Road project overruns - Overspends cost us all in the long run

BY any yardstick, the mind-boggling cost overruns on Ireland’s roads is scandalous and a telling indictment of government profligacy.

The outrageous scenario exposed on RTÉ’s Prime Time programme smacks of the banana republic image that hangs over many publicly funded projects in this country.

Aptly dubbed ‘the money pit’, the exposé found the average cost overrun for 30 road-building projects here came to a whopping 86%. However, according to an international study, this compares to an average cost overrun of 20% for road projects in 20 nations on five continents.