The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has sought detailed cost information about the change in the proposed route of a new dual carriageway to avoid land owned by a subsidiary of Irish multinational, CRH.
Just over 12 months ago, the National Roads Authority (NRA) announced the original preferred route was being changed to avoid a potential quarry and mine owned by Roadstone Provinces Ltd near Bennetsbridge, just south of Kilkenny city, because of compensation concerns.
The land contains dolomite, a limestone-based mineral, used to line furnaces in the fertiliser industry and other limestone deposits, close to an existing quarry.
It was decided to move the proposed section of the new road, the N9 between Kilcullen and Waterford, 500 metres further south and closer to Bennetsbridge, to avoid the mine, along with a disused local authority landfill.
Last month, the PAC wrote to the chief executive of the NRA, Mr Michael Tobin, to ask whether any cost-benefit analysis was carried out on the possible routes, and for those figures to be made available to the committee.
The authority, however, has questioned why the committee is investigating the proposed redesign, and said it was being done to avoid a potential additional €40 million in total costs.
Yesterday, local Kilkenny Fianna Fáil TD and deputy chairman of the PAC Mr John McGuinness said the committee had taken the unprecedented move of seeking information on money "not yet spent" because of genuine concerns of local people and politicians in Bennetsbridge about the rerouting.
"The new route will mean a much larger bridge which will be very visible from Bennetsbridge, which is a very scenic part of Co Kilkenny," he said.
According to Mr McGuinness, there is considerable frustration about the lack of information available about the route change.
He said the NRA and Kilkenny County Council had carried out no independent testing to establish the levels of dolomite and to ascertain whether the claims about compensation levels were accurate. Tests on some bore holes had suggested the levels of the mineral were very small, he said.
The NRA, however, has rejected this. Mr Michael Egan, spokesman for the authority, said the initial decision was taken after the Department of the Marine and Natural Resources said there were dolomite deposits there and it would seek compensation from royalties it could expect from mining activity on the land.
Kilkenny County Council had also indicated that Roadstone Provinces would be likely to obtain planning permission for a quarry and mine on the site if it applied.
"We can't second guess the opinion we get from State authorities," he said.
The authority estimated that the total compensation to the Department and the company would be in the region of €20 million. A disused dump was also discovered along the first route, and it would have cost an additional €15 million to either bridge it or remove the waste.
Mr Egan said the rerouting will add at most 3 million to the original estimated cost.