Lobby group welcomes decision to suspend Slane bypass project

The Irish Times – Wednesday, August 10, 2011
By Fiona gartland

A GROUP which lobbied against the Slane bypass because of its impact on the Brú na Bóinne heritage site has welcomed a decision by Minister for Transport Leo Varadkar to suspend its development. Mr Varadkar recently said no new road projects were to start in 2012, 2013 and 2014 and only six projects already under way would be completed this year. The Minister has instructed the National Roads Authority to bring all road projects in planning to the end of their current planning stage and then suspend them with a view to reopening them in the future.

Only the N25 Cork SRR interchanges, the N3 Belturbet bypass, the N5 Longford bypass, the N22 Tralee bypass, the N4 Downs Grade Separation and the N52 Carrickbridge to Dalystown will go ahead this year. The Slane bypass had been the subject of an oral hearing and is currently under consideration by An Bord Pleanála. Local residents in Slane had lobbied for its construction because of the high level of road deaths on and around the town’s bridge. However heritage groups had expressed outrage at the choice of route for the bypass, which brought it close to Brú na Bóinne, a Unesco world heritage site.

Vincent Salafia, spokesman for Save Newgrange, said the group was relieved by confirmation that the Slane bypass was among the projects suspended.
“The county council’s own expert, along with numerous internationally renowned experts, advised against the proposed route because of the damage it would do to the world heritage site,” he said. He called on Meath County Council, the National Roads Authority and the Minister to work together to implement a HGV ban in the village.In a statement yesterday, the Department of Transport said it would be “reckless and irresponsible to spend €20-€30 million a year” to bring roads projects on to their next planning stage when there was no money to build them and they were “struggling to find adequate funds to maintain existing roads”. The same decision was taken for the Luas BXD, Metro North and Dart Underground projects on which €200 million had been spent.

[Write letters to lettersed@irishtimes.com calling for HGV ban]

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Fury as bypass put on hold despite grim toll of 22 deaths

Irish Independent – Wednesday August 10 2011
By Breda Heffernan, Elaine Keogh and Paddy Clancy

RESIDENTS are furious that plans for a bypass of Slane have been suspended despite 22 people having lost their lives on a horrific ‘bottleneck stretch of road’. The Irish Independent revealed yesterday that a €50m project to bypass the Co Meath village would be suspended for at least three years due to government cutbacks. The project is currently before An Bord Pleanala which is expected to deliver its ruling before the end of the year.

Concerned residents yesterday said it was “devastating” to abandon the project at this stage. Niamh O’Broin, a local mother of two young children, said safety and preventing deaths is the sole reason for the bypass. “When people talk about this bypass, it is not about how many minutes you can save on your journey from Dublin to Derry. It is synonymous with safety and saving lives, not shaving off minutes in the car.”

Dangerous

The road through the village is particularly dangerous as it has steep inclines on both sides of the River Boyne with a sharp turn on to the bridge in between. Ms O’Broin was involved in a serious accident in March 2009 when a heavy goods vehicle lost control on the top of the hill, causing a nine-car pile-up. “The problems in the village have not gone away despite the 30km speed limit,” she warned. Michele Power, a spokeswoman for the Slane Bridge Action Group, said it would be “devastating” to have the plans shelved, adding, “it would be pennywise and pound foolish with people’s lives”.

Fianna Fail councillor Wayne Harding said it was extraordinary that local Fine Gael TD and Minister of State for Agriculture Shane McEntee, had joined residents on numerous marches demanding a bypass, yet was now part of an administration calling a halt to the project. “If this administration shelves this project, there is every possibility they will end up with blood on their hands,” he warned.

However, Mr McEntee yesterday insisted there was “no change” in the position of the proposed bypass. In a statement, Mr McEntee said the bypass would still be brought through An Bord Pleanala and, if approved, lands would be bought, bringing the project to “shovel ready” status. However, he failed to mention that the project would then be suspended along with dozens of others until funds become available, something Transport Minister Leo Varadkar has already confirmed. Based on current plans, no new road projects will be started between 2012 and 2014. The Slane bypass, a 3.5km stretch of dual carriageway, is estimated to cost up to €50m.

