The people of Callan, County Kilkenny, are getting deeply impatient and frustrated at Government inaction in relation to the need to provide a by-pass for their town. In 1989, there was a great sigh of relief in the area when the Minister for the Environment included this project as part of the operational programme on transport, 1989-93, so that EC funding could be procured for this important project. However it appears that promises have yet to be fulfilled.
The Department of the Environment asked Kilkenny County Council to draw up a road design which was submitted for approval in March 1991. However, following the local elections in June 1991 the pace has slowed considerably as has traffic through Callan. At that time Government politicians were tripping over one another in a disgraceful fashion to announce that work was about to proceed. However, the necessary approval for the compulsory purchase of land was the subject of a public inquiry last November, but the Minister has still not made up his mind whether he will accept the proposal. It is not good enough for the people of Callan; in fact, the town effectively comes to a standstill at Bridge Street when two trucks meet.
The trucks going from Waterford to Dublin travel through Callan now because they will not encounter difficult railway bridges which are on the more traditional route between Waterford and Kilkenny. Traffic from west Waterford and Clonmel bound for Dublin use the Callan route, particularly since the completion of the Kilkenny ring road 12 years ago. It is not unusual to experience up to an hour's delay in traffic at Callan with the passage of this heavy traffic through the town.
The chairman of the county council, Councillor Tom Maher, is a local man, he is attempting to keep the lid on the issue and to keep the anger of the people at bay. He is succeeding, to a limited extent, in this regard. However, the residents of Callan, especially those living in Bridge Street, have had enough and nothing short of an announcement that work will proceed in 1992 will satisfy the people of the area and Kilkenny County Council.
I look forward to the Minister's reply.