Paul Bradford (Fine Gael)

I welcome the Minister to the House. I was unaware that the other House had not debated Transport 21 in full so it is important that we have a worthwhile and informed debate on the matter. I take on board the Minister's comments about the breadth and aims of this plan. In his concluding remarks, the Minister stated that a new transport dawn has recently come about with the opening of high-quality roads and the introduction of enhanced public transport services, such as Luas. This is true but, simultaneously, we have never before experienced so many problems with transport as more motorists face queues and more of our constituents complain about road problems. We are a long way from having the road, rail and general transport infrastructure that we need.

It is fair to say, whether one is a Government or an Opposition Senator, that the State did not require considerable transport planning up to 1980 because its level of economic growth was so slow. The country has experienced record economic growth over the past 15 to 20 years and while it is good news for every Irish citizen, it is accompanied by problems, one of the most visible of which concerns transport. We are now playing catch-up with regard to developing a transport infrastructure.

The only transport policy decision ever taken in this State until recently was the decision to shut down the railway system. This decision affected places like west Clare, about which the Minister and the Leas-Chathaoirleach are aware, and west Cork. Substitute services were to have been put in place following this decision. It is ironic that shutting down rail services to rural Ireland was probably the only major transport decision made in the past 50 years.

Letters praising and criticising Transport 21 were written to newspapers in the aftermath of the publication of the plan a few weeks ago. A short letter from an individual who is now based in Dublin told of how, as a young man living in west Cork, he could travel to Skibbereen at10 a.m., get the train to Cork and another train to Dublin, take a tram to the desired address in Dublin and eat his tea there at 4 p.m. It would be impossible for him to do so today due to transport problems.

If this plan was implemented, it would be welcomed and worthwhile. We could have a debate about the philosophy behind investing in roads rather than rail. I am happy to see proposals for the investment of significant moneys in our road network but insufficient attention is being paid to the rail network. Even if the proposals contained in Transport 21 are implemented, the rail system must be returned to the core of public transport. Córas Iompair Éireann recently decided to practically exit the freight section of the haulage business, a disappointing decision which has increased pressure on our road network. The Minister should insist on increased funding for the rail network.

Transport 21 is a shiny new plan which is possibly a breath of fresh air but the Government is tarnished, rather than bright and shiny, after almost a decade in office. The public is concerned this plan will not be implemented. When plans are brought forward, every party and politician has credibility problems in that the public does not believe they will be implemented. When the Minister and his colleagues state what will happen in regard to Transport 21, the fact there was a health strategy to wipe out waiting lists which did not happen, a spatial strategy, to which the Minister referred earlier, and which is not being implemented, a decentralisation plan which is not being implemented and numerous other plans, all of which were laudable, well put together and welcome, will be thrown back at them not only by us but by the people. It is an issue we must address politically, namely, how we fail so miserably to act on policies produced.

If, as the Minister said, this plan is implemented on time, it would be a major step forward for the further economic and social growth of this country. Our fear must be that it will not be implemented. I am sure when this plan was launched my colleagues opposite expected the public not only to respond warmly and to welcome it but to give them a political clap on the back. However, that did not happen. The reason the media, commentators and the public were so cynical is that, unfortunately, over the past five or six years, there have been many Government plans which have not worked out as envisaged. The challenge facing those opposite in the remaining 12 or 18 months of this Government, and all of us politically, is to ensure that when we put such plans on paper, we implement them. It is a significant task and I wish the Minister well in that regard. However, the Government's promises to date in regard to health, education and the 2,000 extra gardaí, which were much less expensive and less complicated than this plan, have not been kept.

The Minister is putting in place a monitoring group and an authority for Dublin appears to be up and running. I wish it well. However, I have the gravest doubts about this plan sticking to the timetable and being implemented as stated by the Minister because the record to date would suggest it is a little like pie in the sky.

