*Photograph: Natasha Barton
NO ELECTED REPRESENTATIVE in Clare broached the subject of the Limerick Northern Distributor Road (LNDR) with the Minister for Transport during his visit to the county last week.
While Clare TD, Joe Carey (FG) and Mayor of Clare, Cllr Tony O’Brien (FF) took to the airwaves of Clare FM prior to and subsequent to the arrival of Minister Eamon Ryan (GP) to the county, neither of them took the opportunity to raise their views on the LNDR with the Minister for Transport.
Speaking to The Clare Echo, Minister Ryan said no elected representative in the county aired their criticism with him over the LNDR’s status while he was in Killaloe and Moneypoint on Thursday and Friday. He was adamant that the project would not secure Government funding to progress further.
An approximate €19m was spent on the first phase of the LNDR from Coonagh to Knockalisheen but the second phase which would link Clare with the University of Limerick has been dealt a major setback with its exclusion from the Limerick Shannon Metropolitan Area Transport Strategy (LSMATS). The final document of the strategy is set to be published this month.
Explaining his opposition to the LNDR, Minister Ryan stated, “I think Limerick can develop around its public transport, rail lines, bus networks and we’re going full steam ahead, the really bright future for the development of Limerick is to use the existing infrastructure which has not been properly utilised. If you look at the Nenagh to Ballybrophy line we can get much more traffic on that, on the Ennis line what we’re going to do is put a station in at Moyross which is transformative in my mind, on the Foynes line we will reopen that as a potential for real development of Limerick in a real sustainable way and that is the way forward”.
Although the LNDR is included in both the County Development Plans for Clare and Limerick, its omission from the LSMATS will hinder its ability to secure Government funding. “They are not in the Limerick Area Metropolitan Development Plan and the strategy is clear we will develop sustainable mobility as the solution in the way forward, I think Limerick has a bright future on the back of that,” Minister Ryan added.
Deputy Carey had said Minister Ryan has “overstepped the mark” while Cllr O’Brien insisted the Green Party leader won’t succeed in his efforts to halt the second phase.
