Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Sinn Fein)
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518. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport when the mid-term review of the capital programme will be completed; the manner in which priority road infrastructure projects for inclusion will be decided; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2843/18]

Shane Ross (Dublin Rathdown, Independent)
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The Capital Plan Review has concluded and I have announced the outcome of the Review. Overall an additional €486 million was secured for roads over the four-year period to 2021 bringing total roads investment for the period to €4.26 billion.

With this increased funding it will be possible to commence a number of additional roads projects - the Sligo Western distributor road, the Tralee northern relief road, the Killaloe bypass/R494 upgrade and the realignment of the R498 at Latteragh. The commencement of the main contract for the Coonagh to Knockalisheen Distributor road in Limerick will also be undertaken and will be critical to the consolidation and regeneration of the Moyross area. In relation to national roads, I have also confirmed that the construction of the Ardee Bypass can now start.

In addition a package of extra measures can now be implemented including the improved management of the M50 through the use of variable speed limits, reduced energy usage for route lighting, minor improvement works and community involvement programmes together with the assessment of potential future projects.

The overall framework of prioritisation of investment in land transport, including roads, was set out in my Department's Strategic Framework for Investment in Land Transport (SFILT), published in 2015. The first priority for future investment is the steady state maintenance of strategically important elements of the land transport system - the maintenance and renewal expenditure necessary to keep it in an adequate condition. The next investment priority is to address bottlenecks and congestion, to improve efficiency and sustainability of transport systems. Finally, targeted investments that: enhance the efficiency of the existing network; improve connections to key seaports and airports; in the case of roads, provide access to poorly served regions, for large-scale employment proposals, to complete missing links and to address critical safety issues; and support identified national and regional spatial planning priorities.