Michael Lowry (Tipperary North, Independent)
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Question 339: To ask the Minister for Transport the reason north Tipperary was excluded in major transport projects in the Transport 21 plan; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34791/05]

Martin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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I reject the implication that north Tipperary has been excluded from major projects contained in Transport 21. The position is that north Tipperary will gain significantly under Transport 21 as follows: completion of the N7 Dublin-Limerick motorway; the targeted improvement of the N52 from Dundalk to Nenagh, which is a key cross-country linking corridor identified by the national spatial strategy; the introduction of a service every hour on the Dublin to Cork rail line and every hour at peak and every two hours off-peak on the Dublin to Limerick rail line.

In addition, rural areas of the county can also expect to benefit from the upgrading of regional bus services and the decision to put the rural transport initiative on a permanent footing from 2007 and to significantly increase the cash funding for this successful and innovative programme.