Fergal Browne (Fine Gael)

Carlow will, I hope, get to an all Ireland final.

In commenting on the national roads programme one cannot ignore the grim fact that some 1,500 people have lost their lives in road accidents over the past four years. There have been rumours of cutbacks in the expenditure of Departments, including a shortfall of €6.8 billion in the roads building programme. The Minister for Finance, Deputy McCreevy, is reported to have set his sights on the Department of Transport and, apparently, plans to cut the allocation of €1.5 billion for next year, even though this figure is already inadequate in the context of the huge rate of inflation in the construction sector. Any cutback would have a severe impact on the start of new projects and the completion of existing ones.

Can the Minister explain the reason for the high level of inflation in motorway construction? The budget for the national roads programme has increased from €4.97 billion to over €9 billion. This is a very worrying trend, especially since no new roads are being built. Twenty six projects have started this year while 21 have completed the statutory approval process and are still awaiting funding. Cutbacks have been mentioned in relation to the Dundalk western, Monaghan, Castleblaney and Cashel bypasses, the Castleisland to Abbeyfeale road and the Kinsale Road interchange. There is also great confusion in relation to funding for motorway projects, with mention of public-private partnerships and the possibility of the national pension reserve fund.

The Minister for Transport should set out realistic time-frames for projects. This has been done in relation to the Northern Ireland peace talks and should also apply to road projects. Instead of hugely ambitious overall road plans for the entire country, the Minister should concentrate on four or five major projects and, having completed them, move on to deal with other roads. Millions are being spent on designing roads which may never be built. This is a waste of taxpayer's money.