The outgoing chairman of the National Roads Authority (NRA), Mr Liam Connellan, has defended the authority's decision to build new motorways instead of improving existing roads.
Mr Connellan, who has been chairman of the authority for the past eight years, also said the "ramping up" of the authority's output and the selection of all the routes for the State's new roads were among the authority's most notable advancements.
Speaking to The Irish Times, Mr Connellan said the development of new motorways was vital for industry and tourism in the regions and the attainment of the Government's aim of more balanced regional development.
Commenting on high-profile opposition to the development of the motorway network, he said those who opposed the roads would always attract more publicity than those who remained quietly in favour.
However, he was convinced that the vast majority of people in the regions recognised the proposed motorways as a lifeline bringing economic development.
In relation to the argument that roads should be improved and towns bypassed rather than new roads built, Mr Connellan said this proposal would have been more expensive.
In relation to tolls, Mr Connellan said that while the new motorways would interface with existing national routes, they would be constructed in such as way as to allow those who did not want to pay a toll to travel on the old national routes.
On to the absence of motorways to the north-west, Mr Connellan said the traffic counts contained in the NRA studies had shown that not even dual-carriageways were justified.
Mr Connellan is retiring from the NRA to pursue his business interests. He is chairman of the utility companies Vivendi Water Operations Ireland and Dalkia Ltd. He is also the current president of the Institution of Engineers of Ireland.