James Bannon (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)

I welcome the Minister. I am delighted to have an opportunity to speak on this important matter. Nearly every transport project due to be competed before 2010 under the Government's €34 billion Transport 21 plan is already delayed or late, depending on which spin is put on it by the Minister. It is emphatically predicted to miss its due date. We have evidence of that on several projects. The Minister referred to projects in counties Louth and Westmeath. It would not take a genius to know the latter project would be finished well ahead of the planned time. Anyone who knows the short stretch of road in close proximity to Belvedere would realise that.

So much for the Government's mantra of "on time and on budget". That was the tone back at the launch of Transport 21 which was accompanied by great fanfare. It is my bet the Taoiseach and the Minister wish to forget the catchphrase that must now be haunting them. With a puffed out chest and full of pride, the former Minister for Transport, Deputy Cullen, described Transport 21 as "my brain child". It is more of a no-brainer if you ask me.

The Minister does not need me to tell him the transport system is inadequate. That must have filtered through, even to him. We have seen a significant number of U-turns on the part of the Minister. He is spinning like a roth mór at this stage. The national spatial strategy and the development of the regional gateways to slow the growth of Dublin have failed miserably. The Minister would be aware of that if he had his ear to the ground on this issue. Despite the national spatial strategy, apart from the Atlantic road corridor and a few regional projects, all routes still lead to Dublin.

In the previous national development plan the State was divided into two regions to ensure the maximisation of EU Structural Funds. Commitments were given that the BMW region would benefit disproportionately but this certainly did not happen. Once again, projects in the Dublin and east region exceeded its budget. The BMW region has lost out. Spending on roads in the BMW region is down by €500 million on promised funding with an overall investment shortfall of approximately €4 billion.

What has happened regarding the proposed upgrade of the N63 and the N55? They join numerous other roads that are examples of where the Government has failed to provide a 20th century infrastructure for the midlands. The N4 motorway from Dublin to Sligo will provide an essential motorway link to the midlands and the west and help to promote economic growth which is badly needed in this area. Some sections of the route have been upgraded to motorway or dual carriageway standards but the fact remains there is no timescale for the completion of the project. Question marks remain over safety given the number of bottlenecks that arise on this route.

I would not like to think access to Sligo would be left in the hands of Iarnród Éireann, whose reaction to the breakdown on the route at the weekend was a total failure of customer care, impinging on health and safety and showing an unbelievable incompetence and disregard for the well-being of passengers. Serious questions on this incident need to be answered by the Minister and Iarnród Éireann.

The midlands was totally overlooked in the proposals on Transport 21, with the resultant omission of essential works on what are some of the most dangerous roads in Ireland. These dangerous roads include the N55 between Athlone and Cavan, the N63 between Longford and Roscommon and an appallingly bad stretch between Edgeworthstown and Armagh, which poses a serious threat to the safety of the public. This route was referred to as one of the worst roads in the Thirty-two Counties.

One of the greatest omissions in Transport 21 was the Mullingar to Athlone rail link, despite assurances to the contrary from a former Minister for Transport from Longford-Westmeath, who got front page headlines prior to the general election for promising thin air. Nothing has been done to advance the reopening of that valuable infrastructural asset for the midlands linking two of the gateway towns, Mullingar and Athlone, by rail. In reply to my parliamentary question on the Minister's plans for the reopening of the line, he stated that the strategic rail review did not recommend the inclusion of the scheme in the list of new rail schemes or projects. He went on to emphasise what I already know, namely, that the project is not included in Transport 21. The Minister might comment on the developments that have taken place since then. With all the huffing and puffing from the Fianna Fáil Deputies from the region, I would like to know the truth about that piece of infrastructure.

The Midland Railway Action Group has done incredible work on the reopening of the line but the lack of any real and meaningful Government support has hindered its efforts. The future development of the midlands is very much dependent on the provision of a commercial airport in the midlands. Abbeyshrule, which is in close proximity to where I live and has had a small leisure airport since the early 1950s, with business ventures attached, is an ideal site for this development. Transport 21 overlooked that valuable infrastructural asset and despite local community activity, nothing has materialised. I ask the Minister to consider the development of that airport to commercial status because it would be important for the opening up of the midlands and for industry generally in the midlands. I wrote to the Minister's Department on several occasions regarding that important piece of infrastructure for the midlands but to date I have received negative responses. The Minister might again consider it because we are the only country in Europe without an airport in its midland region.

Transport 21 may not be the Minister's brainchild but since taking responsibility for it he has done little to advance its overall development. The slogan, "A lot done, more to do" must haunt the Minister. There is a lot more to do and I would welcome an update from the Minister on what will be acted upon in Transport 21.

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