Mr. Fred Barry:

We have a number of corridors around the country, including the one to which Deputy Smith referred, where we would like to take the planning process further and reduce the corridor width. We are very aware, from representations from Deputies, officials and the public, that very wide corridors are disruptive and can sometimes be there for a very long time. We are mindful of that. We have very little discretionary money next year. While our budgets might sound significant, the moneys are already committed. We have unpaid bills for old projects that are open. We have commitments against PPP schemes which must be paid. Next year we are unlikely to begin any new planning activities and very unlikely to start any new schemes on the ground other than PPP schemes.

We are aware of the value of segmenting projects and doing them in smaller sections. Many Deputies will have seen that last year and this year we have had very few big projects but many smaller ones. Given that the funding will not be there for the big schemes for a few years, we have identified the worst bottlenecks, bends and realignments. We have done a series of projects, some only half a kilometre or two kilometres long, to make the very best use of the money available to us. We have more of those schemes in the planning process but we do not have the money to start building them next year. We will get to them as soon as we can. The money spend on those smaller schemes or on subsections of schemes is probably giving the best value to the public for moneys that might be spent on improvement. Despite our agreement with Deputy Smith on the routes he mentioned, the funding for this coming year will not allow us to do much with them.

It is well known that the European Court took a decision that led to the quashing of approval for the Galway outer bypass. Galway County Council is preparing a new application. It has started work on it, and some of the habitat mapping has happened over the summer. It will take the council until the end of next year or early 2015 to get a new application into An Bord Pleanála. Getting approval will be a long drawn-out process. An Bord Pleanála will have to send its comments and recommendations to the European Commission, so that will take a few years to get through the process with no guarantee of success. Nonetheless, we all recognise that Galway city is the last of the cities that has not yet been bypassed. The congestion there from one side of the town to the other is ridiculous at any time. We will do what we can to address it, but I cannot see it getting through An Bord Pleanála and the European Commission in fewer than several years. It will not be quick.