2026-02-24

This an issue of huge concern that I hope can be resolved fairly easily over the coming year. Tramore Valley Park is a fantastic new park that has been developed in the past couple of years. It was officially opened in 2019 and was practically opened a bit before. It is a repurposed civic amenity on what was effectively a dump, and it has been repurposed into an excellent park with many tracks and routes. The difficulty is that initially it was not accessible by foot at all. It could only be accessed by car before it was subsequently opened at one side on the Half Moon Lane side on the Douglas end and, subsequently, in the past year or two by the opening of a bridge to the Grange side. Probably the neighbourhoods it is closest to are the areas of Ballyphehane and Turners Cross. People in those communities are unable to access Tramore Valley Park except by car. It is simply not safe to access. It is not legal for pedestrians to access it. Access from that direction would be across the link road that connects the Kinsale Road roundabout to the city. The Minister might possibly be familiar with some of these areas. It is causing huge frustration that this fantastic park and terrific amenity has been provided by Cork City Council and the people in these neighbourhoods are able to look across the road at it but are unable to reach it other than in their cars. On top of that, the car park is very often full because it is so popular. I like to use it myself, although sometimes I like to ration it because I was there so often during Covid because it was within my 5 km that I spent too much time there. It is a fantastic park but it is frustrating for people when they can only go there by car and then the car park is full, so what is needed is a connection. Ultimately, this can potentially connect right across through the potential greenways that will exist right across through Ballyphehane and Togher and potentially linking up to the viaduct, which will be potentially very beneficial for those communities and commuters but also from the tourism point of view. Here and now, there is that short distance that needs to crossed - the link road to bring people from Ballyphehane, Togher and Turners Cross to allow them to get across to Tramore Valley Park by foot and by bike. There was a small allocation in the most recent round of funding but I think it was only a couple of thousand euro. Realistically, it is not going to do a lot. I understand that sometimes the approach is to try to put in a budget line that can be built upon in the coming years. I am taking this opportunity to convey to the Minister the benefits of what is a small investment. There are a number of ways this could be done. I think there are some underpasses that would have been there in the past but I think it is potentially more likely as a bridge across this link road. This is something that has to be delivered. It is very badly needed. I do not think it would break the bank but it would open up this park. A lot of the focus on these kind of projects and these NTA projects is about ensuring that people are able to walk and cycle to be able to go to work but also to access amenities. That sums it up. This is potentially very beneficial for the communities in question. The NTA funding for this year has now passed but I hope that as the Minister looks to prepare next year's NTA allocations, he will work with the NTA to ensure that there is a much more substantial allocation so that we can properly advance this project and ensure access.

I thank the Deputy for raising this because it gives me an opportunity to look into it. I am a big supporter of active travel. This year, we will spend about €363 million across the country on active travel. We have already invested over €1 billion in these programmes. I am aware that Tramore Valley Park is a tremendous facility but I am also aware of the frustrations raised by the Deputy, namely, that there is no pedestrian access from the Ballyphehane side. The allocation this year is significant in this sense in that it is an allocation of €4,000. We have made contact with Cork City Council about this. It is very aware of the missing link into Tramore Valley Park across the South Link Road. In fact the, council has submitted a proposal to the NTA to help to address the issue. The proposed Kinsale Road to Tramore Valley Park pedestrian-cycle connection would provide that improved pedestrian and cycle infrastructure on the Kinsale Road and the Mick Barry Road as well as a pedestrian and cycle bridge into Tramore Valley Park. What has been allocated now, the €4,000 to support the development of options and a preliminary design for this project, is the first step. Obviously, the project itself will cost more than that, but what the Deputy has identified is what we are finding across the country, namely, that really good parts of networks are being delivered and then the gaps are identified. Some of them are being planned out and delivered in full but, more and more, we are seeing those networks link up together. People do respond to them. This gap has been identified. It is a prime example of where intervention would actually join those dots. The allocation has been made at €4,000 to do the preliminary design work and to look at the options. That comes in and we can look towards funding that project into 2027 because we have committed to a minimum of €360 million per year for the term of this Government. It is important to note that Cork County Council was allocated €27 million this year to support approximately 70 active travel schemes, including that proposed severance link and the issues at Tramore Valley Park. I am aware of this now. I encourage the Deputy over the course of the year to make sure that the local authority progresses that preliminary design and the options. We can get it in for a full funding application for next year.

I find the Minister’s response encouraging. It seems he understands the benefits of the project and I hope he will look at it favourably when the more fleshed-out proposal comes to him. I appreciate him saying €4,000 is significant in the sense that it represents a commitment. It is obviously not going to go very far in this particular year, even in terms of detailed design and so on. The council is not going to be in a position to engage a contractor or subcontractor. For that kind of money it will have to do it inhouse, and figure out some kind of plan in that regard. I hope it is in a position to do something like that. I will be engaging with the city council to ensure it is able to advance design during the course of the year. From what the Minister is saying, it sounds as if from the discussions his Department has had with the local authority, what is anticipated is pedestrian access via a bridge adjacent to the Mick Barry Road. That is what is being looked at. There are various options in terms of tunnels and things like that and there probably were difficulties in terms of that, but realistically we are looking at a bridge. I welcome that. It is vitally important. I will continue to engage with Cork City Council. In terms of the Minister’s experience, perhaps he could give us a sense - it is difficult to say at this point – in terms of delivery. Is he reasonably satisfied that within the envelope that is there over the coming two or three years, there is scope to support a project like this in the next couple of years from within the allocation provided to the NTA?

As I said, I am very supportive of these projects. I said Cork County Council area but it was Cork City Council area that was allocated €27 million this year under the NTA’s active and sustainable transport investment programme. What happens is the NTA will do the allocations. The draft allocations come to us. We have a very good active travel team within the Department but the local authorities are the critical link to make sure proposals they have are prioritised. That design work is really important and the options. It looks to me from what I have read that it is likely it will be the bridge option, but this is a very early stage. I am confident with the allocation we have through the revised NDP that we will be able to continue to deliver these projects at scale, including this one. Last year approximately 200 kilometres of cycling and walking routes were delivered across the country. Interestingly, in the coming days the NTA will publish last year's 2025 walking and cycling index for Dublin, Cork, Limerick, Galway and Waterford. We hope to see positive signs of that continued modal shift arising, in part from the improvements to the active travel network, because people are responding to it. I thank the Deputy for raising this matter. We will keep an eye on it and I am sure he will keep in touch with me. As he said it is important we work with colleagues in the local authority to ensure they get those options and designs done and get them submitted to the NTA so they can be given consideration for funding next year to advance the project. The preliminary design and planning has to go through and then we can move towards funding. We have the funds to deliver these projects.