Shane Ross (Dublin Rathdown, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Senator for once again raising this issue, which he has been a pioneer of and on which he has been the leading mover in terms of seeing that this important project is progressed. He has been keeping the Department, Transport Infrastructure Ireland, TII, and the other bodies that are involved on their toes in monitoring it. It would be fair to say that he has to bear a heavy responsibility, in that he has been highly influential in keeping this on the agenda. That is not to say that I will give the large number of hostages to fortune for which he asked, but I assure him that I will give the project as much support as I can. As he knows, the Government is committed to it, partly due to his endeavours. The Taoiseach has taken a personal interest in it as well. There will be no obstruction that is not tackled. It is the intention that the project should be done on time. It is difficult to be explicit about the timetable, as the statutory requirements must be gone through, but there is a political will and economic need in the region for this to go ahead as quickly as possible.

I can help the Senator regarding his question on the Ryder Cup, if not some of the other more detailed promises that he tried to seduce me into making. He is aware that talks on the Ryder Cup are ongoing. I met the PGA European Tour in Paris. I also met it with the Taoiseach, which shows how seriously the matter is being taken. We are optimistic that, all things being equal and the financial arrangements being appropriate, we might be able to land the Ryder Cup for 2026. That would be a tremendous boost to the region. I take the Senator's point that, were the competition to go ahead, the road structure would have to be examined, given the numbers that would attend such a major event.

As the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, I have responsibility for overall policy on and funding of the national roads programme. Under the Roads Acts 1993 to 2015, the planning, design and construction of individual road projects is a matter for the TII in conjunction with the local authorities concerned. The national development plan, NDP, which has been developed by the Government to underpin the successful implementation of the new national planning framework, provides the strategic and financial framework for the TII's national roads programme from 2018 to 2027.

The proposed Cork-Limerick road link was included among a number of major national road schemes that were identified for development during the period of the NDP. In the ten years covered by the plan, more than €11 billion will be invested in the road network, and the M20 is a significant part of that investment. The proposed project seeks to link the cities of Cork and Limerick with a high-quality transport corridor. The existing route is deficient in terms of safety and capacity. Agreement has been reached between the Cork and Limerick local authorities for Limerick to be the lead authority on this project. Limerick City and County Council will need to assess all feasible options before a preferred route can be identified.

The scheme is being developed from phase 0, having previously been submitted for planning permission in 2010 and withdrawn in 2011 due to the financial crisis. In April of this year, I welcomed the publication of a contract notice on eTenders and the Official Journal of the European Unionfor the procurement of technical services for the planning and design of the M20 Cork-Limerick scheme.

The pre-appraisal plan has been prepared and reviewed. The procurement of technical advisers to bring the project from phase 1 to phase 4 of the project management guidelines is under way. It is hoped that the successful technical services provider will be appointed shortly.The provider will then assist Limerick City and County Council to undertake the planning and design of the scheme up to and including the statutory procedures. In summary, the pre-qualification documents for technical advisers were returned and have been assessed. Shortlisting is complete and I understand that the tender documents have issued. The delivery of large scale infrastructure projects is complex and costly and takes much time. The proposed project to develop the M20 motorway between Cork and Limerick is an example. The estimated total cost of the scheme is €900 million. Transport Infrastructure Ireland has provided an allocation of €1.5 million this year to Limerick City and County Council to advance planning and design work on the scheme.

As the Minister, I am of course keen to see projects included in the national development plan progressed as soon as possible. I am also mindful that schemes such as the M20 Cork to Limerick project do require necessary project approvals. In this context, the approval process includes compliance with the requirements of the public spending code and my Department's capital appraisal framework together with the submission of the scheme to An Bord Pleanála for development consent.

Finally, for a project of the scale and cost of the Limerick to Cork scheme, compliance with these codes and guidelines is mandatory. In addition, Government approval will be required to allow Limerick City and County Council to enter into a contract to construct the scheme. It is at an early stage of development and it is not possible, therefore, at this time to indicate an exact timeframe for construction of the project. That will, of course, be dependent on the satisfactory conclusion of the statutory planning approval process.