LIMERICK Chamber economist Dr Órlaith Borthwick has described the state of the current road infrastructure linking Limerick to Cork as “a barrier for business growth and job creation”.
She added that the Government’s failure to progress plans to build a motorway connecting the two cities as contrary to its role “to provide infrastructure to facilitate and support economic vitality”.
Ms Borthwick pointed out: “Over 25 per cent of Ireland’s economic activity is generated in the Mid and South West regions. Limerick and Cork account for one third of Ireland’s population outside of Dublin. The Limerick region is recognised as an internationally attractive location in which to invest, do business and create jobs.
“Yet the internal road infrastructure connecting people and businesses to these assets is below what is either acceptable or safe. The 90km stretch of N20 will take, at a minimum, an hour and a half to travel, although this is often nearer two. Delays are increased by the large number of villages and towns the road dissects. The road was never built to deal with current traffic volumes; the level of road traffic accidents is testament to this.”
She also noted that “national assets of key strategic importance” are located in the region, such as the Shannon Foynes Port Company and Shannon Airport.
Ms Borthwick concluded: “While ‘regional’ growth is continuously iterated as a policy priority, little by way of meaningful investment has unlocked the growth potential and economic vibrancy of the region. The M20 is an overdue piece of national road infrastructure that is needed to connect the cities along the Atlantic Corridor, stretching from Galway to Cork and beyond.”
Limerick Chamber representatives recently met with Transport Minister Paschal Donohoe and expressed the growing levels of frustration across the region’s business community that the M20 project is not viewed as a strategic investment priority.
The Chamber has pledged to continue lobbying for the project on behalf of its members “until such point that Government sits up and takes note of the needs of their constituents outside of Dublin”.
