THE EU Commissioner for Regional Affairs, Mrs Monika Wulf Mathies, became the first passenger on the new M50 link road to Dublin airport yesterday.

The Commissioner, who had been staying at the Slieve Russell Hotel in Ballyconnell, Co Cavan, was in a rush to catch her plane home.

With a little pressure from the Department of Finance, the Gardai obliged and the road was briefly opened, only to be closed again immediately. What motorists caught in seemingly endless queues on the old road thought is not yet clear.

The road is due to open to all motorists next Monday. It was, of course, part funded by EU Structural Funds.