Key report on Cork's Northern Ring Road not acted on by department in 12 months, claims TD

TRANSPORT Minister Eamon Ryan has been sharply criticised for allowing his Department to not act on a key report about the proposed Northern Ring Road for Cork city for a year.

Sinn Féin TD for Cork North Central Thomas Gould slammed the Transport minister and Green Party leader following a response to a Dáil question in which it was disclosed that Cork City Council had submitted a strategic assessment review (SAR) of its proposed route for approval before the end of 2021.

“The Department of Transport reverted with comments on the SAR and Cork City Council made a further SAR submission in October 2022,” Michael Kennedy, Transport Infrastructure Ireland’s Head of Regulatory and Administration wrote in the response to Deputy Gould.

“The Department’s decision on the updated SAR is awaited,” he wrote in conclusion of his response to the Sinn Féin TD’s question.

The Cork North Central representative said he found it shocking that the Department had been sitting on the report for a year without responding.

“Despite traffic chaos every evening on the Northside, and the potential for lives to be lost without this road, the Department of Transport have sat on a Strategic Assessment Report by Cork City Council since last October,” he said.

A report submitted by TII to the Government before the 2023 Budget last year predicted that further delays to the Northern Ring Road could lead to up 18 fatalities and 252 people seriously injured.

“The Northern Ring Road has been promised for years.

“Government after government have failed to deliver and now we have a Minister who clearly does not prioritise this project.

“It is unacceptable that with three Cabinet Ministers from Cork, familiar with the need for the road, there has been no action for 12 months.” 

Deputy Gould said that the need for the Northern Ring Road was clear but a number of other projects, such as BusConnects, depended on it for their successful implementation and suggested that the development of transport infrastructure on the north side wasn’t keeping pace with project developments in the rest of the city.

“Without a credible bypass for people, traffic chaos will continue to grow,” he said.

“I spoke with Mayfield residents recently and they emphasised the impact that this traffic has on their daily lives."