Vol. 418 No. 2
12 Mr. D. Ahern asked the Minister for Tourism, Transport and Communications if she will outline the progress towards upgrading the rail freight gantry at Dundalk railway station; and if she will make a statement on the matter.
24 Mr. Rabbitte asked the Minister for Tourism, Transport and Communications if, in regard to the commitment given in the Programme for Economic and Social Progress that there would be an investment of £36 million made in public transport, she will outline, (a) the amount which has now been invested, (b) the projects or areas in which it has been invested and (c) the other projects still outstanding; and if she will make a statement on the matter.
I propose to take Questions Nos. 12 and 24 together.
The Programme for Economic and Social Progress includes proposals for expenditure of £36 million on public transport which is being implemented with financial assistance from the EC under the Operational Programme on Peripherality. The operational programme is scheduled to be implemented by the end of 1993.
Total expenditure to date amounts to approximately £1 million which includes investment in the development of the Dublin-Maynooth commuter line including the provision of four new stations on the line. Preliminary expenditure has also been incurred in relation to the provision of new rail freight gantries at Cork, Dundalk, Limerick and Sligo. Work in relation to the provision of these gantries is continuing and I expect it to be completed by the end of next year.
A number of other public transport projects is also being considered for assistance under the Operational Programme on Peripherality. These projects include the provision of commuter rail services on the south west corridor, including Clondalkin, upgrading of the Dublin-Belfast railway line, some preliminary work on the restoration of the Harcourt Street line and the development of a rail link to the Belview Harbour development at Waterford.
Planned expenditure on these projects between now and the end of 1993 is such as to secure a full draw-down of the European Regional Development Fund allocation for public transport projects under the Operational Programme on Peripherality.
Will the Minister comment on the view held by those who work in the public transport system that the Government's performance in identifying projects for funding and then securing funding for them under the European Regional Development Fund was appallingly poor when compared with some other capital cities, particularly Athens? Does the Minister accept that one of the major factors contributing to the appalling public transport system in Dublin is the lack of initiative on the part of the Government in pursuing funding from the European Regional Development Fund?
I would not accept that the record of this Government, or former Governments, has been appalling in relation to public transport.
We must be clear that moneys from the European Regional Development Fund cover two aspects of transport: roads infrastructure and development and public transport, to which these questions refer, namely mainline and commuter rail services. Since I became Minister I have been looking at ways I can prioritise my objectives or, in other words, to minimise the differences between the two. We all recognise that money from the Regional Fund was spent on our road network, where it was so badly needed.
In preparing for the review of the Delors mark II and in making submissions for money from the Structural Fund post-1993 I will be looking specifically at what special aid might be available to us for the rail network.
Will the Minister confirm that Deputy McCartan is correct because in the 1989-93 programme the total amount made available was £818 million but less than 4 per cent, £36 million, went to public transport? This was the lowest in the EC and that was shameful.
The Minister has outlined where this £36 million may be spent, the rail link to the Belview Harbour development at Waterford, the Harcourt Street line and the Clondalkin line but will she agree that £36 million will not cover all those projects? Would she also agree that it would be more honest and direct to say where this money will go because it has been over promised to too many projects? Will the Minister say which routes will not get money?
I do not think I can be accused of over promising anything. I have been approximately six weeks in the job and I have been looking at public transport in so far as it is my responsibility. In that period I have pushed forward a number of projects that were awaiting decision.
Any expenditure on the rail service, whether mainline rail, the commuter services or the Dublin-Belfast line, first requires approval from the Government and second, but almost at the same time, from the EC for grant-aid under the European Regional Development Fund. I have been moving very quickly on both fronts.
In reply to Deputy McCartan, I do not think it is correct to say that our draw down of EC funds has been appalling. The difficulty was that successive Governments decided that the moneys from the ERD should be put into our road network. The rail network suffered because it did not get the same level of priority. In the coming weeks and months I will raise the order of priority of the rail system, whether commuter, the Dublin-Belfast line or mainline rail.
Could the Minister be a little more specific on how the £36 million will be allocated? We have been embarrassed by the enthusiasm of the Northern Ireland railway board who want to update the Dublin-Belfast line and found us sadly lacking. How much money will be spent in the preparation of a light rail infrastructure throughout Dublin city? What proportion of the £36 million will be spent on the upgrading of the Dublin-Sligo line on which trains are now travelling no faster than 40 miles per hour? Those three projects are in need of urgent capital injections. Will the Minister outline her plans for these services?
It is proposed to convert the Harcourt Street line into a busway but does the Minister propose to make this a light rail line? How much money will be spent on building a light rail system for Dublin city as compared to the expenditure on busways?
First, I wish to refer to the proposed light rail system and the Harcourt Street line. The only Government decision in relation to the Harcourt Street line was one in principle. Second, no decision has yet been taken to follow up that decision in principle by providing a busway or a light rail system. My opinion, for what it is worth, is that the system that would work most effectively, efficiently and would encourage people to leave their cars at home and use public transport would be a light rail system.
With regard to the Dublin-Sligo line, this is, as the Deputy is aware, a separate issue from the Dublin-Belfast line or from commuter lines because it is a mainline and we have no commitment from the EC as of yet to assist any mainline rail developments. In relation to the Dublin-Belfast line, may I remind the Deputy that we were not embarrassed by our neighbours in the North.
The former Minister was embarrassed.
We have worked very carefully with the Northern authorities to try to progress the project on a joint basis. We have had tremendous co-operation from them and, indeed, I do not think we are very far from a definitive decision on the development of the Dublin-Belfast line.
I should like to remind Deputy Byrne that supplementary questions must refer to information sought in the original question. We cannot travel every line and we must confine ourselves to what is in the question.
I am extremely annoyed and surprised at the information the Minister has volunteered, that a decision in principle only has been taken in regard to the Harcourt Street line. The former Minister, Deputy Seamus Brennan——
Deputy Seamus Brennan will be disgusted.
——in whose constituency the announcement was made, left the people of Dublin with the impression that the Government had made a positive proposal but the Minister is now saying that a decision in principle only has been made. It is news for the people of Dublin that the Minister does not have practical plans to rebuild the bridges to get the line in operation whether as a busway or as the first stage in the light rail system.
He said he would allocate £7 million towards it.
Question No. 13, please.
He brought the RTE camera crew down and told them he was spending £7 million on it. The Minister is abandoning the people in Dublin South.
We are not travelling on the Harcourt Street line because it was not in the question.
You have missed the train again.
Question No. 13, please. I recall Deputy Ryan raised that matter in the House and it is not appropriate to this question.
Question No. 15 deals with the Harcourt Street line.
If Deputy Ryan has a question——
My query is in relation to Questions Nos. 12 and 24, the reply to which questions is very vague. I should like to ask the Minister, on the basis of a commitment for the railway to Dundalk, whether she can give a commitment from her own resources or from ESF funding to have some locomotives purchased for the rail line?
A sum of £80 million has been provided.
Already CIE from their own resources have placed contracts in relation to the matter the Deputy raised. If he has specific——
That is not true. I am talking about locomotives. We cannot bring carriages along the rail track if we do not have locomotives. No order has been placed for locomotives.
They cost £1.5 million each. The Minister should take a note of that.
I suggest that the rail line comes first and the locomotives come later.
The Minister will be pushing them herself at this rate.
Question No. 13, please.
