Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I know the road well because I travel to County Kerry a lot because it is a very strong tourism county and part of the Department is located in Killarney. I regularly pass over the bridge in Macroom and have no doubt that the road needs to be built. For the information of Deputies, the cost benefit ratio for the Macroom to Ballyvourney road is +3 and the road to Dunkettle, +5, which, in both cases, is very favourable. Many road projects completed in the past were at +2 or +1. Therefore, the cost benefit ratio is very positive in this regard.

Deputy Michael Creed is correct as all of the land does not have to be purchased before the project goes to tender, but obviously it will have to be purchased before it goes to construction. The only difficulty I have with public private partnerships is as they involve the public and private sectors, it is not as straightforward as the Government tendering for someone to do the job and then giving the tender to the cheapest or best bidder. It involves putting together a set of funders, usually involving banks, pension funds and the European Investment Bank. Each of these funders has its own board and credit committee and each must have its own legal contracts, legal teams and guarantees. The first public private partnership in the transport sector which made it over the line since I became Minister was the one at Newlands Cross and also for the N11 project, which were bundled together. This took two years from the time it was decided to go with them to when we were able to turn the sod. There have been delays on the road project from Gort to Tuam, but I am still confident that it will start in the first quarter of next year. However, I cannot guarantee it.

With the NRA, we are exploring pursuing both projects as public private partnerships. Whether it makes sense to bundle them is another issue. It may or may not, but we will certainly explore it. I believe it is the best chance of pursuing them. The fact that they have full planning permission, unlike so many other road projects which did not obtain permission, and the fact that the land has been purchased means that they will be way up there after the next couple of projects which must go through. I would not like to make a promise of a time commitment because it is not in my hands and involves other players.

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