Gary Fitzgerald, of the Campaign Against Motorways and Tolls, said Peter Langford, Risteárd O´ Lionáird, Liam Connellan and Brendan McNamara should never have been appointed to the 14-man board.

Mr Langford is a director and former MD of Arup Consulting Engineers; Mr O´ Lionáird is a self-employed civil engineer; Mr Connellan is a director of a number of companies, including Generale des Eaux Ireland, and Mr McNamara is involved in building construction.

“I do not see how you can have people who will benefit from big road projects deciding on national road policy.

“These four people have a position in a company that would benefit from big road projects,” he said.

However, NRA chief executive Micheál Tobin said all board members submit an annual declaration of interests, and absent themselves from any board discussion in which there was a potential conflict of interest.

Neither of the companies for which Mr McNamara or Mr Connellan work have any involvement in civil engineering projects, he said. “There has been no conflict of interest whatsoever involving any board member. The Minister for the Environment appoints the board of the NRA. It would be a rather peculiar NRA board which did not have people with a background in and knowledge of civil engineering and construction,” he said.

Two contracts had been awarded by the NRA and Kerry County Council involving companies in which Mr Langford and Mr O´ Lionáird were involved, but neither proposal had come before the board for approval, he said.

Both were routine contracts, and were awarded after the normal tendering and interview process had been completed, he said.

Mr O´ Lionáird, a self-employed construction consultant, dismissed Mr Fitzgerald’s claim. “I have had no conflict of interest whatsoever, and if I had, I would immediately declare my conflict and withdraw from any discussion,” he said.

Mr Langford said all board members religiously withdrew from discussions where there was any there was any potential for conflict of interest.

Meanwhile, IFA president Tom Parlon yesterday led farmers in the first of a series of planned pickets of NRA-county council public consultations on the planned £4.6 billion motorway network.

Mr Parlon again warned that farmers would not allow NRA or county council officials access to their land until the Government offered a better compensation package to farmers forced to sell their land