Cork TD says more urgency is needed on progress of M20 motorway 

Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) will submit abusiness case in the second half of next year for the M20 Cork to Limerick motorway.

Fine Gael TD for Cork North Central Colm Burke asked for an update on the progress of the M20 Limerick to Cork motorway project in the Dáil during the week.

His party colleague in Cork South Central and minister of state at the Department of Transport, Jerry Buttimer, replied that he and Mr Burke both share an urgent need to have the road completed. "It is a project of gargantuan importance," he added.

Mr Buttimer said the project involves 80km of refurbishment and will address many of the road safety concerns on the existing N20, improve connectivity between Cork and Limerick, and relieve congestion in towns such as Mallow, Buttevant, and Charleville.

“A preferred route has been selected and the project team is currently engaging in the design and evaluation phase,” said Mr Buttimer.

“At this juncture I understand that TII expects to submit a preliminary business case to the Department of Transport in the second half of next year.

“Given the scale of expenditure required, the project will require the approval of the Government at that stage before submission of statutory documents to An Coimisiún Pleanála, which will follow thereafter.”

Mr Burke said the existing road is “now past its sell-by date”.

“I am therefore asking for more definitive dates for when we will go through the planning process,” he said.

“The other issue is that a lot of land is totally locked up now because there is still indecision about the final route.”

Mr Buttimer said that he will work with everyone to reduce the project’s time and will get further information from TII about the timelines for the project.