THE parish priest of Moyross, Limerick, one of the country’s worst unemployment blackspots, has called on the Minister for Transport, Eamon Ryan, to “resign”, claiming the Green Party leader is jeopardising plans to attract jobs into the area by not releasing funds for the latter stages of a €58 million distributor road.
Almost €20 million has been spent on the road, that will link Coonagh with Knoackalisheen, which Fr Pat Hogan and other local partners, said, would finally open up Moyross, which he described as “the country’s biggest cul de sac”, to inward investment.
The 2007 Fitzgerald Report, which highlighted social exclusion, series crime and disorder issues in Moyross, specifically identified that the Coonagh to Knockalisheen Road should be progressed “as a matter of urgency”.
Thirteen years on and with €19million spent on preparing the route, it remains a “key priority” for Limerick City and Council, a spokeswoman for the local authority said.
“The project is with Minister Ryan for sign-off since 9th October 2020. It represents everything that Regeneration is designed to do, and set to deliver for the Moyross area, finally facilitating inward investment and tenure diversification for Moyross,” the spokeswoman said.
“Completion of existing plans is the most important action we can take now, for the people of Limerick and Moyross in particular — Limerick cannot sustain any further delays to this project,” she added.
Fine Gael TD, Kieran O’Donnell, said the road is listed as one of 18 “existing projects” to be “progressed” in the current National Development Plan, and it had been agreed that a review of the plan “could not frustrate or delay existing projects”.
Despite an update last December in the Project Ireland 2040 plan, which stated that the Coonagh Knockalisheen Road is “critical to the Regeneration of Limerick and particularly Moyross”, the Minister has not released funds required to progress it.
Minister Ryan has informed Moyross partners that he is considering a better plan for the area which may include developing the area’s exiting rail links.
In response, Fr Hogan said: “I’m asking the Minister for Transport to resign. He has interfered in the process of Limerick’s Regeneration plans for this road, which were promised 13 years ago. He is effectively throwing out this plan and looking for another plan.”
“He has given two fingers to Moyross. All he has in his head is railways.”
Despite the Minister informing the Moyross community leaders that he had cross party support, a number of local TDs contacted about this, including Kieran O’Donnell, Fine Gael; Willie O’Dea, Fianna Fáil; and Maurice Quinlivan, Sinn Fein, all said they were, in fact, calling for the Minister to release the funding to allow the project progress immediately.
Local Green Party TD, Brian Leddin, defended Minister Ryan, and said it was “not a case of rail or road”.
Deputy Leddin said the project “wasn’t agreed in the Programme for Government”, and that, in his opinion “the best plan for Moyross” should involve investigating the potential development of existing rail lines already located in the area.
Based on the latest census figures (2016) Limerick topped 79 unemployment blackspots nationally with 18 seriously deprived areas that included Moyross.
A spokesperson for Minister Ryan said he was “carefully considering” the project, and that “roads cannot be considered in isolation but should be part of overall planning and transport strategy”.
“Limerick and Moyross deserve high quality connectivity, not just a dual carriageway that facilitates urban sprawl.”
Further consultations between the Minister and Moyross residents are planned, they said.
