SINN Féin’s Mary Lou McDonald has urged Minister of Transport, Eamonn Ryan, to take immediate action in the completion of the Coonagh to Knockalisheen Road Scheme.
Today I spoke with @EamonRyan asked him to act urgently to ensure that the long promised road is delivered for the community of Moyross and Limerick No more delay #signthetender #buildourroad @buildourroad @MoyrossResForum @Limerick_Leader @LimerickCouncil @QuinlivanTD
— Mary Lou McDonald (@MaryLouMcDonald) February 8, 2021
The €58million project has been met with considerable delays since the scheme was announced in 2007 and has bypassed it’s commencement date of September 2020.
“During my conversation with the Minister, I impressed on him the need to act urgently to ensure that this long-promised road is delivered for the community of Moyross and Limerick City.” explains the Sinn Féinn leader.
The Coonagh to Knockalisheen Road will serve as a link between Moyross and Limerick’s city centre as well as the greater Shannon area, opening the community up to investment and employment opportunities.
“The Coonagh to Knockalisheen distributor road is fundamental to the Limerick Regeneration plan, and when delivered, will open up significant and long-term employment and educational opportunities for Moyross and the city.” explains McDonald.
“The Green Party Leader accepts that Moyross has been cut off by the cul-de-sac design of the local road network. I made clear to him that abstract promises of improved connectivity and light rail will not fix the Moyross road infrastructure, however the distributor road project can and will.”
This is not the first time Minister Ryan has been met with criticism regarding the delays in the project’s development and has been accused of “abandoning the Northside of Limerick” by Sinn Féinn politician, Maurice Quinlivan.
In a previous statement, Deputy Quinlivan claimed that the Green Party were to blame for the major delays in the road’s construction.
“We now see that,it is obvious that the Green Party are the only obstacle to starting this project. The Green Party, for whatever reasons, want to delay the building of this critical piece of infrastructure,”
The Fitzgerald Report of 2007 states that plans for construction have “been agreed with the relevant local authorities, and funds to do so have already been allocated” with a sum of €20million invested in the road’s development to date. However, Minister Ryan has been reluctant to issue further funding of the project, explaining that the scheme remains “under consideration”.