Much of what is contained in the plan, including the maps, graphs and charts, and much of what the Minister said has been announced previously. The metro to Dublin Airport was announced in the programme for Government. The Luas extensions were apparently unveiled in 2001. According to the national development plan, the interurban motorways were to be completed by 2006. The rail interconnector was included in the 2001 Platform for Change. The suburban rail proposals, which were debated today, were announced as part of the Irish Rail programme of capital investment and funding for 2003 to 2008. This plan is not as shiny and new as would appear. Unfortunately, those proposals which have been included in it, and which were announced previously, are not up and running, as planned.

We must accept there will be little stumbling blocks along the way but the planning and infrastructural systems need to be upgraded and re-examined. Even accounting for those delays, the political will does not appear to have existed over the past five or six years. Money has not been the cause of the problem since it has been available. It appears we are not able to sort out the timeframe.

At the launch of Transport 21, the Minister for Finance, Deputy Cowen, also spoke. The media reported that he took charge of the presentation and made it abundantly clear that as far as he was concerned, the plan was very much in his hands and that he would look extremely closely at the value for money issue, which is important. We have seen the waste of public money, which has been debated in this House and elsewhere in recent months. This plan will cost over €30 billion, so we must ensure the various parts are implemented at the suggested costs because it is not the Government's money but that of taxpayers. The Minister for Finance said the principle of value for money for every euro of taxpayers' money spent is paramount, with which I agree. It is important taxpayers get value for money.

For the first time in the history of the State, a Government has had considerable resources to spend, yet the record of spending shows there has been much waste. We cannot afford to waste anymore money and we must ensure this plan is implemented at the suggested costs.

I would like to see all of this plan implemented. What is proposed in respect of the Atlantic corridor from Letterkenny to Limerick to Cork to Waterford is a laudable project but no start-up date has been provided. There are no indications as to how much of that network will be motorway or the new two-by-one system being developed in parts of the country and on which I would like some information.

I would like to be slightly parochial for a moment. Although over €30 billion is being made available for this plan, I was very disappointed that two of the very important trunk roads in the north Cork area — the Mallow to Mitchelstown road, which is in appalling condition for a national secondary road and which carries thousands of vehicles each day, and the Mallow to Fermoy road, which is a very important tourist route from Rosslare to Killarney — were not earmarked for particular attention. The Atlantic corridor and other key national primary routes were included but it was disappointing those two roads were not included. I am sure other roads throughout the country were not included but I know those two roads well and was disappointed specific investment was not set aside for them. They are important from a tourism perspective not only for the north Cork region but also for County Kerry, the Blackwater Valley and further westwards. Perhaps that issue might be brought to the Minister's attention.

The extra money being allocated is impressive, as is the figure of 175 million extra public transport users, including the additional bus and Luas passengers, and the extra trains on the Cork to Dublin, Dublin to Galway and Dublin to Limerick routes, etc., which we must welcome. However, I go back to my central point of the ability of the Government to deliver on these proposals. That is what the debate must be about. Nobody could object to implementing any of the proposals. We need them all and perhaps more, particularly from the perspective of railway investment. The political challenge the Government faces will be to get the work done on time. That will become an issue on which the Government's lack of credibility over the past two or three years will cause difficulty. It is the reason the launch of the plan was not met with a fanfare of trumpets by the public. It does not believe the Government's promises that the work will be done on time. I stress there must be detailed planning and regular debates at Oireachtas level to assess progress and identify what delays have occurred and what must be dealt with. There must also be dialogue between all the partners.

In two to four years' time, we do not want a new Minister in a new Government re-announcing the plan. We want to see it implemented, or at least for a start to be made. That is a big challenge for everybody because in this new Ireland with its strong economy, we need road, rail and other infrastructural improvements which this plan suggests will be implemented. We must ensure they are implemented but I have the most profound doubts about the ability of the Government to deliver its plan because sadly, its record to date on major projects across a broad spectrum is one of delay, waste of money and failure. I hope this plan will not join that unenviable list.