Green rules might hit Donegal’s €27m road plans

Opportunities to redress the poor transport infrastructure, the legacy of underinvestment and the lack of transport alternatives could be hampered if the Government continually raises the bar in relation to climate action and carbon efficiency measures.

That was the stark message from Donegal County Council delegation when it met with Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) recently as it made the case for some €27 million worth of investment in road projects here in 2023.

The Donegal team, which was made up of ten councillors and three officials, outlined the many challenges and opportunities they faced but felt it was time to address this potential pothole in their plans to catch up with the rest of the country.

In their presentation document, they told the TII that national policy on the environment, climate action and sustainable development will clearly have a significant impact on all infrastructure development but particularly on roads and that Donegal is uniquely and most severely affected.

“Given its relative lack of adequate transportation infrastructure, legacy of underinvestment and lack of transport alternatives, Donegal is uniquely and most severely affected by this policy direction.

“The main challenge for both TII and Donegal County Council is in compelling the government to support and fund the ‘fair transition’ espoused in policies and to deliver on the clear and critical goals for Donegal and the North West within the Programme for Partnership Government 2016, National Planning Framework and the National Development Plan.”

They also pointed out that all current road projects promoted by Donegal and TII are developed to strongly align with Government policies but stressed however that the bar set and continually raised by the government with respect to particularly climate action and carbon efficiency could be extremely detrimental if not fatal to projects that are established as economically viable and value for money.

The presentation added: “In addition, overall real-time funding allocated to new roads infrastructure has been dramatically reduced in favour of greener alternatives. However, these ‘green’ alternatives such as rail for example are unlikely to be developed in Donegal in the short to medium timeframe, nor can they be a substitute for an adequate road network.”

The delegation said they are very concerned by the slow progress and limited success of road projects around the country, through the planning and appraisal processes and the impact this trend may have on essential infrastructure planned for this region.

“The lengthy project development and appraisal processes have resulted in the very slow progress of even Climate Action projects such as Greenways. An Bord Pleanála administered national planning process for major and essential infrastructure is beset by objections and judicial challenges.

“Brexit and other geopolitical issues such as the war in Ukraine and their effect on the Irish and wider European economy also present challenges to overcome.”

It is understood the TII will let the council know early in the new year on whether its application for the €27m has been successful.