Eamon Ryan (Dublin South, Green Party)

The Minister has my sympathy, having inherited the greatest mess in the history of transport, a mess which is not of his making. Last week we heard of the incredible waste of €20 billion expenditure on roads in terms of the building of 800 kilometres of motorway leading to this one road. I am sure the Minister will accept, as An Bord Pleanála and the Taoiseach have, that it will not work. Does the Minister's Department not have a role in deciding funding of the upgrading of the M50? Does it include an analysis on whether we should have an extension of tolling on the West Link toll bridge to pay for the second stage of the upgrade of the M50? Is the Department engaged in discussions and negotiations on the process and, if not, can we take it for granted that the NRA's position, which was presented to a committee of this House, that the road will not work means there will have to be different demand management measures, which An Bord Pleanála requires? Will this require a different tolling system on the M50 because everyone acknowledges that the current West Link toll facility has no demand management facility? If the Department is not engaged in that process, I presume the NRA's position is the one that will be advanced by Government. Has the Minister a view on the matter or when will his Department become involved? I understood that it was already involved.

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