Martin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)

Very considerable road investment is being made under the provisions of Transport 21 in the Border, midlands and western region, far surpassing previous levels of investment in national roads in the area. Spending in the region for the years 2000 to 2005 amounted to €1.581 billion. The most recent forecast for the final outturn figure for national roads investment in the region for the period from 2000 to 2006 is €2012.531 million, which is €534.96 million less than the amount originally envisaged.

At the start of the ESIOP, a relatively small number of major road projects in the BMW region had progressed through the planning, design and public procurement processes. The NRA provided grant assistance towards accelerating that work. As a result, there was an intensification of planning and design activity on major roads projects, resulting in a sharp upturn in the number of projects arriving at the construction stage, and a corresponding increase in the level of spending on national roads in the region since the beginning of 2004.

Construction work on several projects will continue after 2006. There is no question of an underspend or a loss of funding in respect of national roads in the BMW region. The position is that, at an early point after 2006, the total level of investment originally envisaged for the seven-year period from the start of 2000 to the end of 2006 will not only be reached but surpassed.

Of particular note in the BMW region is the development of the complete N6 route between Athlone and Galway to high-quality dual carriageway standard — effectively motorway standard, which I will designate it as in time. The 56 km Ballinasloe to Galway section, which will start construction next year, will be one of the largest schemes ever undertaken in Ireland. In addition, the Athlone to Ballinasloe scheme will commence construction the following year, 2008. When completed in 2010, the two schemes will effectively provide a motorway-quality east-west route linking Galway to Athlone and onwards to Dublin.

In tandem with the work on the N6 route, work is also ongoing to provide modern north-south linkages along the western seaboard. In particular, the key linkage between Limerick and Galway is well advanced. I look forward to opening the N18 section of the Ennis bypass this month, several months ahead of schedule. North of the Ennis bypass, the statutory documentation — compulsory purchase order and environmental impact statement — for the next two schemes, Gort to Crusheen and Oranmore to Gort, was published in 2006 and currently await approval from An Bord Pleanála.

Those two schemes will provide a total of approximately 50 km of high-quality dual carriageway. They will connect directly with the N6 Galway to Ballinasloe project, which is starting construction next year. In addition, to the south of Ennis, the Limerick tunnel scheme, connecting the N18 to the southern ring road around Limerick, is now under construction and will be completed in 2010. Those schemes, when completed, will provide, in conjunction with the Ennis bypass and the other completed schemes on the route, a high-quality and high-capacity dual carriageway connecting Limerick with Galway.

Investment in the above schemes represents close to €2 billion. In addition, many other schemes are being advanced throughout the region including the N55 Cavan bypass, the N15 from Ballyshannon to Bundoran, the N4 Edgeworthstown bypass, the N52 Mullingar bypass, and the N2 Monaghan bypass, which opened in 2006.

Other BMW schemes currently under construction include the N6 Kinnegad to Kilbeggan and Kilbeggan to Athlone schemes, with an estimated combined cost of over €500 million. Further schemes under construction in the BMW region include the N4 from Dromod to Rooskey; the N2 Castleblayney bypass; the N5 Charlestown bypass; the N52 from Mullingar to Belvedere; and the N56 from Mountaintop to Illistrim. Numerous other schemes are at varying stages of the planning process, including projects on the N5, N14, N15 and N26 routes.

I would also like to mention the western rail corridor.

Additional information not given on the floor of the House.

The exact road type to be constructed along any route is a function of predicted traffic levels. The NRA has yet to make a final determination of the road types to develop along various routes. However, it is already clear that significant sections of the Atlantic corridor will be developed to dual carriageway standard.

In addition to those road investments, I announced in September last the phased reopening of the western rail corridor from Ennis to Claremorris and the upgrade, for commuter services, of the Athenry to Galway line. Completion of the project will provide a rail link between the cities of Limerick and Galway, with an onward connection to Claremorris on the Dublin-Westport line. That new line will also facilitate the provision of inter-regional services in the BMW region.

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