Liz McManus (Wicklow, Labour)
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Question 60: To ask the Minister for Transport if he has received a report from the National Roads Authority on the proposed extension of the C-ring M50 into the eastern orbital outer ring road; his views on the development of this new road project and its proposed timeframe; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13674/09]

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 construction, improvement and maintenance of individual national roads is a matter for the National Roads Authority (NRA) under the Roads Act 1993 in conjunction with the relevant local authorities. In 2007, the NRA forwarded a report on the feasibility of the construction of a Dublin Eastern Bypass to my Department.

Neither Transport 21 nor the National Development Plan provides any funding for the project to be constructed in the period to 2015. The Government has already made it clear that, under Transport 21, its priorities for the national roads investment programme, after the completion of the major interurban network in 2010, will be the Atlantic Road Corridor as well as the improvement of other key national primary routes and the targeted improvement of certain national secondary routes. It is clear that in the current economic climate, further progress on long term projects, such as the Eastern Bypass, will only be possible as and when resources become available.

The Eastern Bypass proposal remains an important potential element of our longer-term infrastructure development. My Department will continue to liaise with the roads and planning authorities concerned to ensure that route options are preserved free of impediment for this potential project.