Sinn Féin TD for Limerick City, Maurice Quinlivan, has again called on the Taoiseach to intervene directly so that the Coonagh-Knockalisheen Road project can be completed.

Addressing the Taoiseach in the Dáil, Teachta Quinlivan stated that the Minister of Transport’s meeting with residents last Friday was ‘disastrous’.

Teachta Quinlivan said:

“Minster Ryan waltzed into the meeting with the Moyross community and told them what was best for them and didn’t listen to the residents’ concerns. If this government don’t deliver this road, they are going to torpedo the whole project. The Community feel abandoned and betrayed.

“Residents are quickly reaching the end of the road when it comes to their tolerance of the excuses of the Green Party and its leader Eammon Ryan.

“They should trust that Minister Ryan and the Green Party have a better plan? Spare me that nonsense.

“This road needs to be built as priority. A completed Coonagh-Knockalisheen Road could be a route to increased economic and social inclusion for the residents of the Moyross community.

“We have already invested large sums of money in the preparatory work for this road. Construction is ready to commence all that is missing is the signature of the Minister.

“I have said many times before this is more than just a road, it is a crucial piece of the regeneration of the Northside of the city.

“What we need is a step-change in the attitude of the Minister, and his party, to this project. We cannot allow this to remain the road to nowhere.

“The Minister must end his intransigence on this. He remains the sole impediment to the progression of this important work.”