Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 28: To ask the Minister for Transport the extent to which a proper evaluation and feasibility study has been undertaken in respect of his recently announced Transport 21 programme, with a view to achieving full integration between air, road, rail, tunnel and underground system with the objective of avoiding the cost overruns and the disjointed results of previous similar initiatives; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35931/05]

Damien English (Meath, Fine Gael)
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Question 46: To ask the Minister for Transport the reason he is not in a position to provide start dates for the commencement of projects set out in his Transport 21 strategy; if the completion dates set out for such projects can be realised in the absence of the latter dates; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36023/05]

John Gormley (Dublin South East, Green Party)
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Question 72: To ask the Minister for Transport his reasons for not making the Transport 21 plan available for public comment; his plans for the publication of the plan; and the cost incurred in the creation of the plan. [36061/05]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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Question 81: To ask the Minister for Transport when he expects to be in a position to provide detailed costings of the projects promised under Transport 21. [35886/05]

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 182: To ask the Minister for Transport the criteria it is intended to apply to ensure that no overspends or wastage occurs in the context of Transport 21; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36262/05]

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 187: To ask the Minister for Transport his plans to ensure that Transport 21 does not entail the kind of overspend associated with previous traffic plans; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36267/05]

Martin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 28, 46, 72, 81, 182 and 187 together.

Transport 21 is a fully costed programme. The €34.4 billion cost is based on the aggregate cost of the constituent projects and these are in turn primarily based on costs provided by the transport agencies. However, I do not propose to release this commercially sensitive information until the public procurement processes for the individual projects are completed. Some elements of Transport 21, such as traffic management, have global financial provisions rather than individual project allocations.

Since 2002 the Department has undertaken substantial work on integration in consultation with other Departments and State agencies. This work takes account of Government policy documents, particularly the national spatial strategy 2002 and the regional planning guidelines. The result was a set of guiding principles for integrated transport policy, which is published in our current statement of strategy. These principles provided a policy backdrop for the preparation of the integrated investment strategy contained in Transport 21.

In addition, in preparing Transport 21, my Department took account of the work already done on investment priorities under the existing capital envelope to end 2009 and of the various strategic studies already completed by my Department and its agencies, including A Platform for Change, the strategic rail review and the national road needs study. The Department also engaged with Córas Iompair Éireann, the Railway Procurement Agency, the National Roads Authority, the Dublin Transportation Office and relevant Departments in order to identify the broad direction and priorities of the investment framework.

The result of this work is a transport investment strategy which for the first time addresses Exchequer capital expenditure in an integrated way across modes, and which emphasises connectivity and which provides for the development of an integrated transport network in the greater Dublin area.

My Department will be responsible for overseeing the implementation of Transport 21 by the various transport agencies and local authorities. A monitoring group is being established which will be chaired by my Department. The group will include representatives of the Department of the Taoiseach, the Department of Finance and other relevant Government Departments and agencies. It will be responsible for the high-level monitoring of Transport 21 and for reporting annually to Government on issues such as financial and physical progress.

I am convinced that we also need a new approach to transport in the greater Dublin area, delivered through a single authority, with real powers to ensure joined up thinking and delivery across all the transport modes. A team, chaired by Professor Margaret O'Mahony and reporting directly to me, has been appointed and charged with finalising a structure for the new transport authority, detailing its remit and responsibilities as well as identifying the human resources which are critical to the success of the body taking into account best practice and best experience internationally.

In recent times, the majority of transport projects have being coming in on budget, with many ahead of schedule, and this augurs well for the implementation of Transport 21. Nevertheless significant safeguards will be implemented to ensure that Transport 21 is delivered within budget.

In the first instance, projects within Transport 21 will be subject to capital appraisal in line with Department of Finance guidelines and the value for money initiatives set out in the Minister for Finance's speech of 20 October last. Transport 21 clearly sets out the completion dates of key projects. On the basis of the preparatory work that has been undertaken, I am satisfied that those dates are both realistic and achievable. My primary focus is on ensuring that the completion deadlines are fully met. It is the responsibility of the relevant implementing agencies to identify the project milestones necessary to achieve these completion deadlines. The structures that I am putting in place — the new transport authority for Dublin and the high-level monitoring group — will assist in ensuring that projects are delivered in the timeframes already published.

There has been no shortage of public debate about the future direction of transport investment policy. A number of significant studies have been published which contributed to that debate, including the strategic studies I mentioned earlier and other studies such as those on the western rail corridor. The Government has taken account of all these inputs and has decided the future direction of transport investment. The focus now needs to be on delivery and not on further debate. Of course, the individual projects included in Transport 21 will be the subject of public consultation and the normal statutory approval processes.

No consultancy costs were incurred by my Department in the development of Transport 21 as the Department did not engage any consultants or other advisers for this purpose. However, my Department did benefit from the advice of Goodbody Economic Consultants who were engaged before work on the investment framework commenced, to review the business cases submitted by Iarnród Éireann in support of various projects, including its greater Dublin integrated rail network proposals, much of which is included in Transport 21.

I intend to publish a more detailed document on Transport 21 in due course and this will involve printing and translation costs. Also, there were costs associated with the launch of Transport 21, details of which I gave to the House in response to Parliamentary Question No. 277 of 9 November 2005.