The bid to get funding to complete two key routes through South Kilkenny has taken another step.
Both the N24 and N25 were left off the list for monies this year – something that didn’t go down well with many representatives across the region.
Following on from a meeting of TDs and Cllrs along the route which was organised by the Piltown Municipal District, now all Oireachtas members from across the South East have secured a meeting with Transport Minister Eamon Ryan.
Cllr Pat Dunphy says he’s been informed by Sinn Féin Deputy Kathleen Funchion that it’ll take place this Friday evening, though he’s not sure if it’s in-person or online.
Either way, it’s considered an important update, telling KCLR News “That is a good step that he’s at least meeting, he did commit to a meeting there at first a couple of weeks ago and now he is meeting so let’s hope that we get good news out of that, you know, that’s what we have to wait and see I know from talking to John Paul Phelan that he’s been onto the Tániste and I know others have been onto the Taoiseach and others have been onto Malcolm Noonan about this particular issue so at least the Oireachtas members of the South East have been pushing since we had our meeting a couple of weeks ago”.
He adds “The N25 which has a width of land still held up all along that route, that’s Waterford to Glenmore, that needs to be narrowed down to a small enough amount and that will take a lot of people out of the net as far as being impacted and actually worse with the N24 Waterford to Cahir because there’s probably an average of six to eight kilometres width of a survey area going right from Waterford to Cahir, that is holding up everybody”.
And Cllr Dunphy says “We need the roads for the sake of business, for the sake of the South East, we need it for safety, and we also need it for people to get on with their lives so that they know what’s happening and not to be held up, can’t really look for planning permissions or maybe businesses want to do various things or agriculture, farmers need to do certain things and all held up so that’s not good enough being in limbo so I hope something does comes out of it and those two roads are put back on track”.
