M21 - Limerick to Rathkeale/Foynes [advance works to commence shortly]

Cookiemunster

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119493859#Comment_119493859

No TD in the country, not even the Taoiseach, knows what decision ABP are going to make and they definitely can't (legally) influence the decision.

Until there is a decision TII can't progress the project any further. If permission is given then the next steps (tendering and CPOs) will need to be signed off by Cabinet. Your local TD(s) can't address an issue that a decision had yet to be made on.

Cookiemunster

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119494080#Comment_119494080

Any inclination as to whether it's positive or negative?

Adare2019

No idea on the likely decision. When asking ABP they had hoped to announce it this week but it will now be (hopefully) next week.

nearlybroke

Cheers, hopefully this can be done quick literally passed through adare there now on the way to Kerry and once again just a traffic jam.

pajoguy

ABP site now says "requires further consideration"

nearlybroke

Just see that hopefully something this week so otherwise it would surely have been delayed to a further date.

Ardrageen

Office of Public Works (OPW) Minister and local TD Patrick O’Donovan  is not impressed with the delay.

https://www.limerickleader.ie/news/home/893024/fresh-delay-on-multi-million-euro-limerick-to-foynes-road.html

nearlybroke

Yes,saw that it just seems delay after delay ABP really is a shambles .

nearlybroke

Any further updates will this week pass without anything as well?

Quackster

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119506538#Comment_119506538

Effectively means they've given up quoting an expected decision date as they simply have no clue when they'll be able to announce a decision.

Just a reflection of how snowed under ABP currently is.

nearlybroke

Surely they can’t go on like this (obviously they can)but someone needs to hold them accountable it’s gone past a joke now

annfield1978

Does the Regulator Review mean that all ABP Decisions are in limbo?

Is ABP still functioning?

prunudo

Know someone who has a commerical project in appeal, like many others the intially decision date was pushed on by a few months and now revised date has been and gone with no indication of when the decision will be made. How we are supposed to develop as a country is beyond me if we don't have a functioning and efficient planning system.

nearlybroke

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119521872#Comment_119521872

Should are TDs really not be questioning this at this stage it’s actually sad how much red tape there is in Ireland.Adare needs this bypass asap and nothing happing it’s gone beyond a joke and no one being held accountable is the worst part where are Niall Collins and Co.seriously I’m so sick of politicians in this country just a disgrace.Next time an election comes round it won’t be those in power anymore I’ll be supporting and I know a lot like me after this debacle.

Cookiemunster

Its not red tape, it's the fact that ABP are understaffed. The SHD process has swamped them and delayed everything.

Again ABP is independent of political interference, so there's nothing Niall Collins or any other TD can do about it. Ands he's idiotically called for ABP to be scrapped.

Cookiemunster

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119521078#Comment_119521078

They're still publishing weekly updated new and decided case lists, so I'd say it's safe to assume that it is still functioning.

prunudo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119522633#Comment_119522633

Agree with you there, the SHD's are creating extra work. Whatever about their current issues at the top, the very least the politicians could do is ensure that it is well staffed and resourced so that decisions can be made in a timely manner.

Aontachtoir

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119522633#Comment_119522633

It’s hard to see how this isn’t red tape. If TII cannot progress further towards construction because they are waiting for bureaucrats (not elected TDs) to make sure that all the appropriate boxes were ticked in the application and that all the required forms were filled out and signed in the right places, that seems like a textbook example of red tape.

ABP may not be directly controlled by politicians, but it was created and given powers by the Oireachtas, which can in turn change those powers or take them away. Increased resourcing is needed, yes, but ultimately politicians must make serious changes given the serious failures that we have been seeing for years (especially given the housing crisis). It is no longer possible to deliver much needed infrastructure or housing when and where it is needed in this country, with projects stuck in years and years of red tape. Politicians must act to change that.

Binding time limits for ABP decisions on applications (especially for large projects) should be brought in, with automatic approval unless ABP can find specified problems within the specified time limit. Fixing the broken judicial review process is an absolute necessity as well.

Alternatively we can just get used to waiting several years for ABP decisions.

KrisW1001

The fix for a planning system that runs too slowly is not to remove its powers or independence. A lot of our difficulties in getting roads built now are because our lack of planning in the past had allowed people to build their homes next to nationally-important routes, so any possible upgrade will always affect hundreds of families.

Housing is very much off topic, but I'll just say that ABP is not the bottleneck in delivering new housing in this country - there's a resource shortage in capital, labour, and also in serviced building land (why those might be happening is not something I’m going to discuss on a roads topic)

Your other suggestions, of time-limiting for appeals, and fixing the JR process, are more like what we should be doing, but first APB needs better resourcing. The problem isn’t that people are taking JRs, given how few of them ever change anything - it’s that those reviews are taking too long to be completed. That’s not down to APB, but another under-funded area of the State: the Courts system.

nearlybroke

Any idea will there be an announcement this week?

spacetweek

The source on here said this week or next. That's all we have to go on as ABP is more secretive than the Kremlin.

Adare2019

ABP are today saying "a decision is expected in the next few weeks". As it is at "Board level", it's now up to the Board ...

nearlybroke

In other words no one still knows nothing

nearlybroke

Just after hearing the road has been given the go ahead this morning

mydiscworld

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119546267#Comment_119546267

Thanks. Source?

nearlybroke

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119546336#Comment_119546336

It’s official now on live 95 fm

marno21

https://twitter.com/limerick_leader/status/1564905302633463809?s=21

Here’s hoping this isn’t taken on a joyride around the courts. The race is on now to have it complete for 2027

KrisW1001

I’d like it done quicker, but if by “2027”, you’re referring to the six-day golf competition at Adare Manor in late 2027, that doesn’t really matter.

The organisers chose the venue based on the infrastructure that was in place at the time of the bid, and the presence or absence of M21 here really makes no difference to their traffic plans. 90%+ of visitors will approach from the east, and for traffic travelling from Limerick to Adare Manor, the new road will “bypass” barely 3 km of the existing N21, and 1.9 km of that is already high quality single carriagway. The proposed M21 Adare junction will link in to the old N21 about 500 m west of the small roundabout at the north-east corner of Adare Manor’s grounds - I've marked the entrance to Adare Manor with an asterisk in the drawing below:

I do believe the M21 leg will be prioritised over the other parts of this project, but that’s simply because Adare is such a traffic blackspot and there are lots of votes to be won by relieving this pain early; it really has nothing to do with a sporting event.

Pete_Cavan

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119546783#Comment_119546783

I think people's concern over 2027 and this project is not for those attending the Ryder Cup, but for everyone else in the area who will have to deal with the disruption such a large event will bring.

In any case, great that it is now approved, hopefullythey will push on now. A legal challenge doesn't seem likely here.

The CW

Fantastic news that this vital piece of road was given the go ahead, but it took An Bórd Pleanála an inordinate amount of time to do so. Hopefully the road progresses smoothly and quickly without the hassle of being dragged through the courts.