Shane Ross (Dublin Rathdown, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I will address the N2 Slane bypass and come back to the Deputy's question in a moment.

In December 2009, a proposal for an N2 bypass of Slane was submitted to An Bord Pleanála. In March 2012, An Bord Pleanála refused planning consent citing its concern that, having regard to the importance and sensitivity of the location, a bypass of the type proposed could only be considered where it had been demonstrated that no appropriate alternative was available. Following additional studies, Meath County Council concluded that traffic management options were not viable alternatives to a bypass and an N2 bypass for Slane village was still required. Technical advisers were procured in February 2017 to re-examine the need for a bypass from first principles and bring the scheme through to make a new application to An Bord Pleanála for statutory consent.

The scheme is contained both in the NTA's transport strategy for the greater Dublin area and Project Ireland 2040. An N2 bypass of Slane is required to alleviate traffic congestion in the village and to reduce the potential for serious vehicular accidents due to the steep approaches to the very narrow Slane bridge and the high commercial vehicle content in the traffic flow.

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