M28 project accounts for bulk of Cork’s roads funding

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

A total of €234m has been announced for Cork's national, regional, and local roads by the Department of Transport. The €144,133,541 total package of national road funding includes €138m for Cork county and €5.9m for Cork city, a 94% increase from the 2025 allocation.

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.

Other funding for new roads 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.

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

Cork city will benefit from €1.27m to resurface the N27, from Penrose Quay to Ballintemple, while on the N22 Carrigrohane Road, €2.5m will go towards resurfacing the road from Grassland Agro to Leemount Terrace.

The funding is split into capital investment, new roads, and maintenance.

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.

Minister of state Jerry Buttimer welcomed the allocation as part of the €1.514bn investment nationally, saying: “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.”