Vol. 500 No. 6
75 Mr. Durkan asked the Minister for Public Enterprise the extent to which she is co-ordinating road and rail transport with the objective of alleviating road traffic congestion; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [4734/99]
Specific arrangements are in place in relation to the co-ordination of transport in Dublin and Cork. The Dublin Transportation Office is the statutory body charged with the co-ordination of transport in the greater Dublin area in the context of the integrated transportation strategy prepared by the DTI. The local authorities and the CIE operating companies in the Cork area have long-standing co-ordination arrangements which had their genesis in the Land Use and Transportation Study (LUTS) first published in the late 1970s.
There has also been ongoing co-ordination of transportation investment through the medium of the Operational Programme for Peripherality 1989-93 and the current Operational Programme for Transport 1994-9. These programmes provided for a co-ordinated investment strategy involving the Department of the Environment and Local Government, as lead Department, my Department and the Department of the Marine and Natural Resources. This co-ordinated approach to investment will continue in the preparatory phase for the new national development plan for the period 2000 to 2006.
76 Mr. Stanton asked the Minister for Public Enterprise if she has received a report detailing the transport needs of Cork city and surrounding areas; if the report recommends the re-opening of the rail link to Midleton; her views in this regard; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [4743/99]
All railway operational matters, including those related to the re-opening of railway lines, are the responsibility of CIE and Iarnród Éireann. I have no statutory function in the matter.
