Madam, – In your report on the Minister for Transport’s plans for spending on roads (Home News, February 2nd), it is stated that “regional and local roads – which account for 94 per cent of the network – will attract grants amounting to €375 million from the exchequer in 2011”, representing a drop of some €232 million on the 2009 spend of €607 million.
In Home News, January 22nd you reported that the Taoiseach undertook, at the previous day’s meeting in Armagh of the North-South Ministerial Council, to provide €480 million for the widening – to dual-carriageway standard – of the road between Aughnacloy on the Monaghan-Tyrone border and Strabane and Derry. This is not a regional or local road, or even a national road, it is on the territory of our oil-rich neighbour. From the same neighbour we are to borrow this €480 million (and six billion more) at an interest rate of 6.5 per cent.
My personal observation, from having travelled several times along that road in recent years, is that Southern-registered vehicles are few and make up a negligible proportion of the traffic using the road, which in its existing state is adequate for its purpose, unlike many roads on this side of the Border which are being deprived of expenditure.
All of our political parties, Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael, Labour, Sinn Féin, even the Greens (Eamon Ryan was with Brian Cowen in Armagh), want this expensive, senseless scheme to proceed, albeit that Labour’s transport spokesman, Joe Costello, has expressed one or two reservations. Why is the matter of so little public concern? – Yours, etc,