I am happy this important legislation is being introduced in the Seanad. I always try as far as possible to introduce my Department's Bills in the Seanad before bringing them to Dáil Éireann. The Bill provides for the establishment of an independent statutory State body, the railway procurement agency; a single statutory railway order procedure for the approval of railway infrastructure projects, including light rail and metro; and the regulation of light rail services when operating on-street. Before going into the detail of the Bill, I will give some background to its introduction.
The Government is committed to providing the country with a more modern and efficient transport infrastructure through the national development plan and the proposals in the DTO strategy, A Platform for Change. The NDP sets out a public transport investment strategy for the period 2000-06 designed to achieve, inter alia, a radical transformation of the public transport system. Investment of £2.2 billion is provided for in the plan for public transport. This is an unprecedented level of funding, which will enable significant advances to be made in the coming years.
I am pleased to report progress to date in delivering a number of public transport projects, including, the acquisition of 225 buses by Dublin Bus in 2000; 26 new DART carriages delivered to Iarnród Éireann; 60 Arrow rail cars ordered, with delivery commencing in 2003; and 148 new buses acquired by Bus Éireann in 2000 with 40 for the greater Dublin area and the remainder for use in provincial cities and on rural services.
Nevertheless, there is still a long way to go in providing the public transport infrastructure and services required by our expanding economy. The development of the rail system forms an important part of our transport proposals. In addition to the significant investment being made in an enhanced suburban and mainline rail system, a light rail system and a metro system for Dublin form an important part of the strategy, as Dublin in particular faces a rapidly increasing demand for travel, particularly public transport, as congestion increases.
Significant advances have been made to date on the Luas light rail project: a preferred bidder has been selected for the main construction contract involving track laying and cabling, which will commence shortly; construction of the depot at the Red Cow will be completed in July 2001; 40 trams have been ordered, the first will be delivered in October of this year; a competition for the award of the operator's contract for the first lines commenced in December 2000. The contract will be awarded in September 2001 and services on all lines remain on target to begin in 2003.
In addition, the Government has approved, in principle, the development of a metro system for Dublin. The metro will represent the single biggest infrastructure project ever delivered by the State. The introduction of the metro and the extension of the light rail network will require the particular focus and attention of an implementing body and that is why I propose, under the Bill, to establish the Railway Procurement Agency.
I am pleased to say that preliminary preparatory work on the metro has already been commenced by the light rail project office of CIE. This office, suitably restructured and expanded, will form the starting point for the new agency.
As ever, finance will play a vital role in determining the priorities for the introduction of projects. The magnitude of the public transport infrastructure projects identified and associated costs means that the Exchequer alone will not be in a position to provide all the funding required. Alternative means of finance must be found and in this regard, the proper application of public private partnerships offer huge potential benefits to the State. The emphasis in any PPP should be on real partnership where public sector values are combined with private sector efficiencies.
In Ireland, the success of the overall PPP programme must also be rooted in our social partnership model. This system of delivering stability through consensus on major economic, social and other issues is one of the main reasons for Ireland's recent economic success. Successful PPPs must also be built on the development and maintenance of trust between key stakeholders and on shared objectives for the delivery to the public of quality public transport.
In this regard, the work being done by the public-private informal advisory group on PPPs on developing a framework for public private partnerships will be extremely important. Once agreed by all parties, this framework will represent an important step in clarifying guidelines for participation of the public and private sector in such arrangements. The Railway Procurement Agency will be required to conform with these agreed guidelines.
The main advantages of PPPs, namely, value for money, optimum risk allocation and the inherent focus on services, have considerable appeal for major transport projects. To advance the application of PPPs for rail-based projects, my Department recently began a consultation process in relation to the framework policy to be applied. This consultation process is an important part of the development of a PPP approach to the delivery of our key projects. It is important to provide an opportunity for all interested partners to contribute their views on the formation of policy. As we are at the early stages, we need to develop our thinking on the optimal approach to public transport PPPs. We are also keen to learn from alternative approaches based on the successful experience of potential partners. The Railway Procurement Agency will be the vehicle for financing major new transport infrastructure such as Luas and metro.
My Department undertook a consultation process on the proposals contained in the general scheme of the Bill and those views are reflected, in the main, in the drafting. I will now outline briefly the main provisions of the Bill. There are five main Parts. Part 1 contains standard sections – Title, interpretations, repeals, continuations etc. Part 2 deals with the establishment of the Railway Procurement Agency. Part 3 details the statutory approval procedures for any new railway infrastructure project. Part 4 deals with the on-street regulation of light railways and Part 5 contains miscellaneous provisions. Each of the Parts are dealt with in more detail in my script, which is available to everybody. I would prefer to hear people's contributions.
The functions of the agencies are set out in section 11. Provisions in relation to the composition of the agency, its chief executive and staff are dealt with in sections 20 to 29.
Railway developments, as authorised by the Minister and specified in a railway order, are to be exempted developments in the context of the Planning and Development Act, 2000. Before making a decision on whether to grant a railway order, section 43 obliges the Minister to consider the application and accompanying documentation. Where the Minister is of the opinion that an application for a railway should be granted, he or she will make an order authorising the construction, maintenance etc. of the railway.
Among the safety matters covered in Part 4 are speed limits, qualifications and competencies required by a driver of a light rail vehicle. Provision is also made for CIE, with the consent of the Minister and the Minister for Finance, to set up one or more subsidiary companies under the Companies Act. Section 71 amends the Transport (Re-Organisation of CIE) Act, 1986, to allow for an increase in the number of board members of the three CIE subsidiaries – Iarnród Éireann, Dublin Bus and Bus Éireann.
The Bill plays an important role in providing a structure under which railway infrastructure can be developed. With the prospect of the Luas vehicles arriving in the country later this year, the moment has come to focus on their operation. As the House may be aware, in a little over two years' time, a light rail service will begin operating on the Sandyford and Tallaght to city centre lines. In the meantime, a franchise will be allocated for their operation and I want to see the contracting body, the Railway Procurement Agency, in place later this year to allow for full testing and commissioning prior to the commencement of operations in 2003.
The Bill is concerned with the operation of Luas and the metro, although I am more than willing to listen to the views of all Members who contribute, and is not concerned with heavy rail. I commend the Bill to the House.