- Breda Heffernan, Elaine Keogh and Paddy Clancy

[Write to independent.letters@unison.independent.ie]

Statement by Shane MacEntee

‘There is absolutely no change in the position regarding a road bypass for Slane, in county Meath’, Shane McEntee TD has said. He continued: ‘I spoke this morning to the Office of the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport and I have confirmed with them that there is no change in the progress of the bypass.   This project is currently before An Bord Pleanala.  It will be brought through An Bord Pleanala.  If they approve it, there will be a requirement to start purchasing the necessary land within 18 months of approval being granted for a scheme.  I have been assured that the project will be brought through the land purchase stage as well. This will bring the project to ‘shovel ready’ status’.

Shane McEntee also said: ‘Only three weeks ago Leo Varadkar’s Department met the National Roads Authority and confirmed to them that the Slane by-pass is among the ‘top five’ priority road projects to be completed by them, once planning approval has been received.   The NRA has allocated €2 million to bring the project through to the next stages.   These are the facts in relation to the bypass, contrary to the inaccurate report in today’s ‘Irish Independent’ and the opportunistic statement issued by Senator Thomas Byrne based on that report.’

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‘˜Cancellation of Slane Bypass Welcomed – HGV Ban Requested’

The announcement today, that the Minister for Transport, Leo Varadkar, has ordered the National Roads Authority (NRA) to halt plans for the Slane Bypass, and 44 other new roads, is welcomed by Save Newgrange.

The group formed in 2009 after it was announced that the preferred route for the dual carriageway bypass was to run within 500m of the Brú na Bóinne UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Speaking to RTÉ Radio One’s Drivetime show this afternoon, Mr Vincent Salafia, a spokesman for Save Newgrange said:

“This proposal has been described as ‘idiotic’ and ‘gold-plated’ infrastructure by Dr Edgar Morgenroth of the ESRI.”

“The County Council’s own expert, along with numerous internationally renowned experts, advised against the proposed route, because of the damage it would do to the World Heritage Site.

“We are calling on Meath County Council, the NRA and the Minister to work together to implement the HGV ban that was passed by Meath County Councillors, in 2009, in order to stop the toll-dodging HGVs and protect the village residents.

“We see this as an opportunity to go back and design a cost-efficient and sustainable, long-term solution that will protect both the residents, and the heritage of Slane. We will be happy to work closely with the authorities to that end.

ENDS

Contact: Vincent Salafia 087-132-3365

MEATH COUNTY Council has been accused of ignoring the magnitude of the findings of an international expert who says the Slane bypass could threaten the status of Brú na Bóinne as a Unesco world heritage site. Dr Douglas Comer had also said the proposed road breaches the council’s own development plan, which says development must protect the amenity, views and landscape of the monuments in the world heritage site which includes Newgrange, Knowth and Dowth. At the public hearing into the plans for the Slane bypass, Colm Mac Eochaidh SC, for former attorney general John Rogers who lives near the buffer zone for the world heritage site, asked whether they would be told if Dr Comer’s report constituted “significant further information” and as such it should be advertised to the public.

Dr Comer said the landscape’s heritage value was “as high as it gets” and the building of a road at or near a world heritage site was “the most problematic of all possible developments”. Of the effects of the proposed bypass, “none can be viewed as non-significant”.  The council is seeking permission from the planning board to build a 3.5km dual carriageway at a cost of €46 million. It retained Dr Comer on advice from An Bord Pleanála to assess independently the heritage impact on the site of the proposed road. He had advised the hearing that “almost certainly,” there would be a visit by experts from Unesco asking about gaps in information on the proposed road. The three likely outcomes of that process included being de-listed as a world heritage site. He said “nowhere else in the world” had the monuments and continuity of settlement that was found at Brú na Bóinne.

Dr Comer also said he could not find any study on the implications of simply banning heavy goods vehicles from the village – proposed nearly two years ago – or a study on other alternatives to building the bypass. He added that the Boyne bridge on the M1 motorway was “without a doubt incompatible” with the landscape that led to Brú na Bóinne being inscribed by Unesco.

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Traffic blamed for partial collapse of Slane bridge

The Irish Times - 15 February 2011

CONSTANT HEAVY traffic on Slane bridge appears to have been why it partially collapsed last month, an oral hearing by An Bord Pleanála into a proposed bypass of Slane village heard yesterday.  At the time, Meath County Council said the collapse of a stone wall on the western facade of the bridge was due to icy weather.  However, yesterday Seamus Mac Gearailt of Roughan O’Donovan engineers, which oversaw the selection of the bypass route on behalf of the council, said “it appears to have been due to heavy traffic loading over years”.

