Political ReporterThe National Roads Authority has told the Government that it needs an increased budget allocation of at least €300 million next year to complete the roads programme in the National Development Plan in 2010.
In correspondence released yesterday, the authority also said that the tolling of new or existing routes could leverage €1 billion in additional funding for the roads programme before the end of 2006.
The authority said work on the plan would continue until 2014 at the current annual expenditure rate of €1.2 billion in State funding.
Additional State allocations would "improve this picture significantly", the authority said.
It also argued that early completion of the roads programme would allow funding to be released for investment in major infrastructure for public transport.
The authority said a further funding increase to €1.7 billion annually in the three years after 2004 would enable the completion of the major routes in the National Development Plan by 2008.
While only the least busy roads would not be completed until 2010 in that scenario, funding of €1.7 billion would be required in 2008 and 2009.
Completion of the programme in 2010 would be four years later than projected in the 1999 National Development Plan.
With delays in planning, constraints on capacity and construction inflation stalling progress, estimates for the cost of the entire initiative have increased substantially to €15.7 billion from €9.18 billion.
That increase is now under investigation by the Comptroller and Auditor General, Mr John Purcell. A report is expected shortly.
The increase has also been heavily criticised by Government and Opposition politicians, who have questioned how the cost of building a kilometre of road has doubled since 1999.
The latest figures from the authority emerged a day after the new Exchequer figures had indicated that the public finances remained under pressure, with tax revenue well below projections in the Budget last December.
With the Cabinet facing the toughest budget in a decade, Government Departments are already engaged in the campaign for funding in the Estimates round ahead next year's Budget.
Inflation has made the debate over the allocation for roads consistently difficult.
Last year the chairman of the authority, Mr Peter Malone, wrote to the Minister for Transport, Mr Brennan, stating that it was unable on the basis of the funds currently assigned to it to deliver the programme of work outlined in the National Development Plan.
With Mr Malone urgently seeking guidance on funding from Mr Brennan last year, the 2003 allocation was increased to €1.2 billion.
Records released yesterday by the National Roads Authority show that it moved in April to seek additional funds for 2004.
The authority said that an early indication that additional funding would be provided would enable it to plan to have the entire programme finished by 2010.
The head of corporate affairs at the authority, Mr Michael Egan, said it was satisfied that "an annual provision of €1.7 billion could be used from 2005 onwards, provided a commitment to such funding was received at an early date".
He added: "You will appreciate that the timing of a decision to increase funding will dictate the extent to which an additional provision above the currently anticipated €1.2 billion could be used in 2004."
