*Councillors raised the matter at Monday’s meeting of the County Council.
IMPROVING the “not fit for purpose” N68 has to be viewed as a strategic project of national significance.
In a proposal before this month’s sitting of Clare County Council, Cllr Rita McInerney (FF) asked the local authority to formally recognise “the strategic importance of the N68 Ennis to Kilrush road and agrees that, given its critical role in regional connectivity, economic development, and in particular the future transformation of the Moneypoint site, the N68 should be designated a strategic route by this local authority”.
She urged the Council to prioritise the N68 in all relevant infrastructure planning, funding applications and strategic transport assessments “ensuring that future upgrades and investment are pursued with urgency and ambition to meet the needs of West Clare and the wider county”.
Senior engineer, Cyril Feeney noted that specific reference is made to the N68 national secondary route in Section 11.2.9.1 of the County Development Plan 2023-2029. It is listed as an objective to safeguard the route and advocate for improved road connectivity and an upgrade.
Feeney stated, “The N68 is therefore clearly designated as a strategic route in conjunction with the other national routes and regional roads. Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) are the road and funding authority for the national route network including the N68 Ennis to Kilrush road. At a recent meeting with TII, attended by both Members and Council officials, TII outlined their commitment to increasing funding for the national secondary road network in county Clare. TII also allocated €250,000 of funding to address works at Tullagower on the N68. We will continue to advocate for additional funding to safeguard and build upon this strategic route”.
Speaking at Monday’s meeting, Cllr McInerney stressed that an N68 upgrade “must be treated as top infrastructure project, not just a West Clare issue, it is a county priority, it is key to future jobs and the development of West Clare and attracting strategic investment to our deep water port”.
Doonbeg native Rita added, “At present the N68 is not fit for purpose, it was never designed to carry the tourist traffic and heavy trucks that are on it”. Upgrading the route would alleviate pressure on the N67 and N85. Quicker access to University Hospital Limerick in emergency situations could also “save lives”.
Seconding the proposal, Cllr Shane Talty (FF) asked where were the priorities, asks and requests following the briefing with TII on the strategic plan for Clare’s road network. He flagged the N85 project at Kilnamona “just disappeared, has it been raised with management, does it require a repeat motion every six months to bring it forward. There have been generations of neglect on the Kilnamona section. I know we’ve the ongoing project in Ennistymon if it every comes to fruition”.
According to Cllr Michael Shannon (FF) “the N68 should be the highest priority route network”. He outlined, “the amount of investment needed for West Clare over the next decade supports this investment, don’t miss the opportunity on economic development on our side of the Shannon Estuary, there will be a railway and motorway to Foynes nearly complete, we’ve the potential to have the very same on our side, we need it for West Clare and the whole county”.
Infrastructure “has to be number one priority if we want to develop these areas, infrastructure needs to be looked at, we’re working on the basis of a budget which has been pulled in Ennis alone,” Cllr Tom O’Callaghan (FF) stated. “What we’re doing is cutting our cloth to make it fit. If we build they will come”.
Forty years ago promises of an upgrade of the road from Ennis to Kilrush were made with the commissioning of Moneypoint, Cllr Gabriel Keating (FG) recalled, “but it never happened”. He continued, “Five years ago one of our colleagues was coming from Loop Head, he hit a bump in Tullagower and he thought his suspension was gone. The bump in the road is still there”.
Projects cannot be just let travel a certain distance and then be put on pause “when people move on,” Cllr Joe Garrihy (FG) said. “If we want to get from A to B, you can’t forget about the journey in between whether it is the experience or sustainable communities”. Accessibility is a key factor for any industry to set up, Cllr Joe Killeen (FF) highlighted.
