Mixed reception for road funding for Cork's ring roads

Funding allocations for two vital infrastructure projects have been welcomed by Government representatives on Cork city’s northside, but one opposition TD has called them “an insult”.

The two separate allocations consist of €1.5m in funding toward the Northern Distributor Road, and €400,000 for the long-delayed Northern Ring Road.

The 14km Northern Distributor Road will run from the Carrigrohane Rd west of the city to Glanmire in the east, crossing the northside via Hollyhill, Dublin Hill, and Banduff.

It is a separate project from the long-proposed ring road, which has been stalled for over two decades.

The ring road is proposed to extend from the south ring road west of the city, extending north-east past Ballincollig, Blarney, and Monard, and linking with the planned M20 Cork to Limerick motorway and the M8 Cork to Dublin motorway.

The National Transport Authority has awarded Cork City Council €1.5m to progress the northern distributor scheme through detailed environmental assessments, technical surveys, and preliminary design preparation. Separately, Transport Infrastructure Ireland has allocated €400,000 to the council for design work on the ring road.

Welcoming the funding, Fine Gael TD Colm Burke, for Cork North Central, said there had been “little or no development of road infrastructure in the last 30 years, and the northern distributor now needs to be prioritised”.

Fianna Fáil councillor Tony Fitzgerald, for the north-west ward, said the two roads were “vital for the future of Cork city and the northside in particular”.

Sinn Féin TD Thomas Gould, for Cork North Central, said the sums amounted to “a drop in the ocean” and were “an insult to the people of the northside”.