Funding of €2million has been granted to select the route of the N24, Waterford to Cahir road.
The Minister for Transport, Éamon Ryan, has made the announcement this afternoon.
It was announced at a meeting with Oireachtas members from the region.
The primary objective of this tranche of funding for 2022 is to prevent ‘land paralysis’ around the route which is where a road has not had an exact route selected which results in multiple swathes of land being unable to be utilised.
WLR News previously reported that those looking for planning permission in the so-called 'red zone' where the road might possibly have gone, were being refused because no route had been selected.
Speaking after the announcement today, Waterford Green Party TD Marc Ó Cathasaigh said:
“I have engaged with Minister Ryan on this issue along with Minister Malcolm Noonan in Kilkenny. I’m not convinced that in the long term, ongoing spending on roads infrastructure is the way to adequately address our transport emissions, however, I do welcome the clarity the residents along the route will now have. Today’s funding will go towards the route selection process for the N24. Residents along potential routes have been living in a state of limbo the last few years. These residents will now have clarity around the status of their properties and can move forward.”
“I’ll continue to promote increased funding in sustainable transport modes including the Waterford to Limerick rail corridor and public transport in general for rural Ireland. This is the direction of travel we need to be moving in in order to address the climate challenge.”
As a result of today’s announcement, it is now expected that work on route option selection will resume in the coming months and should be complete by late 2023.
This particular project was prioritised for progression due to the desire to avoid a situation where multiple road route options are “frozen” for an extended period, which would lead to restrictions on the development of these lands.
Once a final route option has been selected, it will then be possible to release relevant lands related to the other route options for potential development.
