Dan Boyle (Cork South Central, Green Party)
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Question 126: To ask the Minister for Transport if all the estimated €936 million revenue gained by the State and its agencies between 2005 and 2020 from the West Link toll bridge will be used on the upgrade of the M50. [28445/05]

Martin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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The planning, design and implementation of national road improvement projects, including the M50 upgrade is a matter for the National Roads Authority, NRA, in conjunction with the relevant local authorities. I assume that the figure the Deputy is referring to is taken from a report prepared by DKM Economic Consultants for National Toll Roads published in July 2005, which, based on certain assumptions and projections, forecasts that the State's share of gross toll revenue from West Link will be €936 million over the period from 2006 to 2020. The present value, in 2005 prices, of this gross figure is quoted in the report as being just over €600 million. It should be noted that in addition to projected licence fee receipts based on tolls collected, this figure is inclusive of projected VAT, corporation tax and rates receipts.

I understand that the NRA proposes to fund the M50 upgrade works through the annual licence fee share of the West Link toll revenue to 2020 as well as toll revenues from West Link for a period after the expiry of the current concession in 2020. Tax revenues to the Exchequer and rates receipts by local authorities will not be earmarked in this way.