Limerick northern distributor road debate
Deputy Carey presses again on the removal of the Limerick northern distributor road and says local business and county bodies support it. The Minister says he understands those views but believes green, compact development is the right path and that sprawl will not work.
I want to raise the issue of the Limerick northern distributor road with the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan. The NTA confirmed to us last week that because of his intervention this critical infrastructure for the mid-west region has been removed from the strategy. Does the Minister realised that Clare County Council is firmly behind this proposal? Does he realise that the Limerick Chamber of Commerce, and all of the chambers of commerce in Clare, are behind this proposal? Does he realise that the industrialists who provide thousands of jobs in Limerick support this road? Does he realise that this has been in the planning process for nearly 20 years? Due to his intervention, it has been removed. It is illogical. I ask the Minister to go away from this solo run and re-evaluate what he has done. The road should be reinstated in the programme. It makes sense and will deliver public transport. The Minister is looking for public transport and the road will provide that. It will link in to active travel projects on which we are spending huge amounts of money every day of the week.
Comment on this
I fully realise what the views of Clare County Council are. I listened to every single councillor over two or three hours when we discussed this.
Comment on this
There are very different views within various chambers of commerce and business interests. A significant number of business people realise that success for towns and cities will now come from those which are going green and in a sustainable direction. We cannot ignore climate change. Ever onwards sprawl is not going to work for development.
Rather than the University of Limerick crossing the Shannon and going into the eastern part of Clare, we could ask it to have a satellite operation in Ennis town and bring the university into the town. I am convinced that the approach we are taking will see the likes of Ennis town and Limerick thrive, rather than a model where everything moves outwards and Clare County Council tips over to the eastern Shannon side in a way which makes it an adjunct to Limerick, rather than a strong centre in its own right.