Council calls for funds to fix 'deteriorated' and 'very dangerous' West Cork road

A proposed road realignment scheme in West Cork must be included in any new road funding allocations in the interest of safety, according to a local councillor.

In a motion proposed to a recent meeting of Cork County Council’s West Cork municipal district, Independent Ireland councillor Daniel Sexton said: “I am calling on Cork County Council to write to Transport Infrastructure Ireland [TII] and the minister for transport, requesting that the N71 Newmills-Owenahincha realignment be included in any upcoming funding in the interest of road safety.”

Mr Sexton said the scheme had been “talked about” and promised but nothing had happened on the ground. He said: “The only thing that has happened is the road has deteriorated and it is very dangerous.”

Supporting the motion, Fine Gael’s Brendan McCarthy said planning permission had been granted for a large new housing development in Clonakilty but there was no sign of any upgrades to the road network in the area.

Mr Sexton said he welcomed the development of 267 new homes in Clonakilty and was in favour of development but warned that the local road network could struggle to cope without investment.

He added: “Where is all this traffic going to go? It’s a real worry.”

Area engineer John Ahern said: “A meeting between TII officials and a deputation of Cork County Council, including representatives from the West Cork MD [municipal district], took place at the end of October where it is understood that this matter was discussed.

“While this project remains on a TII list of proposed works, projects of this nature are undertaken on a priority basis as funding allows. We await funding allocations for 2026.”

• Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme.