Five chambers of commerce have joined forces to demand an urgent Government commitment to delivering the N24 as a single strategic transport corridor linking Limerick and Waterford during the lifetime of the current Government.
The chambers representing Kilkenny, Limerick, Tipperary, Waterford and Wexford have warned that continued delays to the long-awaited project are undermining business competitiveness, investment and regional connectivity.
Together, the five chambers represent more than 2,220 businesses employing approximately 111,000 people across the southern region.
In a joint letter sent to Minister for Transport Darragh O’Brien and Minister for Public Expenditure Jack Chambers, the business groups are calling for a funded programme and timeline for the entire N24 corridor.
They said the current route between Limerick and Waterford was a major constraint on economic growth, with unreliable journey times, congestion in towns along the route and poor network resilience increasing costs for businesses.
“The N24 has been talked about for 20 years, that’s long enough,” the business groups said.
“Businesses across the region now need certainty, a clear timeline and a commitment from Government to get this road delivered. It is essential for balanced regional development, attracting investment and ensuring the South East and Mid-West can reach their full economic potential.”
The five chambers have called for the N24 to be treated as a single strategic Limerick-Waterford corridor, rather than being progressed as two separate schemes.
They argued that the entire route was central to achieving the balanced regional development objectives set out under Project Ireland 2040 and should be regarded as a key tool in delivering national policy.
The chambers pointed out that the N24 has received support through successive National Development Plans, the Programme for Government, the Southern Regional Spatial and Economic Strategy and a number of local authority development plans.
However, they said that despite years of policy support, progress on the project had remained fragmented, underfunded and unacceptably slow.
They raised concern over the timelines for the two sections of the proposed route.
The Cahir to Limerick Junction project is expected to complete Phase 3 in the third quarter of 2026, while the Waterford to Cahir project received €500,000 in funding this year to enter Phase 3.
They said a construction horizon of 2030 or later for one section, combined with the absence of a comparable timetable for the other, did not amount to a credible plan for the end-to-end delivery of the route.
Speaking on behalf of the five chambers, the signatories said the N24 represented one of the most important regional infrastructure investments needed to strengthen economic links between the south-east and mid-west.
They said the project would improve connectivity between Limerick and Waterford and support continued economic growth and investment along the corridor.
The chambers have now requested a meeting with both ministers and their officials to discuss the project.
