Land for M50 section to cost taxpayers €300m

The land needed to finish construction of the M50 motorway in south Co Dublin is expected to cost the Irish taxpayer €300m, according to reports this morning.

Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council is believed to have already acquired €200m worth of land for the 10km stretch of road, which is not due for completion before 2005.

The link between Ballinteer and the Shankill/Bray bypass is likely to be the second most expensive road in the State, after the €100m-per-kilometre Dublin Port Tunnel.

Yesterday, the Supreme Court halted work on the project pending a determination on whether the ruins of Carrickmines Castle, which are on the route of the motorway, qualify as a national monument.