Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Wednesday, 17 November 2021

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport

National Development Plan 2021-2030: Discussion

Photo of Eamon RyanEamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I thank the committee for its invitation to attend the meeting to discuss the national development plan. I would like to start by reflecting on the strategic context of the NDP and how it supports broader Government ambition for our society, our climate and our economy. The national planning framework sets out an ambitious framework for our development as a country out to 2040. The recent Climate Action and Low Carbon Development (Amendment) Act 2021 commits us, under law, to achieve a 51% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 and move to net-zero emissions by 2050. That statutory commitment has recently been fleshed out with the publication of the new climate action plan. The NDP is now providing us with the funding to realise those ambitions. While €35 billion in capital expenditure funding is committed to transport over the next ten years, it does not set the strategic direction, as such.

So, what is that strategic direction? What does transport look like in ten years and how does this NDP set us on our way? First and foremost, how we travel needs to look very different to how we travel today. We need to reduce our reliance on fossil-fuelled private vehicles. That is tricky, because as we all know in Ireland, we have areas with very dispersed population settlements and very low population densities. Therefore, Government supports will need to take that into account and be tailored to the circumstances people find themselves in.

I am a firm believer in the potential of active travel as part of our response to the climate crisis we face. It is not that every journey can be replaced by travelling on foot or by bike; there are too many variables for that, including, where you live, where you are going, what you are doing etc. However, we can switch a lot more journeys, and that is why this NDP is committing unprecedented amounts of funding to local authorities across the country to deliver high-quality active travel infrastructure to enable more people make the switch to active travel. We are seeing delivery start to happen across the country and can expect to see it ramped up in the years ahead.

In the five cities, the BusConnects project will play a hugely important role in transforming both active travel options and bus services in each of the cities. The bus is at the heart of our public transport network and we need to invest billions of euro in its future. That is what this NDP will do. By 2030, I expect to see BusConnects substantially completed in each of the five cities. We are already seeing progress on the ground. BusConnects Dublin will have two of its new "spines" in service this year, the new BusConnects 90-minute fare will be launched at of the month, BusConnects Cork is currently out for consultation on its new network and BusConnects Galway had two of its core bus corridors out for non-statutory public consultation late last year.

However, we are not only focusing on improving bus services in the five cities; improved bus services have a massive role to play in rural Ireland also.

Recently I was delighted to launch a public consultation on Connecting Ireland, the National Transport Authority's rural mobility plan. In budget 2022 we secured funding to roll out the first phase of Connecting Ireland next year. In rural Ireland I recognise the vital connectivity the regional and local road network provides to cyclists, buses, commercial vehicles as well as private cars. The national development plan, NDP, will enable a spend of up to €5.35 billion on the protection and renewal of this network over the period to 2030 while another €677 million has been earmarked for targeted improvement schemes across the network.

We are committing €2.9 billion in funding to the protection and renewal of our national road network over the ten years of the NDP. We are also committing €5.1 billion to new national roads projects over the lifetime of the plan, which will enable improved connectivity across the country enhancing regional accessibility in line with the national strategic outcomes in the national planning framework and in line with the commitment in the programme for Government that a 2:1 ratio will be maintained between new public transport infrastructure and new road investment.

I also note our national, regional and local road networks support the safe use of the private car where sustainable transport modes cannot be used. This NDP will invest €1 billion in supporting the decarbonisation of private transport and particularly the transition to electric vehicles and electric vehicle infrastructure.

Turning to rail, as members will be aware, a strategic rail review has been commenced to examine how we can improve rail connectivity across the island of Ireland. This review will set out an investment framework for the coming decades and a public consultation period will launch very shortly on that. In the meantime we are investing substantially in our rail network as it is. In the coming weeks I will be seeking Government approval to allocate almost €100 million in additional funding to Iarnród Éireann to support line speed improvements on the Dublin-Cork line, as well as improvements planned for the Limerick Junction to Waterford line.

I will also be seeking Government approval very shortly for the first phases of the DART+ programme. These phases relate to the two biggest components of the overall programme, DART+ west and DART+ fleet. Once DART+ west receives its railway order from An Bord Pleanála I will seek Government approval again to permit contracts to be signed and construction to commence. At that point we will have much firmer ideas around the final design, as well as the cost and time implications of any changes made during the planning system. However, it is not only about DART+, we are seeing delivery on the ground now with the arrival next year of 41 additional carriages, the construction of a new national train control centre, phase one of the Cork commuter rail programme, the design and planning to upgrade Colbert, Ceannt and Plunkett stations and improved funding across the network generally.

On MetroLink, I expect to seek Government approval in the first quarter of next year while I am informed the planning documentation should be ready for submission to An Bord Pleanála by the second quarter. Similar to DART+ west, I will be seeking Government approval for the project to enter the planning system. Once it receives its railway order I will seek Government approval for the project to commence construction and that is when we will lock in the cost, delivery and benefit forecasts.

Outside of the NDP funding envelope, longer term transport planning is continuing for each of the five cities. Those metropolitan area transport strategies provide a long-term, evidence-informed, planning horizon for transport investment in the five cities. Importantly, these strategies then influence the land area plans for the cities in order that we get the right type and density of housing along with the right type of transport projects to support them. That is why the NTA is currently consulting on the next draft transport strategy for the greater Dublin area and next year will be consulting on the Limerick-Shannon strategy, the Waterford strategy and a revised Galway strategy. Those strategies will extend way beyond the timeframe for the NDP and will inform the development of future NDPs in the years to come.

I look forward to discussing all those issues with the committee.

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