Minister's pledge on national development plan

A full-scale consultation process on the next national development plan is due to begin shortly, Transport Minister Martin Cullen said tonight.

Discussions on the new plan from 2007, which will set out a blueprint for investment for the following seven years, will include the social partners, regional interests and other concerned interest groups.

“It will seek to address the investment now necessary to maintain national competitiveness within a sustainable economic and budgetary framework,” he said, as he addressed the IBEC South East Infrastructure Conference in Waterford.

“To this end the 2007-2013 Plan will particularly focus on the priorities for investment in public economic and social infrastructure in the transport, environmental services, housing, education, health, childcare and R+D areas and for investment in human resources in the education and training fields.”

Mr Cullen said it was envisaged the next Plan 2007-2013 would be launched late in 2006.

The minister said the €34.4bn Transport 21 plan, which was launched by the Taoiseach Bertie Ahern, would extend far beyond the period of the next national development plan.

“This unique development recognised the different characteristics of investment in transport.

“It involves long construction phases. It involves massive financial outlays.

“For these reasons, the Government decided to set out a programme of work which would see a modern, state of the art, sustainable transport network being rolled out and delivered in the years ahead,” he said at the conference.

“I said at the time that by relaxing both the time and the financial constraints, we had been given a once in a lifetime opportunity to identify the sort of infrastructure we want and need for the decades ahead.”

Mr Cullen said the growing population, the numbers of new houses being built each year, the employment growth and the huge increases in the tonnage of goods being transported nationally by road have all had a significant impact on transport policy and the provision of transport infrastructure and services.

“A fundamental and important aspect of the Transport 21, and one I feel that has largely been overlooked, is the fact that Transport 21 provides the basis for an integrated transport network,” he said.

“I would ask everyone looking at Transport 21 to examine not just the individual elements but also the way in which they are integrated to provide a highly efficient national transport network.”

Mr Cullen said there had been substantial investment in recent years in upgrading the national road network serving the South East Region but the major upgrade projects – the Waterford City By-Pass and the N9 project – had yet to come on stream.

“The need to protect the archaeological discoveries at Woodstown has delayed the Waterford City By-Pass but I’m pleased that the project is now due to start next year. Good progress is being made also on the N9 – the Dublin – Waterford major interurban route,” he said.

Mr Cullen said the National Roads Authority were aiming to start both Phase 1 of the Northern section, bypass of Carlow, and Phase 1 of the Southern section, Waterford City to Knocktopher, on the N9 in 2006.