Louth County Council is the statutory planning and road authority in its functional area. It is, therefore, a matter for Louth County Council to consider options regarding the development of the proposed Drogheda Northern Cross Route (PANCR) scheme.
It should be noted that there is a limited budget available for projects under the Regional and Local Road Strategic Grant Programme and that, under the Public Spending Code, a Strategic Assessment Report (SAR) is required for all projects which are estimated to cost in excess of €10 million. To date no SAR report has been received by my Department from Louth County Council in connection with further phases of the PANCR scheme.