Funding will be made available to complete Kilkenny Ring Road, says local TD 'Chap' Cleere

There may be finally a light at the end of the tunnel in the longstanding quest to complete Kilkenny’s northern Ring Road.

Local TD Peter ‘Chap’ Cleere says he has received confirmation from the new Minister for Transport Darragh O’Brien that the necessary funding will be made available to enable the scheme move to options stage as soon as possible. The pair met last week where they discussed ‘the absolute priority of getting this project complete for Kilkenny’.

“Once options have been considered, funding will be made available to complete this project,” said Deputy Cleere. “This project has been a massive priority for me, and while lots of work has been done to get it to this stage, it is vital that we keep the pressure on so that this project can be started immediately. This is great news for Kilkenny, and a project that I am going to ensure is completed in my time as a TD.”

Kilkenny County Council produced a Strategic Assessment Report (SAR) for the Kilkenny Northern Ring Road Extension, and a draft was forwarded to the Department in January 2023. Since then, both the Public Spending Code and the Department’s Transport Appraisal Framework (TAF) guidance have been updated.

In response to a PQ from Deputy Cleere on the matter, Minister Eamon Ryan said: “In 2024, the Department provided funding for an updated POD, which has been submitted to the Department by Kilkenny County Council, and while this process was underway funding was also allocated for Traffic/Junction Analysis in the Butts Green area of the City to further assess and understand traffic patterns in the city.

"Following a review of the POD by the Department, the Regional and Local Roads Division has engaged further with Kilkenny County Council on the Kilkenny Northern Transport Project (formerly Kilkenny Northern Ring Road Extension Project) and funding requirements to progress the project to the Options Stage are currently under consideration."