Mattie McGrath urges N24 upgrade, criticises M20 cost and impact
Mattie McGrath addressed transport planning and the National Development Plan review, urging the minister to prioritise small bypasses and an N24 upgrade rather than the proposed M20. He argued spending £2-3 billion on the M20 would be wasteful and environmentally damaging and proposed upgrading the N24 to motorway status for under £800 million.
Bypass proposal and local jobs
McGrath praised a local employer, Patrick O'Callaghan, for creating 75 jobs this week, half of them in TIP, and asked the minister to support a plan that bypasses Tipperary Town. He specifically urged carrying an alignment that would bypass Charlottesville and Butterfield to relieve congestion and allow Tipperary Town to flourish.
Costs and environmental concerns
He criticised the proposed M20, saying that spending £2-3 billion on the route from Limerick to Cork is a waste of money and damages to the environment. McGrath presented a cost comparison to argue the M20 would be disproportionately expensive and harmful compared with alternatives.
Alternative: N24 upgrade and port connectivity
McGrath proposed developing the N24 from Limerick to Waterford to motorway status for less than £800 million, noting this would provide connectivity with the Port of Fiennes and Waterford. He pressed the minister to ensure the N24 project happens as a more affordable, connected alternative to the M20.
Rail option and NDP review constraints
He acknowledged that rail connectivity between Cork and Limerick had been examined but said that option now appears less likely to be favoured. McGrath stressed that whatever option proceeds must fit within the National Development Plan review and its financial constraints.
Funding priorities and planning objectives
McGrath warned that the NDP must balance heavy investment needs in housing, climate, farming and forestry, and transport - including public transport and active travel as well as roads. He reiterated his preference for a large number of small bypasses to restore towns and deliver balanced regional development and compact development.
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Minister, as a man with Tipperary routes, and steep Tipperary routes, and I know you're looking favourably at trying to bypass Tipperary Town, and I compliment Patrick O'Callaghan, a homegrown Tipperary family, for 75 jobs announced this week, half of them in TIP. Minister, I'm asking you to look at the plan, pre-the review of the National Development Plan. Spending £2-3 billion on the M20 going to Cork from Limerick is a waste of money and damages to the environment. Carry on and bypass Charlottesville and Butterfield and carry the alignment with that road, and develop the N24 from Limerick to Waterford, to motorway status, for a fraction of the price, less than £800 million, and be of connectivity with the Port of Fiennes and Waterford, and bypass Tipperary Town. Will you please ensure that this project happens? You don't want the big projects that are doing damage to the environment and the ecology, simple bypasses of the town that will relieve the congestion, and Tipperary Town will flourish, and the people have the stamina and the energy and enthusiasm to live, like Patrick O'Callaghan this week. Thank you. Minister. My understanding that all the options have been looked at, including the building of rail connectivity between Cork and Limerick, as a way of improving connectivity between the cities. My understanding, and this is not a formal kind of an area, but from recollection, that it's less likely now that the option, which did seem like, I know colleagues of mine were promoting this option, of using a connection via Tipperary to the Cork-Dublin motorway, to provide such connectivity. My understanding, that's not been favoured. Whatever option is agreed, it has to fit within the new NDP, and one of the constraints there is, is a financial constraint, because we will have to invest massively in housing. We will have to invest massively in climate. We will have to invest massively in farming and forestry. We will also have to invest massively in transport, in public transport, in active travel, as well as in roads. And the national development plan review, as I see it, is providing us an opportunity to consider how that money is best spent. And like you, I believe, I think it is best spent in a large number of small bypasses to see our towns restored, because that will deliver the national planning framework, balanced region development, compact development. And, to be fair, compact development. And. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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