I propose to take Questions Nos. 52 and 56 together.
As announced at the time, the Government decided last October that the northern port access route should proceed on a priority basis, subject to: the route being constructed as a dual carriageway, mostly in tunnel, from the airport motorway at Whitehall to the North Port; the route being classified as a proposed national road, thereby placing its construction under the overall responsibility of the National Roads Authority; the implementation of the project being accompanied by traffic management measures, including tolling and a truck management system on the lines recommended in the DTI final report.
The precise arrangements for access to the new route will have to be carefully considered during the detailed design of the project, taking account of the recommendations of the DTI final report and the feasibility and environmental impact study of the proposed route prepared for Dublin Corporation. It is likely that the route will be constructed as a motorway which would require the preparation of a motorway scheme, the holding of a public local inquiry and the carrying out of an environmental impact assessment. Since I would have to act in a quasi-judicial capacity in deciding on a motorway scheme and environmental impact assessment, it would be inappropriate for me to comment further on the issue at this stage.
The Dublin Transportation Initiative was commissioned by the Government, with the support of the European Commission, to produce a long term transportation strategy, to 2011, for the greater Dublin area; prepare a mediumterm investment and implementation programme for the period 1994 to 1999, drawn from that strategy; and put in place a continuous transportation planning process.