The Clare Champion Clare news, sport, entertainment and local notes
THERE is still “no confirmed start date” for work to begin on the M18 from Gort, it emerged this week.
The Government had claimed in July that work on the motorway, which when complete will link Shannon and Tuam in County Galway, will begin next year. However the NRA said this week that a specific date is not yet set for construction to begin.
The Mayor of Clare this week called on the Government to start the project immediately and urged them not to “renege” on their promise to the people.
“The Government cannot renege on this. They gave the go-ahead a few months ago and now it is time to begin the job. If there are any doubts, they should be cast aside and work should begin,” said Mayor Pat Daly.
“I am calling on the Government to immediately go ahead with the infrastructure from Gort to Tuam. It is the most important piece of infrastructure that will come about in the next decade in the West of Ireland, particularly for tourism here and for Shannon Airport.
“People from Mayo, Roscommon and Sligo, all have easy access to Dublin now and they should be coming to Shannon. If that motorway from Tuam was built we would get a massive number of air passengers from Galway, Mayo and the West of Ireland using Shannon.
“It would be a great boost for people in Clare and Galway in terms of employment in these times when there are so many unemployed people and so many emigrating. Australia is like going to the Queen’s Hotel now, there are so many Irish there. That road would give a great boost to the economy in the West and Mid-West of Ireland and I am calling on the Government to immediately move on this and build this road,” the Fianna Fáil councillor said.
The building of the road, Mayor Daly believes, would show a commitment to the future of the region.
“It would give a vote of confidence to people in the region and to Shannon Airport. Shannon needs something strong and this could be the start of it.
“I believe we have lost traffic from Mayo, Roscommon and Galway and we are paying the price of the great infrastructure to Dublin but Dublin Airport is crowded and Shannon is a fantastic airport and it needs a new start,” he said.
Councillor Daly said the key to Shannon’s future is investment in regional infrastructure and praised the efforts of Rose Hynes, chairperson of the Aviation Business Development Task Force, in trying to add new destinations.
“She is speaking to all the different airlines about coming to Shannon and adding new destinations that will increase tourism there in the short term and long term. Shannon needs this boost and I believe that the motorway to Tuam will increase the numbers of people using Shannon Airport as well as increasing tourism to all of Clare.”
Clare Government TD Pat Breen said he will be brining the project up at a meeting with the Minister for Transport in the near future.
“The N17/18 Gort to Tuam project was included in the Government’s Stimulus Package, which was announced earlier in the year. This Government is committed to this project and it is our intention to proceed with the project as outlined in the Stimulus Plan.
“A preferred tender is in place and the development of this section of roadway is an important element in improving the road network from Limerick to Galway which, when completed, will significantly reduce journey times for people travelling to Shannon Airport from the North-West. I will have the opportunity to discuss this project again shortly with Transport Minister Leo Varadkar TD when I will be impressing upon him again the importance of having the project expedited.”
