13 February 2022
By Tom Collins
tom@TheCork.ie
Sinn Féin TD Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire
Sinn Féin’s Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire TD and Cllr Eolan Ryng have welcomed news that Cork City Council intend to begin construction on the Lehenaghbeg/Lehenaghmore Rd upgrade scheme this Autumn.
TD for Cork South Central, Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire said:
“This is fantastic news. I want to commend the community of Lehenaghbeg/Lehenaghmore; they have campaigned with great resilience and commitment.
“This community have had to endure a situation where they were effectively cut off, with no footpaths for the most part and unsafe conditions for cyclists and indeed for motorists as well.
“They deserve huge credit for ensuring that this has never slipped off the agenda, this has been going on for 15 years now. It never should have dragged on this long, and it very welcome that the community who have been neglected are finally seeing progress.
“It is vitally important that this is delivered, and that it is delivered on time. As I understand it, the Council intend to proceed with construction in the Autumn; they already have planning permission and funding has been secured from the NTA in recent weeks.
“I expect this construction will be full steam ahead, and I and my colleague Cllr Eolan Ryng will be keeping the pressure on to make sure this is progressing on time. “
Eolan Ryng, Cllr for the Cork City South-West Ward added
“I welcome this news, it has been a long time in the making. I hope it will resolve the issues that exist for this community, who feel that they have been effectively cut off, living in unsafe conditions and with a lack of accessibility.
“The community have been crying out for this for a long time, it was bad planning 15 years ago that the road wasn’t built in the first place.
“There are a large community living in Lehenaghbeg/Lehenaghmore now, and this upgrade is absolutely necessary and urgently needed.
“I hope the timescales outlined will be adhered to. My colleague Deputy Ó Laoghaire and I will be continuing to keep the pressure on, working with the local community, other local representatives and the statutory authorities to ensure this is delivered.
“Hopefully, we can bring this saga to a close for the people of Lehenaghbeg/Lehenaghmore and we can finally see delivery of this much-needed road upgrade. “
