Dr. Brian McCann:

I concur with Mr. Butler. We have listed what we feel are the priorities, the top one being the Mullingar-Roosky road, which impacts every traveller on that route and every vehicle and person using it. That is the number one priority because it has the largest need. Deputy Troy asked about the timescale. Unfortunately, it is also the one that has been off the table for so long, and it needs to be put back on the table. It needs to go through the pre-planning, consultation, design and tendering stages, which may not commence until 2021.

The second priority is the Dromod to Carrick-on-Shannon road. The Roosky bypass is great. Any dual carriageway is better that any single carriageway. It does not matter how wide the single carriageway is - dual carriageways are much safer and provide overtaking opportunities and less congestion, and travel times are more predictable. Predictability of travel times is needed for industry. The route between Dromod and Carrick-on-Shannon goes through Carrick-on-Shannon. That is the only major town on the route that is traversed, so there is a real need for a bypass around Carrick-on-Shannon as well to try to reduce the journey times to the north west particularly. The other three projects are on the table and we hope they will progress. They not only represent safety issues, but the roads are also congested.

Another point to make is that the Minister yesterday, I think, stated that a report will come out soon that will verify the figures, but the cost to the economy of the congestion in the Dublin region is €350 million per annum at present. That is constant through health, lost travel time, lost work time, pollution and other aspects. It is likely to rise to €2 billion per annum by 2033. These are figures the Department is now producing in a report that will examine the implications of the congestion we have in the greater Dublin area. It is all the more important, therefore, that one of the regions adjacent to Dublin and beyond into the north west is provided with better infrastructural services and facilities.