Final part of M7 to open as dispute settled

THE FINAL section of the long-awaited M7 motorway from Dublin to Limerick is expected to be open before Christmas, the National Roads Authority (NRA) has said.

The NRA said it hopes to open the road by next Wednesday, weather permitting, following the resolution of a dispute which had left 40 workers without pay since November 1st.

The employees of KC Civil Engineering, a subcontractor on the €345 million project, had threatened to dig up parts of the 36km stretch of motorway between Nenagh and Borris-in-Ossory if they were not paid more than €200,000 owed to them.

The company said it had been unable to pay its workers because it had not been paid by the main contractor, Bowen Somague Joint Venture, which was in turn seeking payment of a conciliation award of €26 million from Laois County Council.

A spokesman for the NRA said a “framework” had been established which would allow the remaining contractual and financial issues to be resolved in an amicable way.

A spokeswoman for Bowen Somague said there had been “constructive discussions” and negotiations had progressed to the point where the money for the workers could be released as long as they returned to work. Only minor works remained outstanding and it was expected the work would be completed before Christmas.

David Byrne, a spokesman for the workers who this week blockaded the motorway, said they would be returning to work having received confirmation that the sums, which ranged from €5,000 to €6,000 per man would be paid.

The resolution of the dispute follows the intervention this week of Taoiseach Brian Cowen, in whose constituency the final section is located. Mr Cowen sought reports from the Department of Transport, Laois County Council and the contractors in relation to the dispute. The workers had appealed to Mr Cowen and Minister for Transport Noel Dempsey to intervene to resolve the dispute.

The M7 motorway scheme is the last element of the Government’s €18 billion plan to link regional cities to the capital.

The Government had initially planned to have all these major inter-urban motorways completed by 2006. This was amended to 2010 in the National Development Plan 2007-2013.