Cork councillors urge Eamon Ryan to reinstate plan to upgrade two major roads
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The Taoiseach and Tánaiste are being urged to persuade Transport Minister Eamon Ryan to do a u-turn on a decision not to fund two major road projects in Co Cork which have put the development of a 2,500-house town in jeopardy.
County councillors have reacted angrily to Mr Ryan’s axing of funding to upgrade the N25 between Carrigtwohill and Midleton and for the development of the northern relief road in Mallow.
Fine Gael councillor Michael Hegarty got a suspension of standing orders at a meeting in County Hall to discuss the fallout from Mr Ryan using his powers under Section 24 of the Roads Act to decide not to allocate funding to the two projects, even though they are both included in the National Development Plan.
Mr Hegarty said the N25 section between Carrigtwohill and Midleton is at capacity and urgently needs a safety upgrade.
He said this was to include a junction at the former Amgen industrial side and because the project has been stalled it will prove extremely difficult for the IDA to attract major foreign companies into it.
Fine Gael councillor Susan McCarthy said the lack of the N25 upgrade will jeopardise the council's planned development of a new town at Water Rock, to the west of Midleton, which when completed will be home to around 10,000 people.
She claimed Mr Ryan had axed the project against the advice of his own officials and the council’s roads directorate.
Fianna Fail councillor Ann Marie Ahern said they are “now at a crisis stage with the condition of parts of the N25”.
Meanwhile, Labour councillor James Kennedy said Mallow is grinding to a halt in terms of gridlock and economic development because money hasn’t been forthcoming to progress the €50m bypass.
Fine Gael councillor Liam Madden said he couldn’t understand why Mr Ryan wouldn’t support the relief road as it comes with adjoining cycleways and walkways. He said:
Concluding the debate, Mr Hegarty said that if the Taoiseach and Tánaiste couldn’t get a U-turn done, they should seriously consider their involvement in the Government pact with the Greens.
“They [the Greens] are the minority group in government. It’s the tail wagging the dog,” he said.