The National Roads Authority (NRA) has said road schemes across the Republic may be delayed if the Minister for Transport, Mr Brennan, insists that the Dublin-Cork and Dublin-Galway motorways be fast-tracked without allowing the authority to raise another €2 billion, writes Tim O'Brien.
The authority said on Thursday that it wanted to raise €1 billion through new tolls and a similar amount through re- financing payments to publicprivate partnerships.
It warned that without the extra money it would not be in a position to complete or even "substantially complete" the motorways to Cork and Galway by 2008, as the Minister had requested.
But in response the Minister told the authority that it should prioritise the building of the Cork and Galway motorways out of its existing €7 billion, five-year budget, and he expected substantial completion by the end of 2007.
He also ruled out the NRA plan for a new toll on the Jack Lynch Tunnel in Cork and said he had not as yet come to a decision on others between Ashbourne, Co Meath, and the M50 and on the Newbridge bypass in Co Kildare.
The Minister and the chairman of the NRA, Mr Peter Malone, laughed off the impasse yesterday commenting that they were "good friends" as they attended the opening of the Glen O' the Downs dual carriageway in Co Wicklow.
But Mr Malone later admitted that using existing money to fast-track the Cork and Galway roads would leave the authority open to accusations that it would be diverting money from other regions.
Mr Malone said the NRA had made commitments to improving the road network in the BMW region, starting this year, and had others "from Donegal to Kilkenny".
The NRA corporate affairs spokesman, Mr Michael Egan, also said the authority was under pressure. The Minister's position left the authority in the "difficulty that we can't move in a number of different directions at one time".
Expanding on the difficulty, Mr Egan said commitments had also been made under a State deal with the Irish Farmers' Association not to delay deals where land had been reserved for road schemes.
The prioritisation of resources in the Dublin to Cork and Galway projects, however, could mean that when the authority bought the land it would have to hold it pending finance to develop it.
Mr Egan added that further difficulty arose for the authority as the validity of compulsory purchase orders could expire if the land was not utilised.
"The CPOs could lapse, and we're caught," he said, adding that the authority was under pressure from "plenty of other obligations".
Mr Egan said the NRA had identified €1 billion which could be saved by rearranging the public private partnership payments which would not cost the motorist anything in new tolls.
The other €1 billion had been identified by the NRA and the National Development Finance Agency as "a feasible financial solution" to the difficulty.