TD demands improvements to tackle 'unconscionable' amount of serious accidents on Cork's N25

The section of the N25 between the Rincrew roundabout and the Jack Lynch Tunnel has seen four fatal accidents, 16 serious injury crashes, and 42 minor injury collisions between 2022 and the end of September 2025.

Social Democrats TD Liam Quaide said that the only way to make the N25 safer, apart from significantly upgrading it, is to reinstate the old Youghal to Midleton railway line.

There has been “an unconscionable amount of serious traffic accidents” taking place on the main Cork to Waterford road, with at least 10 fatalities in the past four years.

The stark data reinforces the need for an upgrade of the N25, especially on its busiest section between the Jack Lynch Tunnel and Midleton, a Cork East TD has said, as senior county council management admitted it is currently "substandard and unsafe".

Social Democrat TD Liam Quaide obtained provisional data from the Road Safety Authority (RSA) which shows there were 10 fatal accidents on the N25 between Waterford and Cork between 2022 and the end of September 2025.

During that period, there were another 31 serious injury accidents on the same route, and a further 87 categorised as minor injury collisions.

Mr Quaide also received a breakdown on accidents specific to the N25 section between the Rincrew roundabout to the north of Youghal and Cork City’s boundary near the Jack Lynch Tunnel.

On that section of road, again over the same period, there were four fatal accidents, 16 classified as serious injury crashes, and 42 minor injury collisions.

Social Democrats TD Liam Quaide.

Senior Cork County Council officials have repeatedly maintained that the section between the city boundary and Midleton is over capacity, with traffic becoming increasingly dangerous.

Government funding for the Carrigtwohill to Midleton upgrade was stopped in 2022 and has not been properly restored since.

Padraig Barrett, head of the Cork County Council’s roads and transportation directorate, described that particular section of road as “substandard and unsafe".

Mr Quaide said the persistence of fatal and serious incidents on the N25 points to a road that is operating under chronic strain, with heavy daily commuter traffic, freight movements, and regional travel all funnelled onto a single strategic route.

The dual carriageway between Carrigtwohill and Midleton is one of the busiest roads in the country outside of Dublin, carrying more than 40,000 vehicles per day.

Traffic volumes are expected to increase even further in the coming years.

There is daily gridlock at the Lakeview roundabout on the N25 at Midleton and major traffic jams in Castlemartyr and Mogeely on any given day.

In addition, thousands of new homes are planned for Carrigtwohill and Midleton, which will generate additional commuter traffic on the already creaking road network.

The scene along the N25 between Youghal and Killeagh where the road was blocked due to a multi vehicle accident last year. Picture: Howard Crowdy

The entrance to the Jack Lynch tunnel can also be gridlocked for traffic coming from East Cork into it at peak times. 

Mr Quaide said that the only way to make the N25 safer, apart from significantly upgrading it, is to reinstate the old Youghal to Midleton railway line.

“The case for restoring it has overwhelming public support, and reflects a growing recognition across communities that sustainable transport is not a luxury, but a necessity for safety, economic development, and quality-of-life in a rapidly expanding region,” he said.

Transport minister Darragh O'Brien said in response to Cork East Fine Gael TD Noel McCarthy late last year that "while the N25 Carrigtwohill to Midleton project did not receive an allocation for 2025, it remains part of the national development plan, and the delivery of this project will be kept under review in the coming years and considered in terms of the overall funding envelope available to Transport Infrastructure Ireland".