The council is seeking permission from the planning board to build a 3.5km dual-carriageway at a cost of €46 million to the east of the village. The route will take it some 500m from the buffer zone to Brú na Bóinne, a Unesco world heritage site that includes Newgrange, Knowth and Dowth.  Mr Mac Gearailt also told the hearing, chaired by planning inspector Michael Walsh, that it was not just Slane bridge that posed risks to traffic but all of the road layout through the village.  The N2 has steep hills on both approaches to Slane bridge and it also intersects with the main Drogheda to Navan road in the middle of the village.

Mr Mac Gearailt said Slane had the “longest and most severe descent on any national primary route”.  As a result, “vehicles have considerable difficulty in braking safely – overheating can lead to brake failure at a critical point”, he told the hearing.  Between 1996 and last year there were 40 incidents in Slane, of which 35 per cent involved trucks. The steep gradient is the key factor, the hearing heard.

At the moment, some 17,700 vehicles pass through the village each day; after the bypass, the number of vehicles will drop by a third. The number crossing Slane bridge daily will reduce by 7,700.  Mr Walsh said it was not proposed to build a bypass to the west of Slane, although it had been desirable to “tease out” what a route to the west would look like and this took place last year.  At the start of the hearing it was put to Mr Walsh that the environmental impact statement submitted by the council could be deficient and inadequate. Mr Walsh said the board “has not decided yet whether it is adequate or not. I haven’t either”.

He was speaking after Colm Mac hEochaidh SC, for former attorney general John Rogers, who lives in the area, said the recommendation by the board to the council to retain an expert on the impact of the scheme on Brú na Bóinne, including Newgrange, implied that the environmental impact statement submitted needed “a fix”.  He said it appeared the statement could be deficient “in that it does not address the impact on the world heritage site”, and if that were the situation then An Bord Pleanála had no jurisdiction to hold the oral hearing.  He put it to Mr Walsh that the first thing the board must do is decide on whether it had a lawful environmental impact statement.

The hearing also heard that the flight paths of bats in the Boyne valley were taken into consideration in selecting the height of the bridge that would carry the road across the Boyne.  It was decided that a three-span, steel-concrete composite 200m bridge that was 21m above the valley floor would be the preferred design.  Mr Mac Gearailt said the bridge design “respects its surroundings” and “we recognise it is an intrusion but leaves no stone unturned in trying to blend into its environment”.

Welcome for public hearings into plans for Dublin-Derry road

FRANK McDONALD, Environment Editor
The Irish Times – 14 January 2011

OPPONENTS OF plans for a new road between Dublin and Derry have welcomed a decision by the Oireachtas transport committee to hold public hearings next month. The proposed route would be Ireland’s longest new road, replacing much of the N2 in the Republic and the A5 in Northern Ireland. It would be part-financed by €500 million which the Government agreed to provide under the 2006 St Andrews Agreement.

The Oireachtas hearings were requested by Joe Costello TD, Labour’s transport spokesman, after he met a coalition of anti-motorway and pro-heritage groups from both sides of the Border in Leinster House this week. Mr Costello told the delegation that Labour would draft a new national development plan if it entered government and every current infrastructure project would be reviewed, “no matter what stage of planning it is at”.

While refusing to be drawn on the N2-A5 given divided views on it in his own party, Mr Costello said the €500 million commitment would be the single biggest drawdown on transport spending in the coming years. Public consultation is under way on three sections of the route – the Slane bypass, the Monaghan bypass and the A5 in the North – which are being opposed by Save Newgrange, Don’t Bypass the Bypass and the Alternative A5 Alliance respectively.

“No cost-benefit analysis has been performed on the proposed road and traffic numbers do not justify building a new road rather than upgrading the existing one,” said Lynne Smyth of the Alternative A5 Alliance. John Dunbar, the group’s chairman, said Sinn Féin and DUP Ministers, as well as those from the Ulster Unionist Party and the SDLP, along with Taoiseach Brian Cowen, “have been saying quite matter of factly that the A5 is a ‘done deal’ and that is that”. He said Mr Costello’s comments that any new administration in the Republic “would need to look again at taking a half a billion out of the Southern economy at a time of a national economic emergency puts paid to that notion”.

