IKEA offers to fund speedier roadworks on M50

The Swedish furniture retailer IKEA has reportedly offered to pay the cost of speeding up roadworks on the M50 motorway in Dublin.

Yesterday, An Bord Pleanála approved the company's plans for a massive 30,000 square metre outlet in Ballymun, but said the store could not open until works on the nearby M50 interchange are complete.

Those works are not expected to be finished until 2010, but reports this morning say IKEA has offered to pay the cost of speeding up the project so it can open in September of next year.

The company is seeking a meeting with the National Roads Authority and Fingal County Council to discuss the situation.