Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

On the Dublin metro project, I moved the mid-term capital review forward because I recognise the need to review and increase capital expenditure levels. The Minister for Finance and I increased capital expenditure for the next few years by €5 billion. I moved the review forward specifically in recognition of the need to better develop high capacity public transport solutions. I will not comment on the role of the proposed metro in the review because it has not commenced yet but I want it to be completed early next year.

I fully appreciate the role of public transport in providing a competitive edge for the economy and organising society in a good and decent way. It has a major contribution to make in achieving climate change targets and presents many opportunities.

If Deputy Eamon Ryan had presented a broader analysis, he would have recognised that, as a result of the Luas cross-city project, an additional 10 million people will be carried on public transport next year. The project will fundamentally change the configuration of light rail in the capital. Hundreds of additional buses have also been purchased in recent years to try to improve the frequency and design of public service routes nationwide.

In respect of the recent decisions by the NTA on greenways and, particularly, cycleways in urban areas, which offer an alternative to private transport, I am engaged with the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport on this matter because we need to differentiate between greenways and urban cycleways. Greenways are fantastic. I have been on them and they deliver an immense set of benefits but urban cycleways such as the one to which the Deputy referred provide a new form of non-private transport through major cities and I will engage with the Minister on this.

With regard to the organisation of our public service to respond to the climate change challenges and opportunities, I am meeting the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment tomorrow. One of the matters he has raised with me is investment in, and making progress on, the retrofitting of existing buildings, not to mention building standards for new buildings. My experience of this sector in terms of how it works across our country is that civil servants in his Department have been successful at harvesting and organising a large number of private sector organisations and companies to deliver work to standards it sets. If more officials are needed to ensure this is done better in the future, I will talk to the Minister about it but my anticipation is that he will speak to me about the funding for the roll-out of the scheme and for higher quality in the scheme rather than seeking more staff to oversee the roll-out.