Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Before I open the meeting to the members, I wish to clarify some facts with the Department. In its submission, it was invited to speak about the Julianstown bypass and would have been notified about this. In the Department's opening statement given to the committee, Julianstown was mentioned twice: once in the headline, and then in the last line. I am unhappy - and this is not a personal criticism of the witness - with the Department's response where it comes into an Oireachtas committee to talk about the 16th busiest road in the whole of Ireland. This is totally and woefully inadequate. The statement makes no reference to the North-South economic corridor, to the development of Drogheda, to the huge developments in east Meath, or the traffic counts. All of these issues are absent from the Department's contribution. I note this with regret. We want to do something today to inform the Department of the real issues involved as it will be its decision, having done due and proper analysis of the facts and figures, to put this road on the national primary road list.

As I understand it - perhaps the county councils can assist me in this - approximately 20,000 cars on average use this road daily. That is equivalent to the traffic that is using the Port Tunnel travelling in and out of that village. It is more than that because there are thousands of new homes on their way both in east Meath and in north Drogheda. The equivalent of the population of the city of Waterford - 60,000 to 70,000 to 80,000 people - will be in this area in ten years time, all funnelling through this road which was built 200 years ago. This is totally unacceptable.

The importance of this nationally is for the Department to recognise the pressure that development is putting on places like Julianstown, but also on the commuters who are delayed. I am delayed, on average, a half an hour a day by going through Julianstown, with the attendant costs to me and other drivers. The question raised in the report which the council has done, which requires further examination, concerns public transport alternatives to using the motorway. I welcome the DART development, which is of great importance and will significantly increase capacity. This is only part of the solution.

I will bring my committee colleagues in now to contribute to the meeting but I ask Meath County Council to address that issue in terms of the four options they have looked at for the future. The weakness in its case - which is not a personal one - is that it needs to examine further the public transport options.

The Department needs to consider how it ought to respond now. I point out to the Department that as Chairman I sought a briefing note and I got it from the Department two months ago. It is far more comprehensive, with respect, than its opening statement here today. Whoever was talking to the Department did not tell it anything about the story of Julianstown. None of the problems or issues was iterated.

I welcome local councillors Paddy Meade and Annie Hoey, who are very concerned about this issue. I hope these proceedings will inform the council's debate also. I call Deputy Breathnach and then Deputy Munster.