Save Newgrange spokesman Vincent Salafia said leading archaeologists had made submissions to An Bord Pleanála against the Slane bypass route, arguing that it would be too close to Brú na Bóinne. He said the obvious solution to traffic problems in Slane would be to ban trucks, as agreed by Meath County Council in 2009, which would force them to use the M1.

Noel Murphy of the Don’t Bypass the Bypass campaign said Economic and Social Research Institute transport economist Dr Edgar Morgenroth had characterised the proposal to build a motorway east of the new Monaghan bypass as “total overkill”.

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4NI News – 09 December 2010

Although contractors have already been signed up, political developments have cast doubt on a promise made by the Dáil Government to give £400m (€500m) to the Stormont Executive to upgrade the A5/M2, Dublin to Londonderry Road as part of an £850m scheme.  Those groups in NI who oppose the huge Strabane to Derry upgrade on environmental and cost grounds may therefore have been handed an early Christmas present.

Last summer, protestors against the dualling of the A5 road from Aughnacloy to Londonderry even ‘set up camp’ along the route and said the environmental impact far outweighed any shortened journey time. Most of the N2 to N14 upgrade from Monahan to Letterkenny lies within NI, but news from the Irish Republic’s Labour Party may mean that after an anticipated change of government in Dublin, money earmarked by Brian Cowen’s current ruling coalition may be running out of road.

The original promise was made at the time of the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement, and has since been renewed by Mr Cowen’s Minister for Transport, Noel Dempsey.
Ironically, as the public consultation and Environmental Statement for the A5 dual carriageway, to be built from the N2/Border to Derry, and on to Letterkenny was published, Labour’s Transport Spokesman, Joe Costello, said: “Ireland is in the worst recession in the history of the State.

“Spending one billion euro on a new road from Dublin to Derry including a €500 million spend in Northern Ireland will certainly not be a priority for the Labour Party while essentials such as health and education are being savagely cut. “The Labour Party has made it clear that we will be revisiting the National Development Plan and Transport 21 in the context of the present state of the public finances. A realistic cost benefit analysis will be applied to every project,” he said.

Should Labour form a substantial part of any new Dáil administration in 2011 after the coming elections, Mr Costello said: “We are no longer in a position to fund the road in the South, so how could we fund the northern section?” Now, experts are predicting that if the Republic fails to deliver the €500m then the Stormont Executive could only proceed if all other road works in NI are halted for five years and therefore may be forced instead to settle for a partial redevelopment, or to defer the contract. That’s despite contractors being appointed already and land having been identified for vesting to make way for the work to begin next year for an estimated completion in 2015.

The NI A5 protestors are not alone in the pre-festive boost either as the Irish Republic’s Save Newgrange group has also been campaigning for years against possible damage to ancient heritage sites.  A spokeswoman said: “We welcome Labour’s response to the pre-budgetary survey and their promise to perform a new cost/benefit analysis on the Slane bypass and the A5 upgrade.  “We will be updating our EU Complaint, on the basis that there should have been cross-border public consultation for both ends of this single ‘transboundary project’.

‘Minister Dempsey Must Clarify N2 Slane Bypass Funding’

Save Newgrange is calling on Minister for Transport, Noel Dempsey, (Fianna Fail) to clarify whether or not there is funding for the N2 Slane bypass in the Four Year Budget plan, after a dispute broke out on LMFM Radio this morning between Thomas Byrne TD (Fianna Fail) and Vincent Salafia of Save Newgrange. On the Michael Reade show, Mr Byrne claimed that the bypass is going ahead after Mr Reade quoted an Irish Independent article by Paul Melia, on 25 November, which stated that it is not going ahead.

After the show, Save Newgrange contacted Mr Melia, who confirmed that he had been at a Department of Transport media briefing on on the budgetary four year plan for Transport 21, on 24 Nov, and that is was specifically announced that there was no funding for the Slane bypass. Save Newgrange has called for the An Bord Pleanala planning process, which will involve a lengthy and costly oral hearing to be held in early 2011, to be cancelled.

Speaking after the radio show, Mr Salafia said:

“Minister Dempsey must clarify the situation, and state categorically whether or not there is funding for the Slane bypass, in the four year budgetary plan.

“If there is no funding for the plan, in the next four years, then the planning process must be halted immediately.

“It is outrageous that the public and An Bord Pleanala are expected to spend enormous amounts of time and money on a planning process for a project that apparently is not proceeding.

