Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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Question 55: To ask the Minister for Transport if he will conduct an audit of the planning and implementation of Transport 21 in view of the ongoing delays in a significant number of Transport 21's major infrastructural projects; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32772/07]

Noel Dempsey (Meath West, Fianna Fail)
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Given the scale of investment in Transport 21, the monitoring arrangements supporting the framework must be sufficiently robust to ensure that the projects and programmes identified are proceeding as planned and are properly appraised and provide value for money. Structures are in place in my Department to provide these assurances.

A High Level Monitoring Group has been set up comprising representatives of the relevant Government Departments and assisted by the Chief Executives of the State agencies with responsibility for implementing the projects in Transport 21. The main role of this Group is to monitor the implementation of projects and programmes provided for in Transport 21 and to review compliance with the Department of Finance's Capital Appraisal Guidelines and Value for Money Indicators. To assist the Group, my Department has appointed independent auditors to carry out reviews of a representative selection of projects. These reviews look at capital appraisal and physical implementation of projects.

My Department has also retained specialist advisors to assist it in relation to specific issues arising under the Transport 21 programme. A Programme Board comprising senior managers from the Department is responsible for the overall management of the Transport 21 capital envelope and for issues which are cross sectoral in nature, such as capital appraisal, communications and information.

The huge scale of the Transport 21 programme is such that adjustments to the timescale for individual projects is inevitable. The value of the ten-year financial framework is that it gives us the flexibility to deal with this in an effective way. The monitoring structures and supports which I have already outlined provide a robust framework for making adjustments to the investment programme as circumstances require.