Front Row (LtoR)  Cllr. Kevin O'Meara, Cathaoirleach Carrick-on-Suir Municipal District, Cllr. Richie Molloy, Deputy Mayor Clonmel Borough District, Cllr. Ger Frisby, Deputy Chairman Piltown Municipal District, Cllr. Michael Smyth, Cathaoirleach Tipperary County Council, Cllr. Andrew McGuinness, Cathaoirleach Kilkenny County Council, Cllr. John Crosse, Cathaoirleach Cashel-Tipperary Municipal District.

Back Row (LtoR)  Seamus Kavanagh, Senior Engineer, Kilkenny County Council, Ronnie Basquil Project Manager TII Tramore House, Mike Evans Consultant Engineer ARUP, Joe MacGrath, Chief Executive, Tipperary County Council, Colette Byrne, Chief Executive, Kilkenny County Council, Glen Jones, Senior Engineer TII Tramore House, Marcus O'Connor, Director of Services, Tipperary County Council.

Kilkenny County Council announces the appointment of Ove Arup and partners Ireland Ltd to assist with the development through the planning and design phases, of the N24 Waterford to Cahir Scheme.

The scheme was identified for pre-appraisal and early planning within the National Development Plan (NDP) 2018 – 2027 and the appointment of consultants to develop the design is a major milestone in the delivery of this project.

Following the announcement, Cathaoirleach of Kilkenny County Council, Cllr. Andrew McGuinness said, “I and my fellow Council Members welcome the appointment of design consultants to this project and look forward to seeing the project progress.The development and completion of the new road will be hugely beneficial to the economy of Kilkenny and will act as a stimulus for economic growth in the South East Region as a whole.I commend Transport Infrastructure Ireland for their continued commitment to Kilkenny and the region.”

The appointment is a major boost for Counties Kilkenny & Tipperary directly as the project passes through both these local authority areas, with the larger south east region also seeing the positive benefits that the scheme will provide.

The benefits of the development of this transport corridor extend to:

• improved road safety
• reduction in collisions
• increase transport efficiency through a reduction in journey times over the length of the scheme
• improved journey time certainty
• enhanced environmental quality of the towns on the existing route through the  removal of through traffic
• providing a corridor of transport infrastructure that will encourage and support existing investment and employment in the South East.
• Create greater connectivity to ports and airports in the south, east and west of the country

Colette Byrne Chief Executive Kilkenny County Council, commented- “The advancement of this project is of vital significance to the County of Kilkenny and to the entire South East region.  A better, safer road network leads to improvements in employment, education, healthcare and social cohesion – as well as saving lives.  All these benefits will lead to greater regional and local connectivity and accessibility to the South East of the Country.”

Karina Downes, TII Regional Manager Southeast and Dublin Region, stated- “This is an important step forward for the N24 Waterford to Cahir national road project, which will ultimately provide an improvement in road safety and regional connectivity.”

The N24 Waterford Cahir project aims to meet the needs of the National Development Plan 2018-2027 and the National Planning Framework – Project Ireland 2040 and will be consistent with the spatial strategy for the country to 2040 and beyond.

Cathaoirleach of Piltown Municipal District,  Cllr Eamon Aylward said- “this major piece of infrastructure will improve the lives of people living along the existing N24 and benefit the local economy by reducing congestion in town and villages such as Mooncoin and I am extremely pleased to see that plans are in place to ensure its progression.”