Dáil debates

Tuesday, 10 March 2015

3:05 pm

Photo of David StantonDavid Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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121. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if he will make additional funding available to the National Roads Authority to progress the planned upgrade of the Dunkettle interchange outside Cork city; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9986/15]

Photo of David StantonDavid Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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This question refers to the need to provide funding to upgrade the Dunkettle roundabout in Cork. I am sure the Minister knows that, thanks to the upturn in the economy, the traffic has increased dramatically and palpably and there are now long tailbacks on the interchange. One can now drive from Belfast to Dunkettle thanks to Newlands Cross, and this interchange is just as busy as Newlands Cross.

Some 90,000 vehicles a day pass through that interchange, which is the same number of vehicles that pass through the Newlands Cross junction. Therefore, it requires urgent attention.

3:15 pm

Photo of Paschal DonohoePaschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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As Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, I have responsibility for overall policy and funding in regard to the national roads programme. The planning, design and implementation of individual road projects is a matter for the National Roads Authority, NRA, under the Roads Acts 1993 to 2007 in conjunction with the local authorities concerned.

Ireland has just under 100,000 km of road in its network and the maintenance and improvement of national, regional and local roads places a substantial financial burden on local authorities and on the Exchequer. The national financial position has meant there have been very large reductions in Exchequer funding for roads over recent years. Funding in 2008 was €2.3 billion while funding this year is around €730 million for the national, regional and local road network.  For this reason it has not been possible to progress a range of worthwhile projects and the main focus has been to continue the maintenance and repair of roads together with a safety focused minor works programme.

Unfortunately, the financial realities are that the budgets proposed for my Department for 2016 and 2017 will continue to be very tight, limiting the scope for progressing additional new projects. I know, however, that it is important to restore capital funding over time for the transport sector to ensure that infrastructure is maintained and renewed to support economic development, but as of now the NRA continues to operate within a very constrained budget.

I appreciate the importance of this project. In the context of the proposed plan for Cork Harbour and Port currently being adjudicated on by An Bord Pleanála, this project is a piece of infrastructure that has a very valuable role to play in responding, in an integrated manner, to the needs of the Deputy's city and county. I appreciate the importance of the project but having regard to the current constraints under which I am operating I am not in a position to give the Deputy the commitment he wants.

Photo of David StantonDavid Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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I have three questions for the Minister. Can he indicate the up-to-the date cost of that project? He will be aware that it was approved by An Bord Pleanála in May 2013 and the compulsory purchase orders for the NRA to construct the new slip roads were also approved at that time. Can the Minister indicate the up-to-date figure for the number of vehicles passing though that interchange? The figure of 90,000 vehicles per day was reported as passing through it in May 2013 and I know from my experience that number has increased but I do not know the up-to-date number. Can the Minister make that number available? Can he indicate a timescale as to when this project might commence? Is it possible for the NRA as a State agency to borrow in its own right in the same way as Irish Water and other agencies can?

Photo of Paschal DonohoePaschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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The answer to the Deputy's first question is €90 million. Regarding the Deputy's second question, I understand that around 76,000 cars are either in the vicinity of that point or would use that interchange. Regarding his third point on timing, I am not in a position to give him that information because that requires a commitment from me about capital funding being available now and, regrettably, that funding is not currently available.

Regarding the ability of the National Roads Authority to borrow money, I will come back to the Deputy with a written confirmation in respect of the particular point he raised. In the context of what has happened in the past, I understand that the National Roads Authority has funded these through public private partnerships, PPP, and that could well be the approach taken for a project such as this one in terms of a bundled approach, if we were able to find a core of capital funding to move the PPP forward. That goes back to the key point I made, namely, that to do that, a core amount of capital funding would be required to fund the hub of a PPP and that funding needs to come from the Exchequer.

Photo of David StantonDavid Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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The NRA has advised that congestion costs the State money and costs computers much time and finance. Has a cost-benefit analysis been carried out of the cost to the State and to commuters of congestion at this interchange in Cork?

Finally, I am sure the Minister is aware of further job announcements today in Cork, and further growth in the harbour area and in the entire region, which is very welcome. Will he agree that it would be important now for the Government to prioritise this particular bottleneck, which is currently the only blockage, to ensure motorists could have a free run from Belfast to Macroom?

3:20 pm

Photo of Paschal DonohoePaschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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On the Deputy's first question as to whether I am aware of figures for the economic cost of the congestion at that point, I do not have such figures in my possession. I would be confident, however, that if there is such a study it would show that there is an economic cost to those levels of congestion, not to mention a social and personal cost for people in terms of spending so much time in traffic.

The Deputy's second question was whether I accept there is a need for this project. What we have done in terms of decisions we have made elsewhere, for example, Newlands Cross, is sought to fund projects that, when delivered in conjunction with transport infrastructure already in place, relieved congestion and made it more efficient for traffic to flow. As I said in my initial answer to the question, I understand this is an important project. I understand it would become even more important were the Cork Harbour project to move ahead, which is a decision An Bord Pleanála will make in terms of planning conditions it may impose with regard to it. However, I have to view all of those projects inside the fixed amount of capital I have available to me, although I hope that amount of capital will increase in the future.