Senator Pádraig MacLochlainn
Donegal Senator Pádraig Mac Lochlainn has conveyed his serious disappointment at the refusal of the Minister for Transport, Shane Ross to amend the Government’s Capital Plan 2016- 2021 to include the N56 Letterkenny Relief Road (Bonagee Link).
Senator Mac Lochlainn requested that the Minister do so following the recent confirmation from Transport Infrastructure Ireland (previously the NRA) that they will not fund the relief road because it was not included in the Government’s Capital Plan.
He said: “The recent confirmation from Transport Infrastructure Ireland that they will not be funding this vital relief road for at least the next five years has rightly led to dismay in Letterkenny and Donegal.”
“I have since requested that the Minister for Transport, Shane Ross amend the Government’s Capital Plan 2016- 2021 to include the N56 Letterkenny Relief Road (Bonagee Link). There is a section in the roads programme of that plan that outlines road works to address bottlenecks in 11 different locations across the State and this section should be amended to include this vital relief road.”
“Unfortunately he has refused for now to do so but refers to a mid-term review that I assume would mean that he expects the people of Donegal to wait till late 2018 till this issue is examined by him and his Department officials again.”
“That is not acceptable and I fully support the strategy of the elected members of Letterkenny Municipal District to request a meeting with the Minister to make their case directly to him”.
He continued; “The people of Donegal cannot be expected to continue to experience the ongoing traffic gridlock in their gateway town without a clear timeframe for action. Leaving aside the regular inconvenience for people travelling to work, education, shopping or visiting loved ones in Letterkenny University Hospital, I am particularly concerned about how this impacts on our emergency services at certain times.”
“I again call on Minister Joe McHugh and Fianna Fáil Deputy Charlie McConalogue, who led negotiations for his party that resulted in their support for this Government, to ensure that Minister Ross meets with a cross party delegation from Donegal County Council and that he then amends the Government’s Capital Plan 2016- 2021 to include the N56 Letterkenny Relief Road.”
Shane Ross replied to Senator Mac Lochlainn by stating;
“As Minister for Transport, Tourism & Sport, I have responsibility for overall policy and funding in relation to the national roads programme. Within its annual budget the planning, design and implementation of individual road projects is a matter for Transport Infrastructure Ireland (formerly known as the NRA) under the Roads Acts 1993-2015 in conjunction with the local authorities concerned.”
“Decisions on the transport elements of the Capital Plan were framed by the conclusions reached in my Department’s Strategic Investment Framework for Land Transport. Based on the findings in that report it is envisaged that maintenance and renewal of the road network will continue to be the main priority over the next period and the bulk of the roads capital budget, over €4 billion, is earmarked for such essential work with a further €600 million allocated for look implementation of the PPP road programme which is already underway. In this context it was not possible to consider a range of projects for inclusion in the Capital Plan given the overall funding envelope available.”
“As the Deputy is aware, the Government proposes to undertake a Mid-Term Review of the Capital Plan, which will take stock of progress and provide the Government with an opportunity to consider the scope for increased levels of investment, including in the transport sector, taking economic growth and fiscal progress into account.”
