Ivor Callely (Dublin North Central, Fianna Fail)
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Question 54: To ask the Minister for Transport his Department's policy with regard to commuters travelling into the city; the level of public transport services; the number of daily commuters; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41530/06]

Ivor Callely (Dublin North Central, Fianna Fail)
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Question 75: To ask the Minister for Transport the evaluation that has been carried out on the use of the private car as a mode of transport for commuting on a daily basis in the greater Dublin area over the past ten years and the switch from a private car to public transport; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41529/06]

Martin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 54 and 75 together.

Policies to promote public transport over the private car were set out in the final report of the Dublin Transport Initiative in 1994 and in the Dublin Transportation Office (DTO) transport strategy "A Platform for Change", which was published in 2001. The National Development Plans 1994 to 1999, and 2000 to 2006 also placed a particular emphasis on investing in expanding the capacity of our public transport systems to reduce the reliance on private car. The numbers travelling on public transport have significantly increased as a result of the major investments that have been made under the National Development Plans, against the background of significant increases in car ownership levels.

A significant focus of Transport 21, the Government's 10-year capital investment framework for transport, published in November 2005, is to transform the level and quality of public transport services in the Greater Dublin Area. TRANSPORT 21 ring-fenced some €13bn for delivery of a set of public transport projects, broadly drawn from A Platform for Change, in the GDA. TRANSPORT 21 provides funding for major suburban rail, Luas, Metro, and bus projects which will have the result of significantly increasing coverage of the region by public transport networks.

At present, some 200 million passenger journeys are made annually on public transport alone in the Greater Dublin Area. This is set to increase to 375 million by the end of Transport 21.