Martin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)

It is important to be calm and to put the facts. All I ask Members to do, as Senator McDowell has done, is to debate the issue on the facts. Members may disagree with the policy decision I make. That is their choice, but they should debate it on the facts.

I want to put on record the commitment of the Government, as part of its integrated approach to meeting transport needs, to the improvement of public transport in the greater Dublin area. A well-developed national road network and a free flowing upgraded M50 are obviously of major importance for growth and development in the Dublin area. Since 1997, we have concentrated transport investment on the construction of high-quality roads while also upgrading railway lines and services, building Luas and implementing other measures such as quality bus corridors. In the future, however, investment in public transport will be the main focus in the greater Dublin area.

Transport 21 will result in the transformation of the public transport system in the greater Dublin area. This will be achieved through a major expansion of rail-based public transport infrastructure and by providing significantly increased bus capacity, combined with more quality bus corridors. Transport 21 will create a fully-integrated transport system for Dublin. It will be possible to get to most parts of the city with at most one change of train. Metro lines will provide rapid rail links to the city from Swords and Dublin Airport and an orbital route through the western suburbs to complement the M50 linking Tallaght, Clondalkin, Lucan and Blanchardstown to metro north at Ballymun.

The construction of an interconnector tunnel from Heuston Station to the docklands will allow for the provision of DART services from Hazelhatch to Balbriggan and from Bray to Maynooth. Luas will be extended to the Dublin docklands, Lucan, Citywest, Liffey Junction, Cherrywood and Bray and the existing red and green lines will be linked. A major hub at St. Stephen's Green will integrate metro, commuter rail and light rail services in the city.

This increased investment in public transport, combined with the upgrade of the M50, the completion of the port tunnel and the upgrade of other national routes in the Dublin area, including the completion of the Naas Road and the Finglas-Ashbourne section of the N2, will ensure that the greater Dublin area has a high-quality integrated transport network capable of supporting its growth and development in the future.

Concerns have been raised as regards the additional volumes of HGVs which will be using the M50 following the opening of the Dublin Port tunnel this summer. I met with key stakeholders this week including Dublin City Council, the NRA and the Dublin Port Company to ensure that these agencies develop a co-ordinated traffic management strategy for the opening of the port tunnel. My Department is working with all the parties to ensure that the Dublin Port tunnel is brought into operation in an efficient and effective manner and to ensure the smooth integration of traffic from the port tunnel with the Dublin road network.

Before concluding I want to refer briefly to the toll PPP roads programme. The national roads improvement programme, in line with the national development plan and more recently, Transport 21, provides for the procurement and construction of a number of major roads as toll PPP projects. The current position is that three projects — the second West Link bridge, the Dundalk western bypass and the Kilcock-Kinnegad section of the N4 — have been completed. Work is under way on the Fermoy bypass and is due to start on the Waterford city bypass and phase 2 of the Limerick southern ring road this year.

A number of other toll PPP projects — the N6, Galway-Ballinasloe, N7 and N8, Portlaoise-Cullahill, and the M50 PPP upgrade — are at earlier stages of procurement but I understand that the National Roads Authority expects these schemes to be in construction by early 2007. The Clonee-Kells section of the N3 is currently before the courts and the timeline for commencing that scheme will depend on the outcome of the hearing.

The projects to be undertaken as toll PPPs have been selected by the NRA having regard to a number of principles. One of these key principles is that toll roads should be spread across the main national routes in order to create an equitable distribution of user charging on the newly-constructed network along with the benefits of the accelerated delivery of the new roads. Another fundamental underlying principle of the NRA PPP programme is that an alternative toll-free route be available for road users. Toll PPPs are only undertaken following rigorous assessment in line with Department of Finance requirements and guidelines and capital appraisal and where such assessment demonstrates that it offers value for money. The toll programme is making a significant contribution to the accelerated implementation of the national roads upgrade programme. It has also facilitated the more extensive use of private sector expertise in the design, construction and operation of facilities.

In summary, the toll road PPP programme will continue to make a significant contribution to the implementation of the national roads improvement programme. To conclude, it will be clear from the foregoing that a clear strategy is in place for the upgrade of the M50 on a phased basis between now and 2010. A central element of this is the installation of free flow tolling on the M50. Free flow tolling will be installed on the M50 in 2008 in parallel with the completion of phase 1 of the M50 upgrade. The M50 upgrade and free flow tolling, combined with the major investment provided for under Transport 21, will transform the transport infrastructure and services in the greater Dublin area and ensure that citizens have a transport system, including a free flow M50, that meets their needs and provides a high level of service.

That is what I call making decisions and delivering solutions.