North Tipperary town 'strangled' by traffic as 'immediate need' for something to be done

A North Tipperary town is being “strangled” by traffic, it has been claimed.

That’s according to Fianna Fáil TD Ryan O’Meara, who said that the town of Thurles is being “strangled” by traffic issues, with an immediate need for something to be done.

Speaking in the Dáil, Deputy O’Meara called for works on the inner relief road for the town to be progressed.

“Thurles is being strangled by traffic. There is a glaring and immediate need for the inner relief road to progress.

“The Taoiseach visited the area previously and I was with him at the Slievenamon Road side of the proposed inner relief road, which will link the N62 at the Slievenamon Road to the Mill Road. All the lands are now in place since the Taoiseach last visited and funding is in place for detailed design,” the North Tipperary TD said.

READ MORE: Huge number of Tipperary schools added to Irish Government's Hot School Meals programme

Calling for the road project to be prioritised in Government, Deputy O’Meara said that a sense of urgency is needed as locals have been crying out for something to be done to alleviate traffic congestion in the town.

“I call for the funding for this road to be prioritised and for a sense of urgency regarding its development. It is in the national development plan but we need to see it delivered, from a road safety point of view but also regarding congestion.

“Thurles, the number one town in north Tipperary, has been strangled by traffic and the people of the town are crying out for this road,” the North Tipperary TD added.

In response, Taoiseach Micheál Martin said that he is aware of the need for a bypass in Thurles, and will work to deliver it.

“Thurles needs the bypass. To respond to Deputy O'Meara, we will try to feed that into the NDP. It is being funded at design stage. All of this has to happen. We have to make sure it gets completed,” the Taoiseach said.

READ MORE: Almost 3,000 additional Tipperary homes now have access to fibre broadband

“Without it, Thurles will be a bottleneck. A lot of good things have been happening in Thurles in recent years. The education campus has been groundbreaking, I would suggest, in terms of third level students in Thurles.

“We need a traffic solution there, not least to facilitate Cork on our next visit with all those supporters behind us,” he quipped.

“The long queues would be a thing of the past if we had a bypass,” Taoiseach Micheál Martin said.