Seanad Éireann debate -
Wednesday, 20 Oct 1993

Vol. 137 No. 11

Adjournment Matter. - Kilmacanogue/Glen of the Downs Motor Scheme.

Mr. Ross

I welcome the Minister to the House. Kilmacanogue is a small village in County Wicklow which has all the characteristics of village life in Ireland. It has approximately 311 homesteads, of which 296 are on the west side of the road and 15 at the east side of the road. It has a school, a church, a garage and a petrol station. It embodies the sort of village community which exists all over this country. The people of the village of Kilmacanogue have been very disturbed for a very long time about the prospects of either a dual carriageway dividing the village or an eastern by-pass of the village. They are very concerned because they have had to wait a very long time for a decision on this matter.

Kilmacanogue has a serious traffic problem which Wicklow County Council and others have recognised. Very high speed traffic travels through the village which is on the main Dublin-Wexford road. Various studies, options and proposals have been made dealing with this traffic problem. There are 1,600 cars per hour travelling through that area at rush hour and it is projected this will probably double over 25 years. Speed limits tend to be completely ignored in that area. As a result there have been many accidents, not only traffic accidents but accidents to pedestrians who live in the village, many of them elderly and many of them children.

One of the problems Kilmacanogue has is houses very close to the road and many people who live there do not have cars. They have to walk up and down this very busy road on narrow footpaths or in some places without any footpaths at all. There is, in fact, one housing estate adjoining the road. The N11, the road in question, turns off to Roundwood and Glendalough at Kilmacanogue village. This is a very dangerous point where there has been a large number of accidents because of the speed of the traffic and the lack of any regulation for this turn-off. There are no traffic lights or roundabout there.

This problem was recognised over five years ago and proposals were put forward at county council and other levels to deal with this. Exhaustive studies were made which suggested numerous alternatives including roundabouts, traffic lights, very minimal type alternatives and then progressively more dramatic alternatives. In the end the options were whittled down to two; a dual carriageway through the village, with an over bridge, or what is now known as the eastern by-pass in that area. The eastern by-pass, as the Minister will know — he has been lobbied very comprehensively on this issue — is certainly the preferred option of the residents of Kilmacanogue mainly because it will not really affect the village at all. The eastern by-pass would go on a route which runs behind the Holfeld factory on the main road and would pass by the lower areas of the little Sugar Loaf. It would obviously cause much less disturbance to those who live there and therefore be less complicated and less offensive and would cause little disruption to village life.

It should be acknowledged that the eastern by-pass would certainly be a great deal more expensive and estimates up to £5 million have been given by various authoritative consultants. That makes it obviously a less attractive proposition for the Minister but obviously a more attractive one for the people who live in the village. I do not wish to make a case at this stage for one alternative or another, although I have a preference. I ask the Minister if he could possibly make an early decision on this matter. Meetings are being held on a regular basis in Kilmacanogue village because they are very disturbed that this decision has been delayed for so long.

The Minister will acknowledge that any minor solution like traffic lights, roundabouts or road signs is now a nonrunner and the only decision he has to make is between these two major structural alternatives. My understanding is that the last hurdle to this particular decision is an EIS which was commissioned by the county council. It is a fairly hefty document of 100 pages with detailed maps. I know some difficult decisions have to be made by experts in this area as a result of this report. All that we and Wicklow County Council are waiting for is a certificate of environmental clearance from the Minister if he accepts the EIS and a decision from him on which option is preferable. It has been on the Minister's desk for nearly two years. It would be helpful if we knew when to expect a decision.

Minister for the Environment (Mr. M. Smith)

I am glad to have the opportunity to speak in the Seanad and to up date Members on the position in regard to the Kilmacanogue/Glen of the Downs motor scheme. As Senator Ross said, it is a busy route serving Rosslare, Dublin, Belfast and the sea ports along the route. It is essential that we continue the improvement scheme which has developed north and south of that area.

It is also important to understand the area this road is traversing. Although residents must be considered, there are other considerations. This area is a nature reserve, it is a beautiful area and requires sensitive treatment. When Wicklow County Council made their first proposal in regard to this scheme, the then Minister for the Environment asked the council to provide an environmental impact statement. Although it was not mandatory, he considered that the essential characteristic of the roadway required this step.

Once an environmental impact statement is put in motion, it is not possible to proceed with any developments until a decision is taken on the environmental impact of the development or, alternatively, until measures to reduce or eliminate detrimental environmental impacts are employed. When the environmental statement was prepared and submitted to me, I asked for additional submissions which I received and published. Local groups, residents, the local authority, the Office of Public Works, An Taisce, etc., were then given the opportunity to make submissions. These have been submitted and the matter is reaching the final stages of consideration.

It is unfair of Senator Ross, in what was otherwise a sensible contribution, to infer that this proposal has been on the Minister's desk for two years. The Senator must have known that a variety of aspects were being catered for at that time, not least of which was consultative measures required under environmental impact statements. As I said, this is nearing the final stages of consideration and I hope to make a final decision soon. I look forward to a successful resolution to any outstanding problems in regard to the type of scheme which will be developed. As a result of the careful consideration I gave to the submissions made I was in a position to come to the House this evening without any prepared notes, although I have many of these schemes on hand.

Mr. Ross

I thank the Minister for his reply and, in particular, for the fact that he came to the House without a script and responded fluently to this problem. It is refreshing for a Minister to come to the House without a script. I ask him to give an assurance that a decision will be made before 25 or 31 December.

Mr. M. Smith

I said "very soon" and, in my vocabulary, that means a target ahead of that anticipated by Senator Ross.

The Seanad adjourned at 8.25 p.m. until 10.30 a.m. on Thursday, 21 October 1993.