The National Roads Authority has denied allegations that the Dublin Port Tunnel was unsafe when it opened in December 2006.
NRA chief executive Fred Barry yesterday told an Oireachtas transport committee that the tunnel had operated safely at all times.
This followed suggestions by Fine Gael transport spokesman Fergus O’Dowd that for the first 18 months of operation, the tunnel’s safety infrastructure was not up to standard.
Mr O’Dowd said two reports – from October 2007 and July 2008 – which he obtained under the Freedom of Information Act identified a series of safety problems.
Mr Barry said the reports identified deficiencies in some of the systems and recommended that the Scada safety system be replaced.
However, Mr Barry said he had signed statements from the authors of the reports, stating they had changed their opinion and that modification of the safety system would be sufficient.