Mayo councillor wants government to prioritise the N26
Independent Councillor Mark Duffy has asked for the support of the Mayo public in an attempt to finally make the N26 road from Ballina to Swinford a priority of the government.
A review of the Project Ireland 2040 National Development Plan will close next Friday (January 29) and, as it stands, there will once again be no inclusion of the N26 as a priority within the plan, meaning it will not be delivered by 2040.
Councillor Duffy said he has been aggressively lobbying behind the scenes as part of a coordinated effort to prioritise the route.
He explained: “I have lobbied representatives in Europe, the Minister for Transport, Eamon Ryan, Junior Minister Hildergard Naughton, individually lobbied all 10 board members of Transport Infrastructure Ireland, written to the nine members of TII's senior leadership team, made a detailed submission to the Project Ireland 2040 review, worked with senators across the country who have also made submissions for the inclusion of the N26 in the 2040 plan, ensured the route is the top priority of the new County Development Plan for Mayo County Council going forward, and encouraged all Mayo TDs and councillors to submit to the plan in order to create a full court press to ensure no stone is left unturned in having this key piece of infrastructure included.”
Councillor Duffy added: “The N26 has been campaigned for since the mid-1980s and a refusal by An Bord Pleanala in 2010 to build a new route from Mount Falcon to Bohola should not have meant that it should have dropped as a priority. Will we have to wait until 2050?
“I am asking that as many individuals, community groups, businesses and key stakeholders make submissions to the review of the Project Ireland 2040 plan, which closes this Friday, to include the N26 as a priority for the national development plan by emailing reviewtorenew@per.gov.ie and also contacting the Minister for Transport at minister@transport.gov.ie.
“The inclusion of the N26 will require a cross-party approach. No matter what your political persuasions, we must work together in submitting to the review to include the N26 in the 2040 plan.
Every voice matters, and everyone can play their part this week in making their contribution before the opportunity is lost once more.”