Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

We can go very local and refer to a project that we have talked about a lot, the Castlemartyr bypass. There is no intention whatsoever from my side or that of the Department to restrict that. I will go back and see why the design consultant's report is not proceeding. We have a wide variety of projects in the roads programme, many of which have been built. The reality is that with the allocation of two to one in favour of public transport over roads, not all road programmes are going to be built at one time. They are still in the NDP and are still very much part of the planning process.

What I have said, which is correct and which supports projects like Castlemartyr, is that we should prioritise bypasses. To go back to what I was saying earlier about reviving our towns, we cannot do that if we have trucks trundling through the centre of a 19th century market town or village. That is what we are focusing on. The Deputy mentioned a number of projects in Tipperary and elsewhere and it is my intention to progress them as quickly as possible to free towns-----