Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 4 December 2019
207. Deputy Catherine Martin asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the planned expenditure in each of the next five years for new projects in public transport (details supplied); and the definition of new roads used in the statement, for example, if it includes the widening of existing roads. [50525/19]
View answerAs the Deputy is aware Government is providing €8.6 billion funding under Project Ireland 2040 for investment in sustainable mobility. The Exchequer investment for new projects in public transport and active travel over the coming years not only equals, but well exceeds what we will be investing in new roads; this is a reversal of the balance of investment between these two areas in the past.
The majority of expenditure on our roads programme planned under Project Ireland 2040 relates to the steady state funding requirement of our comprehensive road network which, the Deputy will acknowledge, also has a fundamental importance in facilitating bus based public transport, particularly in rural areas.
Investment of approximately €1.6bn is planned for new road capacity in the period from 2018 to 2022. New roads comprise the construction of new road sections along a greenfield route and/or a major upgrade along an existing route (e.g. the M7 widening and new interchanges). Planned investment in public transport projects over the same timeframe will be almost €2.7bn, outstripping new roads spend considerably.
In 2019 alone, the increased funding now available to support new sustainable mobility measures has supported Government’s approval of a new National Train Control Centre and the expansion of the Greater Dublin Area commuter rail fleet, while the National Transport Authority is overseeing the continued expansion of our PSO bus fleets, the arrival of tram extensions for the Luas Green Line and increased investment in active travel projects across the major cities.
