Innishannon by-pass needed says Bandon deputy

THE Government must start looking at restarting and funding the by-pass of Innishannon as a means of opening up West Cork to tourists and commuters, said a local FF deputy.

Cork South West TD, Margaret Murphy O'Mahony, has said that as someone who travels through Innishannon every day, she is acutely aware of the frustration many commuters feel about the time lost trying to get through the town.

‘It's hampering access to West Cork from the city, and it is definitely one of the major barriers to living in West Cork and commuting to the city for work. How can we realistically ask people who relocate to West Cork to commute to Cork city for work if they have to spend hours snaking their way through Innishannon in the morning and the evening?' she said.

‘If we are to maximise the tourist potential of West Cork, we need to make it easier for tourists who are holidaying in Cork city and in areas east of the city to access towns and villages in West Cork,' she added.

The Fianna Fail TD said that businesses in the village are being stymied in their attempts to grow and develop. ‘Congestion in the village is putting off people from stopping in the town to shop or to visit. A bypass would allow local people to take back ownership of their village.'

She promised to raise the need for a by-pass of the N71 when the Dáil reconvenes in September. ‘Unless we start a conversation on this now, it will never happen,' she told The Southern Star.