THE FINAL STRETCH of a new motorway between Dublin and Limerick was blocked off yesterday by forty workers who say they haven’t been paid for their work on the road for six weeks.

The workers – who say they have not been paid since November 1 – blocked off the 36km stretch of road between Castletown and Nenagh and said they would continue to do so until Taoiseach Brian Cowen intervened to ensure they were paid their overdue wages.

The blockaded section of road lies within Cowen’s constituency of Laois-Offaly. The workers are supported, the Irish Times reports, by their employer KC Civil Engineering.

The employer says it cannot pay the wages until it is given a payment by Bowen Somague Joint Venture. It, in turn, says it is awaiting the payment of €26m from Laois County Council.

The council says it will not hand over the €26m payment – awarded against it after a claim by Bowen Somague – until it is given a bond guaranteeing that the money would be repaid if the council wins a legal appeal.

The 40 workers are demanding to have their arrears wages paid before Christmas, and have said they will continue the blockade on the stretch of road – which links Borris-in-Ossory with Moneygall – until they get their last wages.

The stretch is the final section of the M7 motorway. The government had hoped to have the full network of motorways between Dublin and regional cities open before the end of the year.