Minister called upon to provide funding for 'essential road project'

DEPUTY Éamon Ó Cuív, the Fianna Fáil TD for the Galway West constituency, has called on Transport and Tourism Minister Shane Ross to ensure that adequate funding is allocated to carry out upgrade and improvement works on the R346 Cross to Cong road in Co. Mayo.

In response to a Parliamentary Question from Deputy Ó Cuív, Minister Ross did not commit to funding for the road.

Said Deputy Ó Cuív: “I was deeply frustrated by Minister Ross’s failure to acknowledge the importance of funding for this particular route. The road is one of the main routes in the county, but is completely unsuitable for the volume of traffic using it. This poses serious safety issues, which the minister is ignoring.

“The Cross to Cong road services a number of major industries, including McGrath’s Quarry in Cong and ECC Teoranta, which is the largest timber mill in the country. The current condition of the road is simply not suitable for the heavy goods traffic that uses it daily. The road also leads to Ashford Castle, a multi-award winning tourist destination.

“It is simply unacceptable that Minister Ross has failed to commit to 2017 funding. I will continue to press the minister to ensure that money is provided for work this year, and I will work with my colleague Councillor Damien Ryan to ensure that this road is properly upgraded to an adequate standard.”