ENDS

Contact – Vincent Salafia 087-132-3365

‘Shelving of N2 Slane Bypass Welcomed by Campaigners’

Save Newgrange welcomes the shelving of the N2 Slane bypass, and is calling for the An Bord Pleanala planning process to be cancelled. The N2 Slane bypass was not included in the Four Year Budget Plan, released on Wednesday, 24 November. However, An Bord Pleanala has since indicated that it is proceeding with an oral hearing, as part of the planning process.  An Bord Pleanala has stated that the proposed oral hearing will take place some time early in the New Year; probably “next February”. However, if planning permission is granted, after the hearing, it will be over four years before construction can begin. This will mean that planning permission will be out of date.

The upgrading of the N2 Ashbournce to Ardee section of the N2 has already been shelved, so it doesn’t make any sense to continue with this section in the middle as a stand-alone 3.5km dual carriageway. Over 100 objections have been filed against the bypass, including evidence from leading archaeologist, Professor George Eogan, that the proposed route will result in the loss of World Heritage statue for Newgrange (Bru na Boinne).  Evidence that ESRI economist Dr Edgar Morgenroth has deemed the bypass an “idiotic” waste of taxpayers money has also been submitted to the board.

Vincent Salafia of Save Newgrange said:

“There is no point in proceeding with a lengthy and expensive planning hearing if there is no money to build the road.  It is outrageous that we will be forced to spend time and money attending a lengthy oral hearing, with expert witnesses, if all of the data being used will be out of date in four years.  We are calling on the Minister for Finance, Brian Lenihan, and the Minister for Transport, Noel Dempsey, to immediately reign in the NRA and Meath County Council, and end this farce.

ENDS

ROADS

Irish Independent – Four year budget plan special feature
29 November 2010 – By Paul Melia

MOTORISTS can expect to drive on poorer roads because of massive spending cuts.
And no new projects will go ahead during the lifetime of the four-year recovery plan, unless new sources of funding are identified. New tolls, hikes in motor tax and private investment will be needed to improve thousands of kilometres of dangerous roads, which will not be upgraded in the coming years.

And in another blow to road safety, the Road Safety Authority (RSA) has been ordered to make cuts of 5 million in its budget – or introduce higher driving test fees and other charges. The move comes because of the Department of Transport has had more than 500m taken from its budget up to 2014.

Just four projects will go ahead in 2011 – the Belturbet, N5 Longford and Tralee bypasses, and the Cork Southern Ring Road. Two public private partnership projects are expected to go ahead – the N11 Arklow Rathew/Newlands Cross upgrade, and the M17/18 Gort-Tuam Road.

Shelved

But there will be no major schemes starting in 2012 or 2013. This means the N5 Ballaghadreen bypass, N4 Downes upgrade, N2 Slane bypass, N22 Macroom to Ballycourney, N8/N25 Dunkettle roundabout, and Enniscorthy/New Ross bypasses are shelved. Road Maintenance budgets will fall by 9 million next year – with deeper cuts expected up to 2014.

Some 360 million is needed to repay the costs of building our motorway network.
But the cancelled motorway service areas could yet go ahead: money has been set aside to buy land beside busy motorways, and the private sector will be asked to build the facilities.
Already in place on the M1 and M4, more than a dozen were planned across the State but cancelled because of cutbacks.

In a separate move, commuters could face higher bus and rail fares unless public transport companies cut their costs. Subsidies to Bus Eireann and Dublin Bus will be cut by 10 million next year. Subsidies to the regional airports are also being phased out. Some 5.5 million will be cut next year, in a hugely significant move for smaller airports.
The EU says airports within a three-and-a-half hour journey by road and rail from the capital cannot qualify for subsidies. The State currently spends 15 million subsidising the cost of flights and helping to meet day-to-day running costs.

SAVE NEWGRANGE – PRESS RELEASE – 18 November 2010

“Funding NI A5 Upgrade and Slane Bypass not a Priority for Labour Party”

The Labour Party has cast doubt over whether it will keep the promise made by the current Government to give £400 (€500m) to the Northern Ireland Executive to upgrade the A5/M2, Dublin to Derry Road, which also includes the Slane bypass. The promise was made at the time of the Belfast Agreement, and has been renewed by Minister for Transport, Noel Dempsey.

Public consultation on what would be the biggest road ever built in Northern Ireland began yesterday with the publication of the Environmental Statement for the A5 dual carriageway, to be built from the N2/Border to Derry, and on to Letterkenny. The deadline for public comment closes 21 January 2011.

