Eamonn Coghlan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I was delighted when the NRA recently opened the port tunnel for a 10 km run. There was more traffic over one hour that morning than during the rest of the year.

In regard to the €93 million that the Government pays to public-private partnerships, what is the annual budget for the NRA and how does it derive its funding? Does it come from car tax, Europe, tolls or the Exchequer? The Celtic tiger has left a great legacy in the road network. It is something of which I am very proud when I take my American friends around the country. I assume that we try to make money from road usage to pay for building the road network. The representatives indicated that time and safety are among the most important aspects of the road building programme but if we are paying €93 million per year to public-private partners, that works out at approximately €1.7 million per week. Does that money come directly from tolls or is it further subsidised by the Government?