N72 raised in delegation with minister led by county mayor
A deputation of elected members and Cork County Council officials, led by Mayor of the County of Cork Cllr Frank O'Flynn, met with Minister of State at the Department of Transport, Jack Chambers, in Leinster House last Wednesday. Wednesday.
The meeting with Minister Chambers was requested by Mayor O’Flynn, with the primary purpose being to highlight the deteriorating condition of Cork county’s road network, arising from significant underinvestment in recent years. The Glanworth councillor describing the meeting as ‘constructive and engaging’, noting that recent weather events and unprecedented rainfall have resulted in widespread surface damage across the county.
The delegation included councillors John Paul O’Shea (Kanturk/ Mallow MD), Cllrs Declan Hurley and Joe Carroll (West Cork MD) and Cllr Michael Hegarty (East Cork MD), with Mr Niall Healy, Director of Services Cork County Council, deputising for the chief executive.
MAKING 'A VERY STRONG CASE' The
Speaking with Avondhu this week, Mayor O’Flynn noted that he raised the matter of the N72 being of particular concern, stating that the aim was to seek necessary funding.
“While we welcome the funding that has been allocated, we felt that there was a shortfall of funding, especially with the inclement weather and recent storms, our roads are suffering,” Mayor O’Flynn said.
Pointing to a stretch of the N72 from Fermoy Community Hospital to the Tallow road, and also from Ballyhooly through Castletownroche to Ray’s Cross and Kilcanway, Mr O’Flynn noted that extra funding would be needed to carry out works in these areas.
“We made a very strong case for the necessary extra funding after the recent bad weather and we’ve also made the case for extra funding for local roads. The condition of these roads at the minute is diabolical,” Mayor O’Flynn added.
The meeting also focused on key strategic projects across Cork county, projects which are critical to the economic development of the region. Specifically in relation to north Cork, members and officials made a compelling case to the Department for additional funding for a number of projects, including the Mallow Relief Road, as well as pavement improvement works for the N72 national secondary road.
The minister and his officials acknowledged the case put forward by the delegation and committed to considering same.