'Blood on hands' warning if Slane motorway loses govt funding

There was a furious reaction in Slane this week to speculation that the proposed Slane bypass was one of 45 road projects which had been shelved by the government. However, local Minister Shane McEntee moved quickly to reassure the people of Slane that nothing had changed and that if the project gets the go ahead from An Bord Pleanala, land purchase will begin and the project will be brought to 'shovel ready' status. He said the Slane project was in the government's top five priority projects. However indications from the Department of Transport that no new works will begin until 2015 has angered local residents and Cllr Wayne Harding has warned the government that they will 'have blood on their hands' if the project does not go ahead when permission and land purchase is complete. Anger was widespread in the village, yesterday (Tuesday) at national media reports which said that Transport Minister Varadkar had called a halt to 45 road projects, one of which was the Slane bypass. Cllr Wayne Harding said that it had been agreed when the four year plan was put in place that Slane bypass would be included. He warned that if there was to be any changes to these proposals, the powers that be would have blood on their hands. "The last government and Minister Demopsey put money in to get it through the planning stage and there will be incredible anger in Slane if the current govermment shelve the proposals," he warned. John Ryle of the Slane Bridge Action Committee said the Slane bypass was a life and death issue, there had been many near escapes on the bridge in recent weeks and there had been at least 22 deaths on that stretch of road. "Lives are being put at risk. All these near misses will end in another fatality," he warned. Conor Brady of the Bypass Slane Campaign said they had been shocked and dismayed by the reports and stressed that Slane was one of the five key project earmarked to go ahead because of road safety issues. He said the existing road had appalling record. Ciaran Baxter, chairman of Slane Forum said there would be great anger in Slane if the project didn't go ahead, in light of commitments given by the coalition partners during the election campaign and he warned that they would be putting lives in danger if the project doesn't go ahead. Minister McEntee said he spoke yesterday with the Office of the Minister for Transport and it was confirmed that there was no change in the progress of the bypass. "This project is currently before 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." He said that Minister Varadkar's Department had confirmed three weeks ago that the Slane by-pass is among the 'top five' road projects to be completed by them, once planning approval has been received and the NRA has allocated €2 million to bring the project through to the next stages. A spokesperson for the Department of Transport said that based on the Four Year Plan, inherited from the previous government and agreed with the Troika, there will be no new roads projects commenced in 2012, 2013 and 2014. He said the Slane By-Pass project would be brought through An Bord Pleanala, land purchase would begin and the project would be brought to 'shovel ready' status. "Where new capital funds become available either through new tolling revenue or from the Capital Spending Review, this money will be used for small to mid-sized 'shovel ready' projects which have already completed the planning process and on which construction can happen quickly," he said. Senator Thomas Byrne said the Government parties had very specific promises to the people of Slane and were rowing back on these very quickly after assuming power. He asked Minister McEntee if making promises and then leaking news of cancellation to the media was disrespectful to families affected by Slane. He also asked how the lack of funds could be blamed when the Slane Bypass was one of a small number of projects specifically mentioned in the National Development Plan, which underpinned the EU/IMF arrangements. "If funds for the Slane Bypass are not available, how come Minister Varadkar on 20th July was in a position to announce €6 million funding from his Department for an N2/N3 link road in his Dublin West constituency?" he asked. Cllr Shane Cassells described the reports as a "devastating blow to the people of Slane. "The case has been made for this bypass in the lives that were lost - no more needs to be said and the government should continue with this project," he said.