Senator Garret Ahearn is calling for Clonmel to be treated as favourably as Tipperary town by Transport Minister Eamon Ryan. The Senator raised the proposals for the N24 road upgrade as it relates to Clonmel in the Seanad this morning. The Senator highlighted that two link roads were promised and partially built in Clonmel in 2008 and wants these to be delivered as soon as possible and separately to the delivery of the N24 Waterford to Cahir project.
Minister Ossian Smyth responding on behalf of Transport Minister Eamon Ryan says that the link roads cannot be viewed in isolation of the overall project. Senator Ahearn says the Tipperary town ByPass is being viewed differently to the overall N24 Cahir to Limerick Junction road project and appealed for Clonmel to get similar treatment.
The Senator says delivering the two link roads, a distance of 1.8km linking the Cashel and Fethard Roads to the Frank Drohan Road would deliver immediate improvements to traffic congestion. The Frank Drohan Road is effectively a car park at times according to Senator Ahearn.
Minister Smyth says the National Roads programme is delivered by Transport Infrastructure Ireland in collaboration with local councils and says the 2024 funding allocation will be announced shortly – perhaps suggesting that Tipperary County Council allocate funds for the link roads this year. The overall project relates to the N24 Enhancement between Waterford and Cahir and the consultants are proposing to use 62% of the existing N24 road with improvements and to construct 38% of new roadways on the route to deliver bypasses for Mooncoin, Kilsheelan and Carrick on Suir.
