Tipperary’s N24 must be kept in National Development Plan – Ahearn

The National Development Plan review to be announced next week must include the N24 route which will be a vital piece of infrastructure for Tipperary, Fine Gael Senator Garret Ahearn has said.

“In my view and that of a lot of people, the most important road project is the N24 that links Limerick to Waterford. Once that road is completed every single city in this country, along with the Cork-Limerick route, will be connected by a motorway. It is a real priority that the N24 project remains in the NDP,” Senator Ahearne said.

The Tipperary Senator acknowledged this is a long running issue in his county.

“Everyone in County Tipperary, including Tipperary Town which urgently needs a bypass, wants the N24 to remain on the National Development Plan (NDP). It has to remain. The design is going through the planning process. The money has already been invested by the Government to continue the project so there is no reason to remove the project.

“Once design and planning is done, then we will start with a bypass of Tipperary town in conjunction with the full N24 road. That is what the people of the town want as well. Incredibly, they have spent 20 years waiting for a road to bypass the town.

“We cannot start all over again with a single bypass for Tipperary town and forget about all of the work that has been done on the N24 over the last number of years. I cannot stress enough the importance of the route network between Limerick and Waterford, and on to Wexford and Rosslare. The route is a crucial link for the businesses and people across the region, particularly post Brexit.

“As much as 80% of the route goes through Tipperary and the towns that the project will have an impact on is significant, and Tipperary Town more than any other town,” Senator Ahearn said.