Colm Keaveney (Galway East, Labour)

The construction, improvement and maintenance of individual national roads, including the N18-N17 Gort to Tuam public private partnership scheme, are matters for the National Roads Authority under the Roads Acts 1993 and 2007 in conjunction with the local authorities affected. I understand the allocation of funding and the delegation of powers relating to the construction and maintenance of national roads is a matter for the NRA under section 19 of the Roads Act.

Despite that situation, I had the privilege of meeting the new Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Deputy Leo Varadkar, in the recent past regarding concerns at unhelpful commentary in the national media about the future viability of the Gort to Tuam bypass. I welcome the prompt action of the Minister whose office facilitated me with an up-to-date position on the project as a consequence of our discussions. The Minister has afforded considerable time and understanding to my concerns at the work-in-progress issues regarding the Tuam to Gort project. I acknowledge the Minister's capacity to identify with the concerns I shared with his Department and the concerns of the people of Galway and of the west. We welcome his support for investment in the Atlantic corridor which is critical to my region.

The Gort to Tuam scheme is being tendered by the National Roads Authority as a PPP. As such, we are reliant on private sector funding for the construction and for its operation. The contract for this critical infrastructure should have been awarded in 2010 and the construction should be under way as we speak. As a consequence of developments in the financial markets relating to the bank crisis and the need to establish the EU-IMF relationship regarding the nation's funding, however, the market perception of Irish sovereign risk has given rise to concerns on the part of the private investor. I hope next Monday's special sitting of the Dáil will go some way towards engendering confidence on the part of those investors that we are good players within Europe.

This project must progress at the earliest opportunity. The strategic importance of this section of the north-south corridor will be significant in laying the foundation for the economic recovery of the region. The sustainability and competitiveness of more than 400 firms that provide thousands of much needed jobs in the west and mid-west are highly dependent on this critical capital investment. It needs to take place without delay.

The programme for Government states that our economic recovery must be export-led. The west, Galway in particular, needs to have connectivity to its international markets to attract foreign direct investment and to retain the multinational employer base we currently enjoy. I need not further impress on the Minister the economic significance to the region of the Tuam to Gort bypass project and the positive impact this infrastructure would have on sustainable spatial planning.

I call on the Minister to keep the House updated on developments surrounding the progress of the funding aspects of the Gort to Tuam bypass and, in particular, to share any progress on the project with the county and city managers of Galway. In the very unlikely event of this much needed bypass being further delayed beyond any acceptable period, I would be grateful if the Minister would instruct the National Roads Authority to have in place an immediate plan to proceed with a bypass at Tuam as a stand-alone project.

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