A €58million road, critical to the Regeneration of Moyross, one of the country’s poorest areas, is to go ahead, 14 years after it was first earmarked, the Minister for Transport, Eamon Ryan announced this morning.
A political colleague of the Green Party Leader, from within another government party, described Minster Ryan’s announcement as “an embarrassing u-turn” and that the minister had been overruled by the Taoiseach, Micheal Martin, after he had delayed funding for the project since last October.
“We were agreed the decent thing to do would be to let this guy announce it himself. The least you can do is let him perform his own u-turn,” an informed source said.
The Taoiseach and the Tanaiste effectively ordered Minister Ryan to immediately release funding to progress the massive project, which had already been agreed and protected under the National Development Plan, despite a review of the NDP, sources said.
The road, which will, for the first time, directly connect Moyross to Limerick city and the Shannon region, is seen as a “game changer” for attracting investment and jobs to north side Limerick community.
Speaking this morning on local radio, Live 95, Minister Ryan said that, after consulting with the Taoiseach, Tanaiste, and local community leaders, he had agreed “the road project is going to go ahead”.
Minister Ryan said before signing off on the road, he had negotiated the inclusion of a “bus lane” on the corridor, as well as a major “pedestrianisation” and “cycle lane” plan that will connect Moyross with the University of Limerick, Limerick Institute of Technology, and Mary Immaculate College to help harvest future education links.
A plan to develop existing rail lines in the area for use by “the latest battery operated trains” is also on the tracks, Minister Ryan said.
A significant investment is to be announced on the back of the minister’s decision, which informed sources said would include a multi-million euro private medical facility.
Sources said the minister’s delay in releasing funding for the project, has damaged the Green Party locally, a mere 12 months after it secured its first-ever Dail seat in Limerick City.
Limerick Green Party candidate Marie Keating today tweeted her resignation from the party due to the party leadership stance on the road, which saw funding delayed for the past five months while Mr Ryan mooted theories on opening up a railway station.
The Green Party’s Limerick chairman, John Humphreys, stepped down from the position but is remaining in the party, according to a report in today’s Limerick Leader.
Speaking this morning Minister Ryan acknowledged that, “yes damage (has been done) in the short term, we understand local community frustrations”, however, he said he did not believe his party was not seriously damaged over the controversy.
Moyross Parish Priest Fr Pat Hogan, who led the campaign to get the project over the line, and had called on the Minister to resign due to the impasse on funding, said: “It’s a great relief, the campaign was not going to end and it was energy sapping. What the Minister was doing was utterly senseless. This road will bring investment and education links, and education and a job are ways to freedom and the people here need that.”
However, Mr Ryan maintained he was “absolutely right” to delay funding so he could consider a variety of transport options for the Moyross area to make sure “we get this right”.
Local Sinn Fein TD Maurice Quinlivan welcomed the announcement and tweeted: “Great result for the people of #Limerick especially those in Moyross – this is the start – now to build the houses promised – invest in the wonderful @CMoyross”.
Kieran O’Donnell, Fine Gael, and Willie O’Dea, Fianna Fáil, both agreed Minister Ryan had “finally seen common sense”, while Independent Councillor Frankie Daly, who campaigned fiercely for the project to go ahead, said, “the people have spoken, I’m over the moon, it’s a game changer for Limerick”.
