Shane Ross (Dublin Rathdown, Independent) | Oireachtas source

It is appropriate that she should raise them and I can refer them to the appropriate quarters.

I would like to explain that, as Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, I have responsibility for overall policy and funding in respect of the national roads programme. Under the Roads Acts 1993 to 2015, the planning, design and operation of individual roads is a matter for the relevant road authority in respect of local and regional roads or for Transport Infrastructure Ireland, TII, in conjunction with the local authorities concerned, in respect of national roads.

Within the overall context of Project Ireland 2040, the national development plan, NDP, has been developed by Government to underpin the successful implementation of the new national planning framework, NPF. This provides the strategic and financial framework for Tll's national roads programme for the period from 2018 to 2027. In the years covered by the plan, over €11 billion will be invested in the overall road network.

The NDP identifies two categories of national road improvement project. The first category covers projects to advance to construction, subject to the satisfactory outcome of the project appraisal and development consent approval processes. The second category relates to projects at pre-appraisal and early planning stage, which are being assessed with a view to developing a pipeline of suitable projects for development.

Both the N2 Ardee to Castleblayney and N2 Clontibret to the Border schemes fall into the second category of projects at pre-appraisal. Both schemes are located on a Trans-European Network, TEN-T, route. The schemes will improve the regional connectivity to the north west, which is a strategic priority of the national planning framework as part of Project Ireland 2040.

Both projects have had project appraisal plans submitted by TII and approved by my Department. I understand from Tll that technical advisers have been appointed to provide the engineering and consultancy services to develop the proposed schemes from inception to the preparation of compulsory purchase orders, an environmental impact assessment report and a business case in order to seek approval to proceed with making a planning application. The conclusion of this work will allow project requirements to be established and the financial commitment required to develop these major projects to be identified.

The study area identification for both projects has been completed and the non-statutory public consultation on constraints mapping was carried out in June 2019.

Route corridor options were published in October 2019 and, as the Deputy knows, public consultation is under way for both schemes. Feedback received through the public consultation process in the next stage of the planning and design process will be taken into consideration for each scheme. An emerging preferred route corridor will be identified in late 2020 and a further round of public consultation will take place before the preferred route corridor is finalised.

I am informed that TIl has provided an allocation of €1 million to Monaghan County Council this year for the progression of the N2 Ardee to Castleblayney scheme and a further €1 million to Monaghan County Council for the Clontibret to the Border scheme.

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