“It’s beyond farcical that we still don’t have funding for the project”
Local Sinn Féin TD Imelda Munster has repeated her call for government action on the Port Access Northern Cross Route (PANCR). She says that people in Drogheda are “sick to the back teeth of delays” on the vital project.
“It’s been fifteen years and it’s beyond farcical that we still don’t have funding for the project” she said.
Deputy Minster has asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Michael McGrath TD, to ensure that the project is included in the government’s ten-year National Development Plan (NDP) which is due to be published later this month.
She has re-emphasised to the Minister the importance of this road project to Drogheda, both in terms of traffic management but also in terms of the wider development of the Drogheda area.
“The route is critical to the development of housing in Drogheda under the Northern Environs Plan. The road will also re-route a significant amount of traffic, including HGVs, out of Drogheda town centre which currently has extremely high levels of traffic congestion” she said.
“Drogheda has been designated as a Regional Growth Area and the PANCR project is a vital part of the planned development and growth of the town. It is of the utmost importance that this road is finally prioritised and funded by government under the NDP.
“I have raised this matter on many occasions with the Minister for Housing, Darragh O’Brien TD, as his department has turned down several funding applications from Louth County Council, despite his 2019 electioneering promise that the road must be funded and built.
“Inclusion in the National Development Plan is central to the future prospects of the road, and Minister McGrath must prioritise it.”
