The Dáil and Seanad have heard criticism this week about the lack of funding this year for the N24 upgrade between Cahir and Waterford.
Before Christmas, Transport Infrastructure Ireland allocated one million euro to Tipperary County Council to continue preparatory works for the upgrade between Cahir and Limerick Junction.
However Kilkenny County Council, who oversee the Cahir to Waterford stretch, didn’t receive any allocation for 2022 to move the project along.
Tipperary TD Mattie McGrath raised the issue in the Dáil, calling for the Transport Minister to intervene:
“It’s majorly disappointing that there has been no funding given to progress the work, not the physical work but the preparatory work such as the consultants and the design from Cahir to Waterford.
“There is huge anxiety by the Council but more over by the daily road users who find this road terribly dangerous and there’s a lot of accidents.”
Speaking in the Seanad, Fine Gael Senator Garret Ahearn called on Minister Eamon Ryan to take action:
“This needs to be reversed by the Minister, it’s not acceptable that we were given the assurances a number of months ago, I go home to representatives and say it’s seen by Government as a priority and then a week before Christmas it’s off.
“The most frustrating part is we have a buffer zone within that road where you can’t build any houses, any one off houses because there’s a road going to be built.
“Now, because he’s taken it off the shelf and it’s effectively paused, not ended just paused, we now have no road been built and no houses been built.”
