‘No fatwa’ on new Limerick to Cork road insists Transport Minister

THE Minister for Transport has re-iterated his view that a full motorway is unlikely to be built between Limerick and Cork.

However Eamon Ryan says he’s confident there will be a “significant upgrade” of the current N20 with a particular emphasis on the building of bypasses for towns and villages such as Charleville and Buttevant.

“With the Limerick to Cork motorway, there are various options that have been proposed and it isn’t necessarily just motorway door-to-door from Limerick to Cork,” he said during a lengthy interview on the Magnified with Matt Cooper podcast.

“If you look at that (Limerick to Cork) route there are real safety issues, there are issues around Charleville, around Buttevant. Charleville is a stunning 19th century market town that we need to take the traffic out of so yes we will upgrade the road from Limerick to Cork,” he added.

However the Green Party leader said government policy is to prioritise active travel projects and capital spending on public transport infrastructure over roads.

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While the preferred route for the N/M20 was revealed by planners earlier this year, Mr Ryan says no decision has been made regarding the final design or the cost of the project.

“It’s not that there is going to be a fatwa against any one particular road. I know that road from Cork to Limerick like the back of my hand, there are real safety issues that we have to address there and in towns like Charleville and Buttevant you cannot have them dominated and destroyed by through traffic so there will be a significant upgrade improvement in road network between Cork and Limerick,” he insisted.

During the wide-ranging interview, Mr Ryan insisted the long-standing policy of building roads cannot be allowed to continue if city and town centres are to be revitalised.

“Cork and Limerick are classic examples where we have seen the city spread out. We do need to bring life back into the centre of our cities. Motorways in and out of the city won’t necessarily do that – what will do it, is investing in the likes of metropolitan rail in Cork and Limerick, investing in Bus Connects in Cork and Limerick, investing in cycling infrastructure in Cork and Limerick.”