Labour Transport Spokesman, Joe Costello, TD, responded yesterday to a pre-Budgetary survey by Save Newgrange, saying:

“Ireland is in the worst recession in the history of the State. Spending one billion euro on a new road from Dublin to Derry including a €400 million spend in Northern Ireland will certainly not be a priority for the Labour Party while essentials such as health and education are being savagely cut.

“The Labour Party has made it clear that we will be revisiting the National Development Plan and Transport 21 in the context of the present state of the public finances. A realistic cost benefit analysis will be applied to every project.

“Moreover we are reviewing the entire Transport policy with a new emphasis on urban and rural public transport.

Tom Elliot, Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) leader, yesterday told The Belfast Telegraph:

“It would seem from the latest communiqué of the North-South Ministerial Council that ministers have agreed a payment schedule for the project, but I still consider that this amount of money would be better spent on other important projects in the health and education sectors.

“I share the views of many of the people on both sides of the border that the project should be scaled down to a more modest version — this could be achieved at a fraction of the cost.”

Vincent Salafia of Save Newgrange said:

“We welcome Labour’s response to the pres-budgetary survey and their promise to perform a new cost/benefit analysis on the Slane bypass and the A5 upgrade.

“We will be updating our EU Complaint, on the basis that there should have been cross-border public consultation for both ends of this single ‘transboundary project’.

“It is very telling that the Green Party and Fine Gael both declined to respond to the pre-budgetary survey.

ENDS

NOTE TO EDITORS: A pre-budgetary survey was sent to all of the political parties on Thursday, 11 November, and responses were to be returned by 5.00pm yesterday, 17 November. The Labour Party was the only party to respond. The complete survey is available at www.savenewgrange.org.

MORE INFORMATION:

A5 Western Transport Corridor – Environmental Statement

Belfast Telegraph: It’s time to scale back £844m road, urges UUP leader

Survey finds ancient earthworks near Slane bypass route

Meath Chronicle – Wednesday, 13th October, 2010 4:52pm – Profile by Ann Casey

An archaeological survey commissioned by former Attorney General John Rogers, SC, as part of his objection to an N2 bypass running east of Slane has found a previously unrecorded “impressively large earthwork”, believed to be part of the outer defences of an early medieval royal stronghold at Knowth. The survey, carried out by archaeologists Joe Fenwick, Gerard Dowling and Roseanne Schot of the Brú na Bóinne Research Project, has been submitted to An Bórd Pleanála as additional information as part of its consideration of plans for the proposed bypass.

The earthwork was said to have been found at Crewbane, near the home of Mr Rogers. It was prompted by the discovery in 2007 of a souterrain in Crewbane, at the perimiter of ther Brú na Bóinne UNESCO work heritage site ‘buffer zone’ 2km east of Slane village and 1km from the prehistoric passage tomb of Knowth. The archaeologists said that “this impressively large earthwork” is not recorded in the Sites and Monuments Record for County Meath.

“It is apparent that the Crewbane souterrain is not an isolated archaeological monument in the landscape, but one element in a complex of archaeological features situated on and around this prominent ridge overlooking the river Boyne. These include a second and possibly third potential souterrain, a substantial linear embankment, a circular enclosure (of) 40m in diameter (a possible ring fort), a relict field system and associated open settlement of possible medieval or early modern date,” they reported.

Mr Fenwick has suggested that the “only realistic option” for the traffic problem in Slane was to ban heavy goods vehicles entirely from the village and provide an east-west corridor to the north of Slane, to redirect this traffic towards “the new and under-utilised” M1 and M3 motorways. The consultations with An Bórd Pleanála end this Friday.

Meanwhile, the Save Newgrange campaign has brought its fight against the proposed Slane bypass to the North-South Ministerial Council. The group has complained to An Bord Pleanala and the North-South Ministerial Council that the public consultation process for the bypass is in breach of the Belfast Agreement, because the consultation does not extend to Northern Ireland. They say that the road proposal is in breach of EU environmental law, which provides for transboundary consultation, where the project is of a transboundary nature.

Spokesman Vincent Salafia said that the N2 Slane Bypass was part of the plan to link the A5/M2 motorway between Dublin and Derry, which is being funded as part of the Belfast Agreement. Minister for Transport, Noel Dempsey, has committed €500,000 to the Northern Ireland authorities for construction of the A5 and other roads under the agreement.