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07 Sept 2025
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07 Sept 2025
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Fine Gael Senator Micheal Carrigy
Fine Gael Senator Micheal Carrigy has stopped short of expressing confidence in Green Party Leader and Transport Minister Eamon Ryan over continued delays to the N4 Longford to Mullingar bypass upgrade.
The Ballinalee postmaster led calls at a parliamentary party meeting last week for TDs and Senators to hold crunch talks with Mr Ryan in an attempt to secure answers as to the project’s long term future.
Senator Carrigy’s motion was subsequently passed in a move which will now see Fine Gael Party chairman Richard Bruton issue a formal request to Mr Ryan’s department to hold a meeting.
“We are entitled to connectivity to our capital city, our ports and airports and that’s before you even look at the whole area of road safety,” he said.
“There have been a number of deaths on that stretch of road and if the project doesn’t proceed you will see a reduction of speed on that road to 70km/hr which will have an impact on companies and investment coming to the area.”
Senator Carrigy’s comments come less than three months after the Transport Minister visited Longford to reassure local politicians the project would not be shelved.
However, the former county council cathaoirleach said there has been little or no evidence in the intervening period that any further progress has been made in allocating funding for the project.
When asked if he was keeping his counsel over publicly backing Mr Ryan as Transport Minister, Senator Carrigy replied simply: “Yes.”
He also intimated the hold up surrounding the project in securing long term funding by locking in consultants may be linked to a wider green agenda.
“There have been a lot of green ideas in relation to schools and different projects linked to public transport, but this is the number one priority of capital road investment in this country as far as I am concerned,” he said.
“This is not just about the here and now, this is about connectivity of not just Longford but the entire north west region.
“It’s also about the next generation because if our young people are not in a position to live and work in the area they will have to travel to other regions anyway.”
It’s anticipated the proposed meeting with Mr Ryan will be held before the end of the month.
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