The Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Simon Coveney TD today spoke about the Dunkettle Interchange upgrade and the failure of TII and Sisk to reach an agreement on the delivery of the project.

“I am very unhappy about this, however it was not a decision of Government. Transport Infrastructure Ireland are convinced that this project can be delivered for €120million, significantly less than what the existing contractor is quoting”.

“The Government are totally committed to the project and the budget is also committed. However, if we had gone ahead with the tender as is, there was significant potential for legal challenges and we would have ended up spending more money than is necessary. There is an obligation on the State to avoid legal challenges where possible and to guarantee value for money.”

“It is expected that the completion of the project will be delayed by 12 months – in the meantime completion of stage one will proceed. Stage one includes diversion works for gas, electric, telecoms and water. Also included will be a new link road connecting N8 Cork City road with M8 Cork to Dublin motorway incorporating a separated cycleway and pedestrian path. Additionally, there will a new services corridor built for Little Island and advance works will be undertaken for the Burys Bridge cycleway and pedestrian path.”