The leader of the Green Party says that the future of transport in Ireland is rail.
Green Party leader Eamon Ryan TD has criticised the proposed Cork to Limerick motorway, arguing that the concept “makes no sense”.
The motorway is currently in design stage, having been in development for some time now.
Responding to questions from the public on Newstalk Breakfast on Friday morning, Ryan opined that the planned motorway is “a huge expense” and “will not work”.
He also posited that investment in public transport should be considered a higher priority than the construction of new roads.
“Kinsale was the first transition town in the world; Rob Hopkins set it up in the early part of the last decade,” Ryan began.
“Towns like Kinsale or Clonakilty which have shown good urban development, bringing life back into the core is where we need to go – the same applies to Cork and Limerick. I agree with Edgar Morgenroth, his analysis, and it was behind the National Planning Framework; if you want to build up Cork and Limerick, you build in Cork and Limerick and you build public transport in Cork and Limerick.
“The motorway as planned in Limerick and Cork going through Buttevant, in my mind makes no sense. It’s a huge expense and it will not work. It arrives at a traffic jam in Cork and the same, actually, at the other end in Limerick.”
Ryan went on to state that rail is the preferred option for the future of Irish transport, stating that some towns are “dying on their feet” and need life brought back to the centre of them. Ryan also noted that the entire railway network in the country needs to be electrified and upgraded as Ireland looks towards a zero-carbon future.
“I’d far prefer to invest in the rail systems in both Cork and Limerick. If there is a need of an upgrade to the Cork-Limerick road system, I think it’s far better to do it and far cheaper to do it if you joined the existing N7 and allow for traffic to work that way.
“I don’t believe that the big overblown Fine Gael motorway plans make sense and we would use the money instead to fund public transport,” Ryan concluded.
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