The prioritisation of major routes has meant a number of key road projects outside of the main Dublin routes may not be proceeding as quickly as local authorities would have expected, the National Roads Authority (NRA) has conceded.
The admission comes as a delegation from Co Kerry, led by the Mayor of Kerry, Ted Fitzgerald, meets with the NRA in Dublin today.
County engineer Tom Curran, who will form part of the delegation this morning, said it was his belief that the rush to finish major Dublin-oriented roads meant smaller schemes were falling by the wayside.
Mr Fitzgerald said a number of key projects in Kerry were now off the agenda, and have not been advanced by the NRA.
The design and route for the €16.8 million Tralee ring road had long been chosen and was to have advanced to compulsory purchase order stage last January but the project had stalled. There was also serious concern for the future of the €29 million Castle-island bypass on the N21/N23 linking Kerry with the upgraded route to Limerick. The compulsory purchase order for the bypass had been confirmed by Bord Pleanála but NRA approval for the further stages was needed.
He said other areas of priority were the Killarney bypass and additional funding for the county's main tourist routes, designated as national secondary routes.
NRA spokesman Sean O'Neill said the planning strategy to 2010 under Transport 21 was to prioritise five major inter-urban connections with Dublin, linking the capital with Belfast, Galway, Limerick, Cork and Waterford.
Funding for other projects was decided after consultation with local authority engineers, and these projects were receiving significant funding.
"We have to prioritise. We are achieving our goals in a highly-efficient way," Mr O'Neill said.