The Republic's record on environmental protection was satisfactory, particularly in the light of €100 million spent on archaeology in the last decade, the Minister for Transport, Mr Cullen, said yesterday. Tim O'Brien reports.
He said a "huge, enormous store of information going back decades, aeons" had been discovered. Under the roads programme, archaeology uncovered is catalogued and "preserved by record", he said.
The Government's five-year, €10.2 billion investment programme for transport will leave the Department with just €400 million a year after spending on the roads programme. Mr Cullen acknowledged that about €7 billion of the money for 2004-2009 has already been promised to the National Roads Authority (NRA).
But he insisted that all other transport options, including Luas extensions, inter-regional highways and rail services, the airport metro and the Dublin rail interconnector, could be started with the remaining funding. Details would be announced early next year, possibly in January.
On the Luas interconnector in Dublin city, the Minister said he wanted "to come out with decisions quickly"; a second terminal at Dublin Airport was "extremely important", he added, in the light of mass transit. A decision would be made "as quickly as I can".