Pat Gallagher (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)

All projects provided for in Transport 21 will be required to comply with the Department of Finance guidelines for the appraisal and management of capital expenditure and the Department of Finance circular of 25 January 2006 on value for money. The guidelines require that capital appraisals, including cost-benefit analysis, are carried out for all projects costing over €30 million. The implementing agencies are responsible for carrying out the required appraisals.

A significant amount of economic analysis has already taken place on various aspects of Transport 21. The Dublin Transportation Office's A Platform for Change provides the basis for the proposed investment in Dublin and this was subject to an independent economic evaluation, which is reported in the document itself. Iarnród Éireann carried out an appraisal of its greater Dublin integrated rail network plan. This was reviewed by independent consultants and found to be robust. A full appraisal was also undertaken of the strategic rail review by the independent consultants who prepared it.

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