2010 target date for completion of key routesto Dublin

Roads:The National Development Plan includes a commitment to complete the major roads between Dublin and the regional cities, and Dublin to the Border, by 2010.

Just 38 per cent of these roads were completed within the timeframe of the previous national development plan, although work is continuing on a large number of construction schemes.

In addition, the plan has identified key national primary routes between the regional cities which are to be completed by 2013.

Also to be included by 2013 is the so-called "Atlantic Corridor" in the west, which runs from Letterkenny through Tuam, Ennis, Limerick and Cork to Waterford.

The cost of these roads is estimated at just under €20 billion. Some €8 billion was spent on national primary and secondary roads in the plan which expired in 2006.

In addition, the National Roads Authority is to upgrade sections of a range of national secondary roads such as Dundalk-Kells; Tullamore-Enniscorthy and Sligo-Athlone.

Under the NRA's current priorities the major inter-urban roads are to be completed first, leaving the bulk of inter-regional roads to the period 2010-2013. Commenting on concerns that the new roads programme could be affected by construction industry inflation, as was the case with the previous roads programme, Minister for Finance Brian Cowen said "lessons have been learned".

He said that "the bulk of capital projects are now being delivered on or below budget and, in some instances, ahead of schedule".

He said spending on infrastructure would be subject to a robust value-for-money appraisal. Annual reports on spending and progress of projects against targets would be presented to the Houses of the Oireachtas.

Ibec director general Turlough O'Sullivan called for private- sector involvement in monitoring of the projects. He said the costs and benefits of each of the plan programmes should be "rigorously appraised" before they were embarked upon.

"This should be open and transparent so that genuine national interest will outweigh any local political pressures. There should be high-level private sector participation in monitoring projects," he said.

Independent TD Marian Harkin called for aspects of the plan such as the motorway programme to be "front-loaded" in the Border, midlands and western regions.

"The aspiration to achieve balanced regional development will be meaningless unless there is front-loaded delivery to areas with deficient and uncompetitive infrastructure," she said.