A decision not to allocate funds for a major upgrade of the N25 between Carrigtwohill and Midleton has been described as a ‘mistake’ by Cork County Council’s Director of Roads Padraig Barrett.

In recent days the TII confirmed work on the project cannot proceed as it hasn't got the funding from the Government. Mr Barrett recently met with the regional manager of the TII and said there is no funding for this project this year. 

“No funding was provided in the TII allocation for 2022. We had a meeting last Tuesday with the TII to discuss the absence of funding for the year and to discuss where we go with the project. This project between Carrigtwohill and Midleton was one of eight projects that received no funding for 2022 around that country. Projects that didn’t involve a bypass were effectively discounted or suspended,” he said.

The Director of Roads said work is currently suspended on the contract. He is concerned that if funding is not allocated for a few years, the work already done to date may be ‘out of date’ by the time the new National Development Plan commences in 2026. 

“There is €800 million remaining for new road construction from this year to 2025. Given the limited availability of funding, TII had to prioritise what would be funded so obviously schemes that are under construction received top priority such as the Macroom bypass and Dunkettle. 

"Other schemes which are through planning like the Ringaskiddy project and the nationally important projects such as the Cork to Limerick project are all continuing to be funded. After that what continues to be funded includes bypasses so that is where the priority is.

“We have consultants on board and we are at the end of phase 2 on the Carrigtwohill to Midleton project which is the route selection stage. We were at that stage and we have suspended the contract. 

"My concern would be given that the significant funding for roads such as this may not come back until 2026 at which stage some of the work we have done already may be out of date. That is a big concern,” he added.

Mr Barrett said Cork County Council will be highlighting a number of concerns with TII in the coming days such as safety issues and the fact that Carrigtwohill is not effectively bypassed. 

“There are significant safety issues between Carrigtwohill and Midleton that we have to address. I think Carrigtwohill is not effectively bypassed and we will be going back to TII on that basis. There are also noise concerns associated with the N25 as it is today in proximity to many residential dwellings. We are going to highlight those back to TII in the coming days.” 

Mr Barrett said he hopes the decision not to allocate funds to the N25 project will be reversed.

“A mistake has been made in cutting the funding. I would hope that decision would be reversed because of the safety concerns and the incomplete Carrigtwohill bypass.”