Martin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)

Transport 21 provides unprecedented capital investment for the development of Ireland's transport system over the period to 2015. This investment will transform both the national road and public transport networks.

It will deliver faster, safer and more reliable journeys on our national road network. It will lead to a doubling of public transport capacity in the greater Dublin area. It will result in increased service frequency and reliability on our rail network. It will deliver better public transport services in our regions.

The investment programme being funded by Transport 21 is based on an extensive and robust body of research and policy work, including the strategic rail review, the national roads needs study, the DTO's A Platform for Change and a number of regional land and transportation studies. It is supported by the technical and economic evaluations in those reports. There are appraisal and monitoring structures in place that will ensure the maximum return will be derived from the investment involved. All projects contained in Transport 21 have been or will be evaluated in accordance with the requirements of the guidelines for appraisal and management of capital expenditure proposals and the value for money guidelines issued by the Department of Finance. These comprehensive guidelines require the appraisal of the project at various stages from approval in principle to post project review. My Department and the State agencies responsible for implementing Transport 21 projects will, of course, comply fully with the guidelines.

In addition, I have established a monitoring group, comprising representatives of a number of Departments, to oversee progress on Transport 21. The group will satisfy itself that proper procedures are being followed in the appraisal, management and post project review of projects. In this regard, a tender process is nearing completion to engage auditors to provide independent assessments of the appraisals carried out on a selected number of projects. Audits will also be carried out on the physical and financial progress of selected projects under consideration.

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