Transport plans under fire after Cullen pledge

THE Government’s failure to live up to its transport commitments was attacked yesterday as Martin Cullen became the third Fianna Fáil transport minister in a row to promise a transport authority for Dublin.

The mooted transport authority for the capital has already been promised twice before in the past eight years, by Mary O’Rourke and Séamus Brennan. However, Mr Cullen resurrected the idea again yesterday, saying it was necessary to ensure the smooth and co-ordinated operation of the 17 different public bodies responsible for transport in Dublin.

“I think we need a very strong overall transport body in situ. It’s a very specific high-powered, really authoritative, transport body. They would plan; they would really get involved in managing the entire market,” he said.