Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 11 Mar 2003

Vol. 563 No. 1

Priority Questions - National Development Plan.

Eamon Ryan

Question:

130 Mr. Eamon Ryan asked the Minister for Transport the way in which the review will be carried out in relation to the commitment he gave on 5 February 2003 for a mid-term review of the transport projects in the current national development plan; when it will be completed; if such a review will set out a single priority listing for both public transport and roads projects in view of changing Exchequer circumstances; and if the review will lead to a reassessment of the three year capital budget forecast for transport as set out in the budget. [7258/03]

Mr. Brennan

The mid-term review of the national development plan referred to in my reply of 5 February is a matter for the Department of Finance. That Department is currently procuring consultancy assistance for the review which will be undertaken in the course of this year. That evaluation and review will provide an independent analysis of progress to date and a basis for decisions regarding programme adjustments. Such decisions will also have to take the prevailing economic and budgetary circumstances into account. I expect the review to be completed by the end of the year.

Pending completion of the review, it is not possible to comment on what adjustments might be made between and within programmes and whether a single priority listing for both public transport and roads will be developed.

It is my intention, however, that the review should reflect the Government's commitment in An Agreed Programme for Government to implementing an integrated transport policy. The establishment of my Department as a stand-alone Department of Transport, encompassing national roads, public transport and aviation is testament to the priority which this Government is giving to the need for integrated transport policies. My Department has completed the preparation of a statement of strategy in accordance with the terms of the Public Services Management Act 1997 which will be published shortly. The strategy will set out our key objectives, strategies and outputs for the three years 2003-05, including what actions we propose to take in relation to the development of an integrated transport policy. It is important, therefore, that the mid-term review reflects this.

In this context, it is also my intention to seek to maintain a high level of investment in national roads and public transport in view of their importance for national and regional development.

Mr. Eamon Ryan

Does the Minister agree that when asking questions on public transport in the future, we should ask the Minister for Finance because it is clear from his comments today and from comments in the newspapers at the weekend that it is he who is making the decisions on transport? I refer to a letter from the Minister for Finance featured in the newspapers last weekend in which he reminded the Minister for Transport that the Government's priority was roads. Roads based public transport programmes have all the extra capital for the next three years. The Minister for Finance is not happy with the Minister for Transport for proposing public transport projects for which money is not available.

Does the Minister agree that the Minister for Finance has now decided that the major public transport projects which we hope to see will not be financed, that instead we will continue for the next three years with the same 6:1 investment in roads to public transport and that that is Government transport? What analysis has been done on that roads based programme? What analysis has been done comparing the need for a public transport system as against a new roads programme? Will any analysis be done before the end of this year when another budget will be passed, another year of missed opportunities will have gone by, when the railway strategic review and the metro will be cast aside for lack of money and every public transport scheme we are seeking will be cast aside because the Minister for Finance is deciding transport policy?

Mr. Brennan

The Minister for Finance is not deciding transport policy; I am deciding it. The Minister for Finance writes to all Ministers. I am sure if it was possible to get the letter to which the Deputy referred, it would be possible to get the other 14. The Minister for Finance writes to each Department regularly reminding them that they are talking up their budgets and are spending too much money. That is what Ministers for Finance do well. My job is to develop the transport system. I do not have a difficulty with what the Deputy said in that it should be fully integrated. I am a supporter of public transport. I believe in investing in railways and in the Luas, in developing the metro and in providing new rail carriages because, as this country develops over the next five to 20 years, the population continues to grow and as economic growth continues, it is clear that the type of country we will have will require a solid, professional and modern railway system, particularly a high speed inter-city service. Dublin city and other cities will require modern bus and rail projects. I have no difficulty with that and the Deputy will see that when the strategic rail review is published.

I checked the figures because the Deputy asked me to on the last occasion we discussed this issue. In the national development plan as published, the roads commitment to the end of 2002 was €2.6 billion and for railways, it was €1.4 billion. The Deputy's 6:1 assessment is not accurate in that sense. The figures given to me by the Department are €2.6 billion for roads and €1.4 billion for railways.

As regards rail investment, there has been a 50% increase in DART capacity and new carriages have been provided on that service. There has been a 100% increase on the Maynooth line. Almost all the mainline rail network is new in that there is continuous welded track as opposed to the old broken line. There is a modern swish effect, as it were, from the railway. Having spent hundreds of millions on new railway tracks in recent years, it would be foolish to turn around and not continue to develop them and put carriages on them. It is a matter of where one draws the line between the two.

Mr. Eamon Ryan

To make my figures clear, this year's budget advocated €1.25 billion for new roads. If one takes out current expenditure on public transport, that is, keeping CIE afloat, and one looks at public transport capital expenditure, which is approximately, €200 million, it is a figure of 6:1. Will the Minister agree to review that ratio or does he agree with the Minister for Finance that for the next three years, we must maintain that ratio? While I welcome making the rail line safe, that is not a big increase in public transport capacity. Will the Minister review the ratio of spending?

Mr. Brennan

I continue to do that. That is one of the benefits of having for the first time an integrated Department of Transport. For the past eight or nine months, we have a Department which asks whether we should put more money into a particular rail service or into a particular road service. That did not happen under successive Governments. I will continue to review it and take account of what the Deputy said.