Ms Anne Graham:

I thank the Chairman and the committee members for the invitation to attend. I understand that the committee wishes to focus on the NDP review having regard to Review to Renew, the public consultation element of the plan. To assist me in dealing with the committee's subsequent questions, I am joined by Mr. Hugh Creegan, deputy CEO with the authority.

The NTA remit is primarily concerned with the planning, development and funding of sustainable transport modes, that is, public transport, cycling and walking. At a national level, the NTA has responsibility for securing the provision of bus and rail services. This includes the provision of subsidised services through directly awarded contracts with Bus Éireann, Dublin Bus and Iarnród Éireann, and publicly tendered contracts for bus services across the State with a number of operators. The authority is also responsible for light rail services, which we procure jointly with TII.

The NTA regulates and licenses public bus passenger services, which operate without subsidy from the State. We also manage the rural transport programme, Local Link, on behalf of the Department of Transport. The authority also regulates the provision of small public service vehicle services.

The authority manages the capital investment programme for public transport, cycling and walking in the greater Dublin area and funds the transport operators and local authorities for approved projects. It also manages a similar capital investment programme for the regional cities of Cork, Galway, Limerick and Waterford on behalf of the Department of Transport and we manage the national accessibility programme.

Within the greater Dublin area, the NTA has a greater depth of functions. The authority's role covers not only public transport capital investment and provision of services but also securing greater integration between land use and transport planning. The authority's statutory Transport Strategy for the Greater Dublin Area 2016-2035 sets out the key transport projects that are required to be delivered to provide for the growth in travel demand by sustainable modes. This strategy is required by statute to be renewed every six years and the first review of the strategy has been commenced by the authority. This strategy must align with all current Government policy on sustainability and climate action.

The NTA has worked in partnership with a number of local authorities in Ireland's cities to prepare transport-related strategies or implement transport-related projects. The Galway transport strategy was developed by Galway City Council and Galway County Council in partnership with the authority. The transport strategy for the Cork metropolitan area was completed by the NTA in partnership with the relevant Cork local authorities. The transport strategies for the metropolitan areas of Limerick and Shannon, and separately Waterford, are under development and are due to be completed later this year. It is our view that investment in transport projects in the metropolitan areas should be guided by Government policy and the recommendations in the relevant transport strategy.

The National Development Plan 2018–2027 includes significant developments such as the BusConnects programme, the MetroLink and a DART expansion programme, as well as other important public transport, walking and cycling projects that will assist in meeting the demand for sustainable transport and our obligations to reduce carbon emissions. These projects continue to be relevant to meet the Government’s long-term overarching strategy to make Ireland a better country for us all.

Project Ireland 2040 is underpinned by a shared set of goals or national strategic outcomes, NSOs, for every community across the country. The work of the NTA supports all NSOs but, in particular, compact growth, enhanced regional accessibility, strengthened rural economies and communities, sustainable mobility and transition to a low-carbon and climate-resilient society.

The national climate policy position establishes the national objective of achieving a transition to a competitive, low-carbon, climate-resilient and environmentally sustainable economy by 2050. The provision of a significant investment plan for sustainable transport is a key objective in meeting that goal. Public transport capital infrastructure is very largely used for the provision of State subvented public transport services and, therefore, there is a strong link between expanded infrastructure investment and an increased need for more current funding for the provision of additional services using that infrastructure. It will be a particular priority, in line with the Department of Transport's strategic investment framework for land transport, SIFLT, analysis, to reverse escalating congestion problems to secure a significant improvement in transport service to the public.

The authority has commenced a number of sustainable transport projects to be delivered as part of the current NDP across the five cities of Dublin, Cork, Limerick, Galway and Waterford to provide additional sustainable travel options to complement increased capacity and faster high-quality public transport in the cities. These will include traffic management, bus priority and other smarter travel projects, along with new urban cycling and walking routes to allow transport infrastructure to function more effectively and relieve congestion.

The authority recognises that additional funding beyond that set out in the current NDP is required to meet the objectives of the transport strategies, those that are developed and those in development. However, those strategies have a longer timeframe than that envisaged by the NDP review. The authority looks forward to supporting the Department of Transport in assessing any additional sustainable transport projects to be included in the NDP review.

I am happy to answer any queries that arise.