Áine Brady (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)

I welcome the opportunity to contribute and I thank Deputy Chris Andrews for sharing time with me. The debate on the setting up of the Dublin transport authority for the greater Dublin area is very important. As a representative of a constituency in the greater Dublin area, it is an important development in ensuring we have a co-ordinated approach to transport issues.

Since my election last May, I have worked with many of the relevant stakeholders in trying to improve the level of service of our public transport service providers. Dublin transport issues cannot be addressed by considering Dublin alone. Solving the problems can only be achieved in conjunction with counties surrounding Dublin, namely, Kildare, Meath and Wicklow, which are the home to many commuters to the city.

The proposed establishment of the new authority, which was the preferred option following consultation by the Department of Transport, will see the putting in place of a single authority to oversee and set the strategic direction for the provision of transport infrastructure and services in the greater Dublin area. Currently, there are approximately 16 bodies with some responsibility for transport in the greater Dublin area. These include the relevant Departments, principally the Department of Transport and the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government; CIE and its three operating subsidiaries, Iarnród Éireann, Dublin Bus and Bus Éireann; the Railway Procurement Agency; the National Roads Authority; the Dublin Transportation Office; and the seven local authorities in the greater Dublin area.

Under Transport 21, an investment of €14 billion is being made in the greater Dublin area. The main elements of this investment are significant investment in rail infrastructure, including the metro and the Maynooth and Kildare lines, and the construction of the suburban interurban rail interconnector that will provide a tunnelled link between Heuston Station and the Docklands via St. Stephen's Green, and a link to the northern line. It also provides for a bus network to create a meshed network of services, rerouted to take account of the rail developments. The development of park and ride facilities and the completion of the upgrade of the M50 are also included.

The creation of the authority will ensure co-ordinated and integrated delivery of the Transport 21 investment programme in the greater Dublin area. It will utilise key skilled personnel to maximum benefit across a number of projects and rationalise the existing institutional arrangements while maintaining a strong strategic dimension. The authority will have a clear mandate to transform the transport system in the capital and will have unambiguous statutory authority to implement that mandate. It will set out the strategic framework for the delivery of transport infrastructure and services in the greater Dublin area in light of a strategic transport plan covering a period of 12 to 20 years. It will also prepare a six-year implementation plan translating strategy into action.

The authority will engage closely in each stage of the planning process, from the consideration of the regional planning guidelines to the consideration of city and county development plans and local area plans, in order to ensure the greatest degree of consistency possible between its transport strategy and the land-use planning process. The authority's transport strategy will have to be consistent with the regional planning guidelines in the greater Dublin area.

The Minister for Transport and the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government will have the power to ensure consistency between land use and transport policies. I welcome this aspect of the authority's work in particular because there has not been a co-ordinated approach in the past. We have allowed the building of houses without providing adequate park and ride facilities. Maynooth and Confey rail stations are two cases in point.

A co-ordinated approach will bring focus to the planning of transport. The authority will assist in ensuring the transport infrastructure and services planned for the greater Dublin area are delivered on time and within budget and in a fully co-ordinated manner that minimises disruption to the social and economic life of the region. This planned investment in the greater Dublin area represents a particular challenge, given the scale of the projects proposed and the need to ensure integration in their planning, delivery and operation to maximise the benefit of the investment.

The absence of the authority did not mean that no development of the public transport system has taken place to date. However, its continued absence would give rise to a real danger that the investment envisaged under Transport 21 would not be delivered in a timely, cost-effective and co-ordinated manner. I believe the benefits of establishing the new authority will greatly outweigh its costs. While the authority will require significant resources to discharge its range of functions, a significant proportion of the human resources required will come from the existing agencies. There also will be cost savings associated with better co-ordination and integration of project and service delivery, as well as more rigorous powers of oversight in respect of the delivery of the projects.

The National Competitiveness Council has noted that the level of infrastructure in a country affects competitiveness and performance in a number of ways. Inadequate infrastructure can increase traffic congestion, reduce productivity and increase costs. This affects both existing firms and a country's attractiveness as an investment location and in respect of its general quality of life. Ireland ranks poorly with regard to perception of the quality of its transport infrastructure. The proposed establishment of a single authority in the greater Dublin area to set the strategic direction for transport infrastructure and services and to ensure its implementation will contribute positively to national competitiveness. By delivering an integrated public transport network, there also should be a positive impact for the socially excluded and vulnerable groups who tend to have a heavier reliance on public transport to access employment opportunities, social and health services and leisure activities.

The timely delivery of the public transport infrastructure and services will provide an attractive alternative to private car users, particularly commuters, and will result in a modal shift to more sustainable transport modes. Linking land use and transport planning and implementation will enable the authority, together with the regional authorities in the greater Dublin area, to establish more sustainable residential and commercial developments in the greater Dublin area. The traffic management and demand management functions of the new authority also will allow it to improve the efficiency of the transport network. This will have a positive impact on the reduction in growth of the levels of greenhouse gas emissions from transport. The authority has been established after a thorough consultation process and I welcome its establishment. Moreover, I look forward to the benefits it will bring.

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