Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 26 Nov 2002

Vol. 558 No. 1

Written Answers. - Public Transport.

Jan O'Sullivan

Question:

65 Ms O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Transport the specific measures the Government intends to bring forward to promote integrated ticketing and smart card technologies in regard to the commitment given in An Agreed Programme for Government; if money has been allocated for this purpose in his Department's Estimates for 2003; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23458/02]

Minister for Transport (Mr. Brennan)

The Railway Procurement Agency, RPA, has been given statutory responsibility for the implementation of an integrated ticketing system for initial deployment in the greater Dublin area. The RPA has set a target date of 2005 for completion of this project. I have, however, requested that the RPA examine all options to expedite the delivery of integrated ticketing with a view to bringing forward the proposed launch date. I have also asked it to bring forward interim proposals for next year and the RPA is considering this.

The development costs of the full integrated ticketing project are estimated to amount to €26.9 million. In the 2003 Estimates for my Department, €3.6 million have been earmarked for integrated ticketing to enable the RPA to proceed to the next phase which will deal with the design and procurement of the system, including consideration of the potential for procuring the system on a public private partnership basis. The procurement strategy decided upon will determine the appropriate involvement of the private sector and estimated Exchequer financial support for the whole project.