Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

​As Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, I have responsibility for overall policy and funding for the national roads programme.  The planning, design and implementation of individual road projects, including the M20, are matters for the National Roads Authority, NRA, under the Roads Acts. 1993 to 2007, in conjunction with the local authorities concerned.  Given the national financial position, there have been very large reductions in roads expenditure in the past few years.  The reality is that the available funds do not match the amount of work which could be undertaken.  For this reason, it has not been possible to progress a range of worthwhile projects and the main focus has had to be on the maintenance and repair of roads.

In 2011 my predecessor indicated to the NRA that it should withdraw its application to An Bord Pleanála for the M20 Cork to Limerick route. I understand the then Minister, Deputy Leo Varadkar, was concerned that proceeding any further with the scheme to build the M20 would have exposed the NRA to significant costs arising from a consequent requirement to purchase the compulsorily purchased land within a limited timeframe.  This would have had to be done without the reasonable prospect of proceeding to construction stage quickly.  Unfortunately, there is no escaping the reality that road budgets have reduced radically in recent years and will most likely remain tight for the next few years. Given the scale of this project, at an estimated cost in excess of €800 million, I am not in a position to review the decision​. I am, however, continuing to examine if there is any possibility of alleviating some of the bottlenecks on the existing N20, although this will only be possible if funding is made available for said projects. Furthermore, my continued preference is to use certain funds available to maintain the existing network, rather than build new roads that we would then have the responsibility to maintain into the future.

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