An average of €150 million was being spent every month on road construction, and for the first time the National Roads Authority had the freedom to plan ahead without being tied to the annual budget, the Minister for Transport, Mr Brennan, said yesterday, writes Anne Lucey in Farranfore.
The Minister was speaking at a sod-turning ceremony on a €14. 6 million upgrade of a 4km stretch of the Tralee-Killarney tourist corridor on the N22 at Farranfore, Co Kerry.
Since the agreement with the Department of Finance six months ago for multi-annual funding of roads to approximately €7 billion for the next five years, "rapid progress" was now being made in a country which now had more cars than houses, he said.
The road building was on a scale never before envisaged.
However, it was urgently needed. "There are 1.2 million households and two million cars," Mr Brennan said.
The money spent was primarily taxpayers' money, and there was "a clear responsibility on all involved to ensure it is managed properly and value for money is delivered".
He also indicated that he wanted to remain in the Department of Transport after the Cabinet reshuffle.
He had a huge volume of work to complete, and would love the opportunity to remain, Mr Brennan said.
The chief executive of the National Roads Authority, Mr Michael Tobin, said: "Completing this section of the N22 in 2006 will strengthen the tourism industry, and encourage further economic development of industry in the county."
The ceremony was presided over by acting mayor Mr John Brassil (FF) .
He said some 8,500 vehicles a day would be catered for, and the improvement would bring significant safety benefits to users.