Noel Dempsey (Meath West, Fianna Fail)

It is no secret that the current economic circumstances will make it difficult to deliver on all projects. The renewed programme for Government, published a couple of weeks ago, specifically states, in respect of priorities for capital investment in transport, that work will continue on the subsequent phases of the Western rail corridor and Navan projects for earliest possible delivery; planning and design in respect of metro west, the Bray-Lucan and cross-city Luas lines with a view to earliest possible delivery; metro north and the DART underground, including associated projects such as electrification and rolling stock will be fast-tracked and prioritised so that they are completed by 2016, real time passenger information will be introduced at more than 500 bus stops in Dublin and Cork by the end of 2010 and will be extended to bus stops in Limerick, Galway and Waterford in 2011; an integrated ticketing system will be introduced for all modes of transport; the smart card will be rolled out for testing next year and the major inter-urban roads programme will be completed in 2010; investment in enhancement and maintenance of regional and local roads will continue and a significant portion of the budget will be allocated to road improvement projects; and the Bray to Balbriggan cycle-pedestrian route and other similar routes will be developed as major tourism and commuter facilities. While that list does not include all projects in Transport 21, they are the priorities.

The Government is not wobbling on metro north. The process has ceased because the oral hearing was stopped. Further information was sought from the RPA and this was provided on 1 October. While I understand the intention was that the oral hearing would recommence before the end of this month, this has not been confirmed. This is a good example of the futility of my trying to predict in this House when projects will commence or finish. I cannot do so until the contractors are on site. The planning and procurement process is lengthy and difficulties often arise. Metro north and the DART underground are the two major priorities in the public transport area. While other projects in the list are priorities, I have no control over the planning process. If all goes according to plan, we should have the railway order for metro north by the middle of next year.

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