Phil Hogan
Ceist:128 Mr. Hogan asked the Minister for the Environment if it is the policy of his Department to give special priority for improvements to roads designated as Euroroutes.
Written Answers. - Designation of Roads as Euroroutes.
Phil Hogan
Ceist:129 Mr. Hogan asked the Minister for the Environment his views on whether the road from Galway to Rosslare via New Ross, County Wexford, is worthy of designation as a Euroroute.
Phil Hogan
Ceist:130 Mr. Hogan asked the Minister for the Environment if he will outline the guidelines for the designation of a road as a Euroroute.
I propose to answer Questions Nos. 128, 129 and 130 together.
The E-routes are designated in the 1975 European Agreement on Main International Traffic Arteries prepared under the auspices of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe. The network of E-routes is intended as a co-ordinated plan for the construction and development of roads of international importance and consists of a grid system of reference roads having a general north-south and west-east orientation together with intermediate roads, branch, link and connecting roads. The roads designated in the agreement are seen as part of an international network — the E01 for example runs from Larne via Dublin and Rosslare through Portugal and Spain, terminating at Seville and the E20 runs from Shannon to Leningrad. The agreement also sets down detailed technical standards to which E-routes should conform. A proposal to designate additional E-routes can only be made by a party to the agreement and requires the approval of a majority ot states who are parties to the agreement.
Designation of a road as an E-route does not accord it any special status in respect of EC Structural Fund assistance under the Community Support Framework for Ireland. The question of designating further E-routes for this purpose does not therefore arise.
Priorities for investment in national routes are determined on the basis of need and are not influenced by the classification or otherwise of a route as an E-route.