N20 Limerick-Cork road is unsafe 'cattle track' and should be upgraded to motorway, minister says
David Raleigh
The Minister for Higher Education, Patrick O’Donovan, described the N20 main Limerick to Cork road as a “glorified cattle track” and that it was “not safe” for motorists.
Speaking Tuesday at the official sod turning of ground of a new Garda Station in Newcastle West, the Fine Gael Limerick TD said that a motorway between the two counties should be constructed “as soon as possible”.
It is proposed that upgrading the N20 to a full motorway would reduce travel times between the two cities and improve road safety.
“The second and third largest cities in the country should be linked with a high quality corridor. At the moment, they're linked by a glorified cattle track, it’s not safe, it has numerous accidents and incidents on it every year,” said Minister O’Donovan.
“There are some desperately dangerous junctions on it, like at O’Rourke’s Cross, Rock Hill and elsewhere, it carries a huge amount of traffic on a daily basis, and the sooner it is upgraded, and the sooner that we see a tender awarded and construction commence on the new M20, linking Limerick to Cork, the better.”
The estimated cost of the road upgrade is around €2 billion, and motorists would have to pay a toll.
It is expected that travel times between the two cities would be reduced by up to 30 minutes after the proposed upgrade.
Last June it was reported that at least 64 people had been killed in road traffic collisions on the N20 over the previous 27 years, and that collisions on the route were likely to be four times more fatal than the average road in Ireland.
However, a lack of confirmed funding for Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) has created a level of uncertainty about the progression of the scheme, and it was not specifically mentioned in Budget 2025, delivered last October.
Despite this, Minister O'Donovan said: “The government have committed to the M20 and I've always said that, in my view, because it cuts right through the heart of my constituency, that it should be a motorway.”
“I will be looking forward to the next Minister for Transport, whoever that is, to clear up the issue with regard to designation very quickly and make that road a motorway,” he said.
