Dessie Ellis (Dublin North West, Sinn Fein)
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Question 193: To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the position regarding the decision-making process in respect of metro north, BXD, DART underground and the DART extension. [19228/11]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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As the Deputy is aware, the Government recently announced a comprehensive review of capital spending which is now underway. The review will examine capital proposals across all sectors of the economy to establish a set of priority projects and programmes that will support economic recovery and provide new employment opportunities. The results will form the basis of a new National Development Plan.

My Department is reviewing all existing transport projects and programmes as part of this process. A major priority will be to ensure funding to protect and maintain investment made to date and to ensure continured high safety standards. This will of necessity restrict the funding for new projects with only those offering the highest return having any prospect of being prioritised.

As part of the review process all agencies funded by my Department were requested to make submissions supporting their programmes and setting priorities in a scenario of reduced allocations. Submissions have been received from the National Transport Authority, Railway Procurement Agency and Iarnród Éireann in relation to public transport projects. These submissions are being examined by my officials and they will inform my Department's conclusions on the capital review. The outcome of the review on major projects should be available in September.

Dessie Ellis (Dublin North West, Sinn Fein)
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Question 194: To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport his plans to make rail and bus travel more attractive to commuters in view of the obvious benefits of reducing road congestion. [19229/11]

Alan Kelly (Tipperary North, Labour)
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The last decade has seen substantial levels of capital investment in transport infrastructure to improve our public transport network throughout the country. It will clearly not be possible to maintain this level of investment in the period ahead, given the difficult budgetary and economic challenges we now face. That is not to say however that progress cannot be made in encouraging people to make the switch from the private car to public transport. Despite the reduced sums available for capital and current expenditure, this Government will, continue to prioritise the role of public transport. More targeted but less expenditure intensive measures can make a real difference.

The introduction of real time passenger information project (RTPI) and the development of a National Integrated Journey Planner will improve the experience of users of bus public transport. In addition to these measures, the Integrated Ticketing project will soon be delivered making it easier for commuters to switch easily between bus,rail and luas on one ticket. Work on quality bus corridors and green routes throughout the country will continue as a priority in the period ahead in order to allow the bus to compete strongly on journey times when compared with the private car. We will also continue to invest in the improvement of rail stations and bus stops to make commuting a more pleasant experience.

The above are value for money measures that support the use of the overall public transport system and enhance the accessibility, convenience, and attractiveness of the public transport offering.