Liz McManus (Wicklow, Labour)
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Question 110: To ask the Minister for Transport the status of the long promised Leinster outer orbital route and the Dublin eastern bypass; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5814/09]

Noel Dempsey (Meath West, Fianna Fail)
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As the Deputy will be aware, as Minister for Transport, I have responsibility for overall policy and funding in respect of the national roads programme element of Transport 21. The implementation of individual national road projects, such as the Leinster Orbital Route or the Eastern Bypass, is a matter for the National Roads Authority (NRA) under the Roads Act 1993 in conjunction with the relevant local authorities.

Neither Transport 21 nor the National Development Plan provides any funding for a Leinster orbital Route or the Eastern Bypass to be constructed in the period to 2015.

It is clear that, in the current economic climate, further progress on projects such as the Leinster Orbital Route and the Dublin Easter Bypass will only be possible as and when resources become available. Both proposals remain important potential elements of our longer-term infrastructure development. My Department will continue to liaise with the National Roads Authority with a view to ensuring that route options are preserved free of impediment for these potential projects.