Tivoli to Ringaskiddy, which will then lead to more truck movements on the M8, especially as it will be directly connected to the planned new €220m Cork - Ringaskiddy motorway (M40). It is expected to open in 2027.