Minister hails plans for transport system

A soon-to-be-published 10-year plan will ensure Ireland has a world-class, 21st Century public transport and road infrastructure, a Government minister claimed today.

Transport chief Martin Cullen said that having delivered on the ambition of making Ireland one of the most income-rich countries in the world, the Government is now focusing its efforts on building a public wealth.

“As one of the world’s greatest economies, Ireland deserves such a comprehensive and radical investment programme,” he said.

“Moreover, we need this programme if our new international status is to be maintained and enhanced.”

Mr Cullen said that after careful analysis of the likely needs of the Irish transport system in the decades that lie ahead, the Government was now finalising its proposals to overhaul the country’s public infrastructure.

He said the delivery of the proposals, which will be published within weeks, will be closely monitored to ensure value for taxpayers’ money.

“As the Minister for Transport who is charged with bringing about an unprecedented transformation of our infrastructure, I have a responsibility to ensure that the value of new infrastructure exceeds its cost,” he said.

“Taxpayers have the fundamental right to be confident that their funds are allocated to those projects which deliver the greatest returns to the economy and to society as a whole.

“As part of the 10-year roll-out process, I will be demanding reports on its implementation which highlight progress against time and financial budgets.

“I will be publishing those reports on a very regular basis as they are made available to me.

“Such high-quality information flow will allow us to monitor the implementation of the plan and to move to correct problems if they arise.

“In so doing, I will seek to ensure that taxpayers get full value for their funds. Responsible management of the nation’s resources deserves nothing less.”

Mr Cullen said the plan’s array of projects will affect every part of the state through dramatic improvements to the road, air and rail networks but the plan’s impact on Dublin will be most concentrated and complex.

“That is an inevitability given the relative weight of the greater Dublin region in terms of both population and economic activity,” he said.

“I have already indicated my view that the scale and complexity of the plan’s provisions for Dublin and its hinterland will require special institutional arrangements and I hope to bring forward proposals in that regard shortly.”