N61 ‘does not warrant reclassification’ to national primary route 

There are currently no plans to upgrade the N61 Athlone to Boyle road, the Dáil was told.

Local Fianna Fáil TD Martin Daly raised the issue with Tánaiste Simon Harris. He asked would new consideration be given to the upgrading of the N61 road to a national primary route in view of its strategic importance for Athlone, Roscommon and Boyle. It would also help balanced regional development, inward investment and improved road safety, he added.

“The volume of traffic between Athlone and Roscommon, in particular, and then onwards to Boyle is a source of significant concern,” he said. “Roscommon County Council has included it in its county plans for the past 24 years. It made a submission to the Government in 2024. It was rebutted. I am not sure the reasons given at that time are legitimate. This is a hugely important and vital piece of infrastructure not only for County Roscommon but also for interconnectivity in the west and north west between the designated growth centres of Athlone and Sligo.” He added that there were very significant, heavy volumes of traffic on the road, especially through the villages of Knockcroghery and Kiltoom.

“There are traffic-calming measures at very many points on this national secondary route, which bring down the speed limits to 50 km/h, which affects ease of access for traffic between Athlone and Sligo. We now have traffic congestion in Roscommon, which is something we could not have conceived of as a county town, at pinch points at rush hour.

“That is something I never thought I would hear myself say about Roscommon Town and Boyle but there are tailbacks going into both towns.” Minister Harris said he had been informed the Department of Transport and Transport Infrastructure Ireland have “agreed that the N61 from Athlone to Boyle performs the function of a national secondary road and does not warrant reclassification”.

“I do, however, recognise the importance of the N61 for people in Roscommon,” he said.

He said he would ask TII and Minister Darragh O'Brien to engage with Deputy Daly and his constituency colleagues, and also possibly to engage with Roscommon County Council.