Tipperary Chamber seeks meeting with minister on N24
It is expected that the final design of the Cahir to Limerick Junction project will go on public display in October
Tipperary Chamber is one of five Chambers nationwide to demand action on the N24 upgrade, which links Limerick City to Waterford and passes through Cahir, Clomel, and Carrick-on-Suir. The project is being tackled with two distinct programmes: the Cahir to Limerick Junction section, and the Waterford to Cahir section.
A joint letter signed by the CEOs of the five chambers was issued to Minister for Transport Darragh O’Brien earlier in August, with representatives of the five Chambers saying that the “unreliable journey times, congestion…[means] increasing costs for businesses and reducing access to labour, markets, and key infrastructure such as ports”.
Representatives have also sought a meeting with Minister O’Brien.
“For Tipperary businesses, the N24 is not simply another infrastructure project” said Michelle Aylward, CEO of County Tipperary Chamber.
“Its current condition is adding time, cost and uncertainty for businesses, while towns such as Carrick-on-Suir, Clonmel, Cahir and Tipperary Town continue to carry significant volumes of through-traffic.
“Tipperary is at the heart of the corridor between Waterford and Limerick. If the Government is serious about balanced regional development, the N24 cannot continue to be treated as two separate projects without a clear end-to-end delivery plan.
“After 20 years of discussion, businesses need firm timelines, proper funding and delivery.”
In mid-August, Tipperary Live reported on how the design for the Cahir to Limerick Junction and Oola elements of the project had increased in both length and scope since the beginning of its design in 2019.
Senior Engineer with Tipperary County Council John Nolan said how the scheme has now been extended to include bypasses of Monard and Oola since 2019, however costs have also gone up.
Part of this cost increase is due to climate change measures and road safety, and a slowdown in funding due to Covid also played its part.
That said, Tipperary County Council said they were confident that the design being brought forward by the engineering firm, Arup, was the correct solution to the traffic woes; it is expected that the final design will go on public display in October, to be ready for the advertising of the necessary Compulsory Purchase Orders in early 2027.
Nevertheless, the five Chambers expressed concern at this timeframe, as well as the fact that the Waterford to Cahir project received just €500,000 this year to enter the next phase.
They recommended that the project be treated as one single project rather than two separate ones, that the Cahir to Limerick section should ‘proceed to statutory planning without further delay’, that the Waterford to Cahir section should receive funding commitments, and also that it be included in the ‘next national project delivery schedule’.
In the 2024 Tipperary Statutory Audit Report found that the total expenditure at that point was €9.4 million, with “significant further claims outstanding”.
The project is fully funded by Transport Infrastructure Ireland.