The Irish National Trust has played down the need for an expansion of the M20.

An Taisce said there "is no justification" for the construction of the new road.

The body has insisted the €1 billion highway between Cork and Limerick is unsustainable.

It said the road would be unlikely to attract the daily traffic required to justify the investment.

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An Taisce said the existing N20 has already been significantly upgraded to cope with the volume of traffic.

The body's Ian Lumley said: "This is coming at time when we are supposed to be cutting carbon emissions,

"Road building will be the white elephant in the room in years to come.

"The National Roads Authority is there to build roads, so policymakers continue to build them even if they are not needed.

"It is a very difficult mindset to change and these people are self-deluded."

(PR/JM)