Ann Ormonde (Fianna Fail)

I welcome the Minister and am grateful for the opportunity to contribute to this discussion on the historic transformation of transport in this country.

Much time was invested in this plan. The consultation process began in 2000. It involved consideration of the reports, A Platform for Change and the strategic rail review, as well as consultation with the National Roads Authority, the Railway Procurement Agency, the Dublin Transport Office, Córas Iompair Éireann and Bus Éireann. While I compliment those organisations, I am not sure that we need their input now. Great work has gone into this plan over the last few years and the various interest groups had to be involved in the process, in order to bring about this new transport initiative, Transport 21.

The main issue of concern now is accountability. I wonder about the future role of all of the parties that were involved. We need one umbrella organisation or agency to implement and oversee Transport 21. Otherwise, we could get bogged down on the question of who is responsible for various aspects of the plan. Now that the plan has been launched, the Minister and one agency should take control. It might then be possible to set up links with the various bodies dealing with roads, rail and transport in the greater Dublin area.

The Minister stated earlier that prior to the publication of Transport 21, the Dundalk western bypass and the Waterford outer ring road were opened and the new eight-car DART service was launched. In that context, let us not be too cynical. Work is being done and Senators should acknowledge that, rather than always concentrating on the negative — asserting that the plan is nothing but promises and that nothing will happen. I believe it will happen because it must.

We must have an integrated transport solution. We cannot take a piecemeal approach any longer. I am delighted to see that Dublin will be linked, via motorways, with all of the main cities in the country. I regularly travel on the Naas dual carriageway and I welcome the infrastructural developments that have taken place along that road. The movement of traffic is excellent on the route.

I am pleased that we are going to revitalise the railways by upgrading stations and funding the urban and regional fleets. It is estimated that over 20 million passengers will travel on the Luas this year. Since its introduction, more people are choosing public transport, as is evident in Tallaght, Sandyford and other areas. Crowds of people use the Luas every day, including at weekends. It is a great achievement and I compliment the Government on executing the plan for Luas in good time, despite various obstacles. We must now undertake more developments of a similar kind.

In this Celtic tiger era there is not one family in the country that does not have two or three cars. Therefore, the road infrastructure must be improved. People's lifestyles are changing, as are their careers. Nowadays, it is not an issue for people to commute every day from Kildare, Portlaoise or Waterford to work in Dublin. The road network must be improved to facilitate that.

Transport 21 aims to increase the number of rail carriages and cars by 187 between 2005 and 2008. That is a specific target and I hope the Government will stick to it. It is stated explicitly in the plan and will happen. The renewal of the mainline rail rolling stock will take place in the aforementioned timeframe. In addition, 36 railcars will be provided for the Dublin suburban and Sligo rail services. There will be services every hour from Dublin to Cork, Galway and Limerick and every two hours from Dublin to Sligo. There will be improvements in the Westport, Ballina and Rosslare areas, with four services per day. This will open up the regions. These are specific plans. Senator Norris asserted that there was a lack of specifics in the plan, but I have just outlined some specific targets to which we must adhere.

I welcome the commitment by the Government to the concept of interconnection, which will relieve severe bottlenecks in Dublin city centre. That must be welcomed by all. I look forward to seeing the connection of the Luas and DART services, making travel between Heuston Station, Connolly Station, Tallaght, Sandyford and Bray possible. Integrated ticketing will be a part of that development. Again, this is a specific aim, outlined clearly in the plan, which I welcome.

There are plans to further upgrade the Luas. The Tallaght line is to extend to the docklands, there will be a spur to the CityWest, and the Sandyford line will extend to Cherrywood and Bray, to link in with the DART and suburban rail network. In view of all this I compliment the Government for creating one single authority. It will be of great benefit to the greater Dublin area and represents the joined up thinking to which the Minister referred. However, one area not adequately catered for is park and ride facilities. Some of the park and ride areas are becoming expensive and deter people from using them, so I ask the Minister to address that issue.

I welcome moves regarding the Dublin-Waterford connection. I am aware the Minister has already opened the outer ring road and there will be possibilities in 2009 to upgrade the roads to Waterford. The people in Waterford will welcome that and I am delighted the Minister has made a commitment in that area. It is well overdue because Waterford city is choc-a-bloc and nobody can get in or out of it. The quicker that job is done the better.

This is a great initiative. Lifestyles are changing and we need to get people out of the big cities to relieve the bottlenecks. We must improve services so that people can enjoy a better quality of life. It is necessary to decentralise automatically because more and more young people do not stay in Dublin after they leave college but look for jobs in other major cities. I welcome that the focus is no longer on Dublin alone. This transport initiative has started the process of moving people to other areas as they enjoy greater development and prosperity, which will rejuvenate rural life. Facilitating third level education in major cities is welcome, as is upgrading our universities and schools, all of which will result from this initiative.

I welcome the launch of Transport 21. The specifics are there but we must have implementation. If we act on what the Minister has said we will have a first class transport system in this country, with railways, roads and bus services all interconnected and with integrated ticketing and park and ride facilities, so that greater Dublin can be relieved as people to move out to achieve a greater quality of life.