Funding for Cork's M28 motorway makes up bulk of roads allocation 

Funding for Cork national roads has almost doubled compared to last year, with over €100m for the M28 as well as sizeable increases in road maintenance funding for both Cork local authorities.

A total of €234m has been announced for Cork national, regional and local roads by the department of transport.

The €144,133,541 total package of national road funding includes €138,261,389 for Cork county and €5,872,152 for Cork, which marks a 94% increase from the €72,261,348 allocated to Cork county and €1,954,642 to Cork city last year.

The largest single allocation is €110m for the M28 Cork to Ringaskiddy motorway, which is expected to take three years and cost more than €450m to complete. The scheme, which secured planning in 2018, involves the construction of approximately 11km of motorway from the N40 Bloomfield Interchange to Barnahely near the Port of Cork, to replace the existing N28.

Other funding allocations granted for new roads in Cork county include €1m for the Midleton to Youghal scheme, €500,000 for the Carrigtwohill to Midleton scheme, €600,00 for the Mallow Relief Road, €3.1m for the Ballyvourney to Macroom bypass, and €250,000 for the Dunkettle Interchange.

West Cork

In West Cork, the dangerous condition of the road in Ballylickey will be tackled with a €3m investment to repair the road surface, while in Innishannon and Bandon €100,000 and €650,000 respectively have been allocated for works to advance bypasses.

Cork City will benefit from €1.27m to resurface the N27, from Penrose Quay to Ballintemple, with €2.5m  going towards resurfacing the road from Grassland Agro to Leemount Terrace on the N22 Carrigrohane Road

While the biggest increase in funding is in the new roads section, largely due to the funding for the M28, there has also been a significant increase in road maintenance funding, for the protection and renewal of existing roads.

Cork City Council has been allocated €682,152 towards repairing and maintaining its road network, up 67% from 2025, while Cork County Council will be granted €1,666,389, a 35% increase compared to last year.

Cork’s Minister of State in the Department of Transport, Jerry Buttimer TD welcomed the allocation as part of the Government’s €1.514bn investment nationally, saying: “it is vital that we continue delivering for Cork”.

Mr Buttimer said that overall, the funding was very positive for Cork: “I have been strongly advocating for Cork with this year’s allocation, and I’m glad to see Cork doing well.

“If we’re serious about balanced regional development and making Cork a strong economic driver for the Country, this is the scale of investment we need to be starting with. I’m very ambitious to grow this level of investment year on year through the lifetime of this Government.”