The Transport Minister has denied plans for the Western Rail Corridor have been shelved under the government's revised capital programme.

Noel Dempsey has hit back at critics of the government's tightened spend on infrastructure, and says continuing rail services beyond the Ennis to Athenry line are still on the agenda, though he admits the time-scale has changed.

Ennis to Limerick commuters will finally be able to take the Shannon Tunnel this afternoon.

Taoiseach Brian Cowen along with the Transport Minister Noel Dempsey travel to the Mid West to officially open the 660 million Euro project which bypasses Limerick City and take up 20 minutes off journey times to the West.

This new route under the Shannon River opens a new western corridor connects the N/M-18 Galway-Ennis-Limerick Road to the M7 Dublin to Limerick route and also completes the southern bypass of Limerick City

Meanwhile

There's mixed opinion on the new Shannon Tunnel ahead of it's officially opening later today.

Visitors to the clare-dot-fm website have been taking part in an online opinion poll regarding the route around Limerick and its toll of 1 euro 80.

Out of those surveyed, 50% said the won't be using the Tunnel, 28% said they'll use the time saving route sometimes while just 22% said they'll definitely pay the toll on journeys to Limerick.

There's some good news for already hard hit Clare parents ahead of the new school year.

It appears that proposals to introdue stiff new school bus fees for both primary and secondary  pupils for the coming school year are set to be shelved for now.

The recommendation to charge 500 euro per student was contained in the McCarthy report  but Clare Fine Gael TD Joe Carey says he received a commitment that this wont happen this September

He feels the extra cost would not have been workable.

Gardai are dealing with a serious two car crash outside Crusheen on the Ennis to Galway Road.

The collision, north of the bad bends on the Gort side of Crusheen, happened shortly before eight this morning.

Ennis and Gort gardaí are at the scene along with ambulance personal and the fire brigade . A number of people have been injured but the extent of their injuries isn't yet known.

However the road is closed and motorists can expect delays but diversions are in place.

Shannon airport welcomed the latest in flight technology and passenger comfort last night as the new  Boeing 787 Dreamliner made its first landing in Ireland.

The Dreamliner touched down at Shannon shortly after 6 o'clock last evening en route to Boeing field in Seattle following its international début at the Farnborough Air Show in Britain.

Traffic lights could be the solution to ongoing road hazards in Sixmilebridge.

Calls are being made for some form of traffic calming for the square in Sixmilebridge, due to increased volumes of cars using the busy junction in the village, as well as concerns for pedestrians crossing to local shops.

Local Councillor PJ Ryan says traffic lights could solve the problem and prevent accidents

The National Roads Authority says the hard shoulder, removed from the Ennis to Kilrush stretch, actually endangered lives.

Sections of the N68 have recently been altered as part of NRA safety guiltiness but West Clare Councillors have branded the measures as absurd and claim they have lead to a number of collisions, particularly at Darragh.

They believe its all about saving money and not lives but NRA spokesperson Sean O Neill insists the changes will improve road safety

The Minister for Foreign Affairs has dismissed a request to set up a passport office in Clare.

Speaking in the Dail , Minister Micháel martin said that while delays in the passport system are ongoing, he feels they are due solely to recent strike action and that the office is adequately staffed.

There are currently two passport offices, in Cork and Dublin, and they're currently dealing with a backlog of almost 60 thousand passports, prompting Clare Fine Gael TD suggested a new office could be located in Ennis.

Clare's motor industry continues to recover, with new figures showing that car sales here continue to rise.

In all 161 new cars were registered in Clare in June, up from a figure of 84 for the same month last year.

It means that car sales for the six months of the year have risen to jusr over 1,600, two thirds higher than the amount sold in the same period last year.

However, the figures from motorcheck.ie also show that despite the recovery in the car trade here, car sales in 2010 are still down by 43% on the same period this year.