The Bill before the House will have the effect of putting the National Roads Authority on a statutory footing. The Authority will have overall responsibility for planning, supervision, improvement and maintenance of our network of national roads and motorways. The local authorities will retain responsibility for the national roads. They will normally be relied upon to prepare road design and maintenance programmes and to enter into road network contracts. The Authority would have power to carry out these functions themselves should they consider this to be more convenient, expeditious, effective or economical.
The Bill requires the proposed Authority to prepare at regular intervals a road plan for the development of the network of national roads. This would be subject to public consultation in a process similar to that followed by local authorities in the preparation of their draft development plans. While it appears that the Minister retains overall responsibility for the roads policy, the Authority will displace the rôle of local authorities and the Department of the Environment in relation to road construction, design and maintenance. It appears the Minister and his Department are no longer anxious to be involved in the day to day supervision of their works programme on national roads. They are anxious that the national road authority take over this rôle. The Bill will give substantial powers to enable them to get on with the task of overseeing and co-ordinating the development of our national roads programme.
If we are to have an economic recovery we must make every effort to reduce transport costs significantly. Manufacturers, especially those exporting, suffer great disadvantages compared with our counterparts in EC countries. Transport costs are a significant factor affecting the competitiveness of industry at domestic and international level. It is estimated transport costs for Irish exporters to mainland Europe account for 9 per cent of export sales value, approximately twice the cost incurred by traders on mainland Europe. The completion of the internal market and the opening of the Channel Tunnel require that a transport system linking Ireland with the rest of the Community be competitive and sufficient to facilitate the expansion of trade. Road improvements and better traffic management would contribute to lowering transport costs by possibly as much as 20 per cent, thereby reducing the overall cost and making firms more competitive.
If we are to halt the rise in unemployment by creating at least 20,000 new jobs per year we must look to the manufacturing industry to provide many of these jobs. Industry depends to a predominant extent on the road network for delivery of raw materials, the carriage of goods for export to ports and airports and the distribution of products to wholesale and retail outlets in the domestic market. A poor national road network increases the cost of our exports. These factors cannot be under-estimated in view of the fact that 70 per cent of our net output is exported. Poor roads act as a disincentive to foreign industrialists who are considering Ireland as a location for investment.
Farmers also depend on roads to get their produce to the marketplace or processing centre and they too need a good national road network. Safe, fast and comfortable travel is essential for tourists travelling from main ports and airports to the principal tourist areas. The improvement of the road network is a vital element in increasing our tourism potential and I have no doubt that an improved road network will yield an immediate and significant return.
Job creation in the road construction industry is high, in terms of direct and indirect employment. Approximately £1 million is spent for 34 people employed in construction and 50 people employed in improvements. However, the aim of our road development programme is not direct employment creation; it is directed towards other policy measures which create employment in industry, agriculture and tourism.
The new National Roads Authority will be successful only if it is provided with the necessary finance. With the restriction on the public capital programme, every effort must be made to obtain EC funding and to attract private funding for the design and construction of our roads. If money cannot be raised through the public capital programme, I suggest we make greater efforts to attract private sector participation to finance the purchase and construction of roads.
I have always advocated that the National Roads Authority should be established to own, develop and maintain the national primary routes. This Authority should be funded partly by the State and partly by private enterprise. This has been common practice on the Continent, especially in Italy and Spain, for many years. It has also been recommended in the recent report by the Dublin Transport Initiative. There are many excellent toll roads in Italy.
I have no difficulty with the principle of putting a toll on national roads, especially when money has been invested by the private sector. A good example of this is the East Link and West Link bridges which the National Toll Roads built in the county and city of Dublin. The East Link bridge could not have been built by Dublin Corporation because they could not afford it. This toll bridge is not only a source of revenue for national toll roads, but it is also a source of revenue for both Dublin Corporation and the Dublin Port and Docks Board. More importantly, it is a source of revenue for local communities in Ringsend and East Wall.
I note with disappointment that the Bill proposes to remove from local authorities the function of applying tolls and to give it to National Toll Roads. When tolls are placed on national roads I hope the local authority will benefit financially. This would help them to overcome their present financial difficulties as it would be a means of earning extra revenue.
I wish to comment on the inner port relief route or the eastern bypass. Dublin Corporation commissioned a feasibility study on this route which cost the taxpayer between £500,000 and £1 million; this study was financed by the Department of the Environment. However, before the feasibility study was made available to the public, the Minister for the Environment took the eastern bypass out of the national road network on 10 November 1992. That money was wasted because the eastern by-pass was taken out of the national roads network. The report was published about two months ago and to me the proposals were acceptable. I regret that this matter cannot be considered now in view of the Minister's decision. Perhaps he could give his reasons for what he has done. In a press release he said that due to studies being undertaken by the Dublin Transport Initiative and the cost factor, this road was not necessary. It would have been more reasonable if he had waited until the Ove Arup report was available.
There are many groups — approximately 180 — in this country, at city council and county council level, who have responsibility for roads. This Bill will bring them under one umbrella and ensure a better road service and facilities for manufacturers, farmers, tourists and people who use the roads. An improved road network is important for the economic life of our country. I am pleased to note that in the greater Dublin area a substantial improvement has been made to the roads over the last number of years. I hope that progress in this area will continue when this Bill becomes law.