Minister Ryan says €300k funding will progess Mallow Relief Road
MINISTER SAYS THIS YEAR’S FUNDING WILL PROGRESS ROAD THROUGH DESIGN AND PLANNING PROCESS
THE MINISTER for Transport Eamon Ryan has confirmed that the recent allocation of €300,000 for the Mallow Relief Road will enable the project to progress through planning and design stages.
It was announced in February that the N72/ N73 Mallow Relief Road had been allocated €300,000 by Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) after it published the 2024 grant allocations for national roads, active travel and greenways.
Funding for the relief road was reduced last year as a sum of €100,000 was allocated to advance works, which caused a lot of anger amongst residents, business owners, community groups and politicians. They were united in their shock at the decision to significantly cut funding to progress work on the Mallow relief road, which will provide a vital link for transport between Cork and Limerick and for the regeneration of Mallow and north Cork.
Minister Ryan recently provided Fianna Fáil TD for Cork North Central Pádraig O’Sullivan an update on the Mallow relief road in the Dáil.
“An allocation of €300,000 has been made available for the Mallow Relief Road,” he said.
“The preferred route option for the scheme was identified last year and, following this, a public consultation took place.
“The project is currently in the design and environmental evaluation phase. The funding of €300,000 will now allow the project to be progressed through the planning and design process.”
Minister Ryan said it is hoped to bring the relief road to planning at some stage next year.
“Cork County Council have now mobilised the technical advisors for the project and are reviewing the status of environmental surveys and other preparatory works previously carried out to support a planning application,” he said.
“This review will establish if information collated to date is still valid and if further work may be required to support the planning application.
“This review has not yet been completed. However, it is hoped that will be possible to complete a preliminary business case in 2025, as is required under the infrastructure guidelines along with an application for planning permission next year.
“I look forward to seeing this project advance over the next number of years.
“This scheme consists of a bypass for Mallow with the objective of removing east west traffic from the town centre.
“This will provide increased scope for development and public-realm improvements in Mallow town centre, greatly benefitting residents,” he added.
Deputy O’Sullivan then sought further clarity on the possibility of getting additional funding for the relief road. “The €300,000 will get the ball rolling. I know that Cork County Council initially sought €1.2m. This issue has been politicised in the town of Mallow. There is a lot of disinformation that the project has somewhat stalled again. What is the process in relation to getting additional funding to kick the project even further? Can you clarify what the shortfall will actually mean?” he queried.
“I don’t have any evidence whatsoever that there is insufficient funding provided for any reason,” said Minister Ryan. “There is no intention to delay in that regard. It is TII who have to make the decision on the necessary allocations.
There may sometimes be differences between what a council might consider the next allocation expenditure and the TII, but TII have the real expertise and they have the responsibility for this area.
“The allocation was given to be able to do the necessary work to advance the project. I don’t have details as to why the council might have had a different figure, but I don’t think anything should be read into that. The intention is to proceed, and I’m sure the council will work with the TII in that regard. Sometimes a lot of these things can be used for disinformation and you get all sorts of rumours,” he added.
In an emotional address, the Fine Gael TD for Cork East David Stanton said this year’s allocation represented only a ‘pittance’:
“Is the minister aware of the congestion that is taking place in Mallow town with large vehicles going through the main street and clogging it up? Is it the Green Party’s policy now to ensure we have pollution in major towns like Mallow and why didn’t he give €1.2million that Cork County Council wanted to progress this scheme to planning?
“We have lost a year and €300,000 is only a pittance compared to what is really required. It is very frustrating.”
In response to the query on whether TII will be provided with additional funding, Minister Ryan said: “We have about €35billion within the National Development Plan (NDP) for a whole variety of projects. If additional funding is needed, TII manage their portfolio of projects in a way that delivers them in the most effective manner. We should be careful that there isn’t a false promise to people, but this portfolio approach is the right way to do it.”