Sir, – On first reading, Project Ireland 2040 offers little or no cheer to the commuters in the southeast of Ireland, and while current road improvement works on the M11 bypassing Enniscorthy, and the New Ross ring road are listed, these are already under construction. There is nothing in this plan regarding the development of Rosslare Port post-Brexit and the maintenance of the rail links to the port, and while money is being allocated to reopen the western rail line to link Athenry to Claremorris, the line between Waterford and Rosslare, which closed over six years ago, and the line between Rosslare and Dublin, do not seem to feature at all.
The N11/M11 is one of the busiest commuter roads in the country, and the journey times on this road are getting longer and longer. The rail line is not being used to capacity south of the Dart corridor, and despite representations from commuters and Government officials, there is no prospect of any improvement to the timetable on this line. The commuter towns in both counties Wicklow and Wexford badly need a reliable public transport system to access the city, careful planning and a better timetable on the rail service would reduce the number of cars on the N11 daily, and there is also a need for feeder bus services to provide access from these towns to the Dart network at off-peak times , as the current Bus Éireann services do not provide connections in this regard. – Yours, etc,
ROBIN D HEATHER,
Wicklow Town.
Sir, – Navan, with a population of 31,689, is the fifth-largest town in Ireland, and the tenth-largest urban settlement, gets only one project in the National Development Plan. Clearly those who produced this extravagant wish-list have a sense of humour. Their one solid proposal, for the next 22 years, is the building of a new county courthouse. Are they expecting a surge in criminal activity in Navan? – Yours, etc,
DORCHA LEE,
Navan,
Co Meath.