'Not fit for purpose': Cork’s N25 slammed as unsafe with 5,000 homes now at risk

Officials warn lives, traffic, and housing plans are at risk as East Cork’s critical N25 road remains dangerously underfunded

It will likely be next year when the council finds out if any money will be forthcoming from the under the National Development Plan to upgrade the N25. File picture: Denis Minihane

The head of Cork County Council’s roads directorate has said it’s one of his “greatest disappointments” that the government has repeatedly refused to provide proper finance to upgrade the "unsafe" N25 between Carrigtwohill and Midleton. 

The situation has become so bad that the substandard state of the road could potentially stall the proposed creation of 5,000 new homes in the area. Mayor of County Cork Mary Linehan-Foley has vowed to use her office to seek an urgent meeting on the matter with minister for transport Darragh O’Brien.

The road upgrade has been stalled since 2022 when then minister Eamon Ryan pulled funding for it. Padraig Barrett, head of the council’s roads directorate, addressed the issue at a council meeting after a number of councillors warned the road has become dangerous and gridlocked.

Mr Barrett said the council had only been allocated €45,000 for some minor safety works along it “which wouldn’t even cut the hedges for you". He said that it is a major priority for the council to get it significantly upgraded as "it’s absolutely essential" to the safe travelling of thousands of motorists every day. 

Cork County Council was told that traffic conditions on the road in the past four years 'has changed dramatically'. File picture: Dan Linehan

Mr Barrett said traffic conditions on the road in the past four years “has changed dramatically”. It will likely be next year when the council finds out if any money will be forthcoming from the under the National Development Plan to upgrade the road. 

A joint motion from Fine Gael councillors Anthony Barry and Rory Cocking called on council management to liaise directly with Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) and the Department of Transport on the issue. 

“There has been a lot of accidents on the road recently and unfortunately some of them have been fatal,” Mr Cocking said.

Mr Barry said there have been no meaningful improvements on the road since 1968. Up to 5,000 new houses proposed for the area could be put in jeopardy due to the absence of sustainable travel and development plans.

Councillors are hopeful the IDA along with TII and Irish Rail would put pressure on government for proper investment in the N25, as one of the busiest roads in the country.

Mr Barry said:

We all know it’s not fit for purpose. It’s crazy from a health and safety perspective.

The council's southern division chairperson, councillor Ann Marie Ahern, said the council must insist that minister O’Brien comes down to Cork to see it for himself.

Ms Ahern and Independent councillor John Buckley said the Lakewiew Roundabout on the N25 at Midleton is now gridlocked to such an extent that at peak times it can take up to 30 minutes to get on or off the main road.

Mr Cocking suggested that the only way to resolve that is to build a flyover connecting Midleton and the Whitegate road. “We need to get a solution to this before the schools start or all hell will break loose,” Fianna Fáil councillor Patrick Mulcahy said.