Road Projects Seanad Éireann — 2025-10-14 ============================================================ Noel O'Donovan (FG), Nominated by the Taoiseach I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Buttimer, for staying with us. For more than 40 years, the people of west Cork have listened to politicians talk about upgrading the N71, but very little has changed in those 40 years. The N71 remains a national route in name only. In reality, it is a narrow, twisting and crumbling stretch of road that has seen little investment since the 1970s. Those of us who drive on it daily know its dangers all too well, including blind bends, no safe passing lanes and surfaces that would shame any other national route in the country. It is impacting our towns and villages. Innishannon, Bandon, Clonakilty and Bantry are all choked with congestion, which has an immense toll on daily life. This is not just about a matter of convenience; it is a matter of safety, fairness and regional equality. The N71 is west Cork’s lifeline. It carries our families, farmers, students and workers and our many visitors. It brings food from our fields and fish from our harbours to market. It sustains our tourism economy. For years, we have heard talk about feasibility studies, potential funding and future phases, but talk does not fill potholes and hints of funding do not build bypasses. While the N22 to Kerry has been transformed and the N20 to Limerick is being advanced towards motorway standard, our N71 still carries the same pinch points, bottlenecks and risks that existed two generations ago. That is not acceptable in 2025. Since I was elected as a councillor and subsequently privileged to be appointed to Seanad Éireann, I have and will continue to raise the matter of the N71. It is one of my clear political priorities. Recently, we have heard talks of so-called hints of funding for the N71. The people of west Cork deserve better. We deserve more than hints. We want clear action and a plan. Our infrastructure in west Cork has been neglected for years. We see plenty in terms of social media delivery but we have yet to see tangible delivery where it matters on the ground. We need certainty and a clear multiyear funding commitment to bring this vital road up to modern standards. That means proper bypasses of our key towns; proper passing lanes; the realignment of dangerous bends and junctions; new surfaces, drainage and signage; and safe walking and cycling links near our schools and villages. These are not luxuries; they are the basic expectations for any national route in this country. We the people of west Cork are not asking for a motorway. We are common sense, practical people. We are asking for equality. Over recent decades, other parts of the country have received transformative investment, and rightly so. West Cork now deserves similar treatment. Every visitor who drives onto the N71 from the Bandon road roundabout can see exactly where investment stops. That is not just bad optics; it is bad economics. It sends a clear message that west Cork has been left behind. It is time to change that. I am calling today for a co-ordinated corridor plan for the entire N71, from Innishannon through Bandon, Clonakilty, Skibbereen and Bantry and on to Glengarriff. We cannot continue a piecemeal, town-by-town announcement that goes nowhere. We need one joined-up vision backed by funding and timelines to make the N71 reliable for all who depend on it. I put it to the Minister of State, and I say this with respect but also with resolve, that west Cork has waited long enough and the N71 has waited long enough. Our region has carried its share of national growth and deserves its share of national investment. As a proud west Cork native and a Fine Gael Senator working for west Cork, I will continue to raise this issue in the Seanad and beyond. I will work constructively with the Minister of State, his Department and colleagues across all parties but I will also hold every one of us to account, myself included, for delivery that has been missing for far too long. After 40 years of neglect, it is time to deliver. West Cork deserves a safe, modern and fair N71, one that reflects the value of the people and the region it serves. --- Source: Houses of the Oireachtas. Licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). The Official Report is revised after first publication; the fetch timestamp below identifies the version quoted. Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2025-10-14/debate/main Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:13+00:00 Sitting date: 2025-10-14