Louth County Council is the statutory planning and road authority in its functional area. It is, therefore, a matter for Louth County Council to consider options regarding the development of the proposed Drogheda Northern Cross Route (PANCR) scheme.
It should be noted that there is a limited budget available for projects under the Regional and Local Road Strategic Grant Programme and that the implementation of a number of the larger NDP schemes which are now at construction stage will absorb much of the funding available in the period to 2025. It should be noted that, under the Public Spending Code, a Strategic Assessment Report (SAR) is required for all projects which are estimated to cost in excess of €10 million. To date no SAR report has been received by my Department from Louth County Council for this proposed project.