There has been a shortfall in funding required for the N24 Project.
At this month’s meeting of Tipperary County Council, it was revealed that just €1 million of the necessary €3.25 million had been supplied to the council.
It was highlighted when Cllr. Siobhan Ambrose brought forward a Notice of Motion requesting an update as to whether funding had been secured from the Department for the next phase of both sections of the project.
It is the main major capital project locally as the 116km N24 route is a strategic corridor from Limerick to Waterford, traversing Tipperary.
Councillors expressed disappointment stating this project is key to enhancing accessibility to towns it passes through, namely Tipp Town, Cahir, Carrick-on-Suir, Clonmel, and their rural hinterlands.
Cllr. Annemarie Ryan-Shiner expressed concern as Tipp Town is currently experiencing bottlenecks and significant traffic delays, something the completed N24 project would alleviate.
Cllr. Ambrose said she brought the inadequate funding to Minister Jack Chambers’ attention, requesting he visit Tipperary next month to meet with road officials.
She said the construction phases would require the full allocation of funding to proceed, and it was imperative to complete the Cahir to Limerick Junction section.
Director of Services, Marcus O’Connor, agreed that the €1 million allocation would not be adequate to fulfil the project in its current format.
He added that they had contacted T.I.I. with a letter, which they endorsed and forwarded to the department for review.
Marcus concluded that pressure needed to be applied to secure the remainder of the funding, as it is critical in order to complete the N24 scheme.
