Abandoning stilts pleases Opposition

Opposition parties have welcomed indications that "hairbrained" plans to put Luas on stilts over the Red Cow roundabout look set to be scrapped.

Fine Gael's transport spokesman, Mr Denis Naughten, said taxpayers' money had been wasted on needless feasibility plans for an elevated Luas line that were never a feasible option in the first place.

"What if the Minister sanctioned his stilts proposals and the National Roads Authority came along and built an upgraded junction a few years later?

"Nobody seemed to know what was going on," he said.

Labour's transport spokeswoman, Ms Róisín Shortall, said she would welcome the construction of a spaghetti junction and said the Minister's stilts proposal was "hairbrained".

"It's a disaster of an interchange, it should never have been a roundabout and was due to penny pinching when the M50 was built. Work has to be be done at the Red Cow, irrespective of Luas," she said.

The AA's public affairs spokesman, Mr Conor Faughnan, said an upgrading of the Red Cow roundabout was essential, and called for the M50 to be widened urgently.