*Junior Minister, Timmy Dooley (FF).
JUNIOR MINISTER, Timmy Dooley (FF) has said road infrastructure around Doonbeg needs to be improved in advance of next year’s Irish Open.
Trump Doonbeg has been confirmed as the venue for The Irish Open which takes place next September, efforts are beginning to utilise the event to improve the county’s road network and infrastructure in advance of the large number of visitors expected to watch Rory McIlroy defend his title in West Clare.
Clare TD, Timmy Dooley (FF) when asked by The Clare Echo if the county will see a big injection in its funding allocation to improve the roads of West Clare in advance of The Irish Open, said, “I’ve already been speaking to Gordon Daly, the Chief Executive of Clare County Council about that, I have offered my help and assistance in any way I can to energise the coffers that are potentially available.
“There is work in and around Doonbeg that needs to be done, the local road network, I have made it very clear to the Executive of Clare County Council that the priority over the next few years is to get the road from Ennis to Kilrush underway for once and for all, I will use every effort and access I have to achieve that, not only for the people of Kilrush and surrounding areas but for this offshore wind potential,” he added.
Improvements to the N67 are necessary if the county is to gain from the offshore wind market, the Minister of State at the Department of Climate, Energy and the Environment with responsibility for Fisheries and the Marine said. “There is a huge opportunity and we have to invest now to be able to tap into the potential for the future and give the people of West Clare what they need and deserve which is a proper access route that is to a high standard and will meet their needs but also the future demands and needs that will come from its offshore potential, no more than getting the DMAPS done now, we need to get the road infrastructure because when the opportunities arise we have to be ready, that to me over the next couple of years is a key priority, we can see it right now as we prepare for The Irish Open, how it would have been great if that was there, we have to look forward not back”.
