We thank the Chairman and committee members for the invitation to appear before the committee. We have been asked to respond to a number of questions and I will begin with the question raised by Deputy Timmins. He asked about the policy towards industrial development off the N11 and N81, in light of the fact that it appears that County Wicklow will become an industrial wasteland if the NRA persists with its current policy, which appears to place a requirement on those with proposals for employment development to upgrade the road network. The Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government states in its guidelines for planning authorities, "Spatial Planning & National Roads", that "Under these guidelines, planning authorities are required to implement the provision of the planning legislation in relation to the payment of financial contributions by developers towards the cost of providing public infrastructure ...". The guidelines and policy in question are issued by the Department and represent Government policy rather than NRA policy.
Deputy Costello asked about public private partnerships entered into by the NRA for motorway construction and the concessions agreed for the operation of motorways, including toll roads. The NRA has entered the following public private partnerships and agreed concessions for roads: the M1 Dundalk western bypass, the M3 Clonee to Kells, the M4 Kilcock to Kinnegad, the M6 Galway to Ballinasloe, the M7-M8 Portlaoise to Cullahill-Castletown, the N7 Limerick southern ring road phase 2, the M8 Fermoy bypass, the N25 Waterford city bypass, and the M50 upgrade phase 2. The Comptroller and Auditor General issued a report on the financial implications of these agreements in his annual report on the accounts of the public service for 2008, together with some concession detail which may be of interest.
Three other public private partnerships are at tender: the N11 Arklow to Rathnew, together with the N7 Newlands Cross junction, the M17-M18 Gort to Tuam, and the M11-N25 Enniscorthy and New Ross bypasses. As noted by the Government in the context of the four year plan, the construction of the Gort to Tuam and Arklow to Rathnew schemes is expected to start in 2011.
Deputy Costello also asked about the provision of motorway stops. National policy, as set out in the spatial planning for national roads guidelines mentioned previously, is that the introduction of long sections of motorways and dual carriageways warrant the provision of service areas for road users who wish to rest during longer journeys and-or to avail of fuel, toilet and food facilities. Committee members may recall passing an amendment to the Roads Act in 2007 which enabled the NRA to become directly involved in securing online service area facilities. Since then, planning approval has been received for the following online service areas: the M1 at Lusk, the M1 at Castlebellingham, the M4 at Kinnegad, the M6 at Athlone, the M8 at Cashel, the M9 at Kilcullen, and the M11 at Gorey. One further application, on the Cork to Limerick M20, is being considered by An Bord Pleanála at present, while an application to develop a service area at the junction of the M17-M18-M6 was rejected by An Bord Pleanála.
Service areas are open at three of the locations, two on the M1 and one on the M4 at Kinnegad. Construction of a service area on the M11 at Gorey is at tender, and, as committee members may have noted in the Government's four year plan, we are hoping to seek expressions of interest to develop the service stations at Athlone, Cashel, and Kilcullen. There are other potential sites that we will consider bringing forward depending on the level of interest shown in the sites already approved.
Deputy McHugh asked about the accountability of the NRA to elected representatives. Under the Roads Act, the NRA is subject to the direction of the Minister for Transport. The Minister appoints the chairman and members of the authority, makes annual grants of such amounts as may be sanctioned by the Minister for Finance and has powers to issue guidelines and direction in relation to any functions assigned to the NRA under the Roads Act.
Deputy McHugh also asked about the provision of turning lanes as safety provisions on NRA routes, including safety requirements on the N56. The NRA's design manual for roads and bridges sets out that the provision of a right-turning facility should always be considered where the minor road flow exceeds an average of 500 vehicles both ways each day over a year, a right turning collision problem is evident, or vehicles waiting on the major road to turn right inhibit the through flow and create a hazard. We carry out an annual review of the collision records collected by the Garda Síochána and the Road Safety Authority. It is also open to local authorities to bring to our attention a requirement for right-turning lanes if they are aware of a hazardous situation. Where there is a pattern of right-turning collisions, the local authority concerned examines the possibility of creating a right-turn lane to help solve this problem. This year, I understand that four right-turn lanes were provided, with the agreement of the authority, on the N56 at Ballynamore school, Drumbeagh, Faugher national school and Turris Hill.
Deputy McHugh also asked about safety auditing on NRA routes. Road safety audits are mandatory for any permanent change to the layout of a national road. The audits are carried out by suitably experienced, approved engineers who are independent of the scheme design team in accordance with the road safety audit standards which are part of the design manual for roads and bridges.
