Delays in Luas and motorway plans expected

TRANSPORT: Delays in the provision of the Luas, no new motorway start-ups next year and "a few" extra years needed to complete the National Development Plan - these were the main features of the Department of Transport's spending Estimate yesterday.

However, the Minister, Mr Brennan, said the money was a 2 per cent increase on the previous year's Estimate and would support "about the same level of activity as last year".

Investment in roads would amount to more than €1 billion and would be used to advance up to 30 major road projects, while the subvention to CIÉ would be in the order of €500 million "or about €10 million per week", he said.

The Dublin Transportation Office would receive €40 million to continue its work on traffic improvements in Dublin city.

About €127 million has been provided for the Luas but the the Minister also revealed that the Railway Procurement Agency, which oversees Luas construction, "will have a borrowing requirement of about €90 million" in 2003.

The Tallaght line would not be carrying passengers until the first quarter of 2004 at the earliest, he confirmed.

About €9 million will be provided towards planning for the metro in 2003.

The total allocation for public transport for 2003 is €668 million and the Minister promised that users of public transport "will see a real difference in service capacity and frequency in 2003 when the major infrastructural projects begun in 2000 and 2001 begin to kick in".

Asked about the absence of new road projects in the list proposed for 2003, Mr Brennan said he hoped a number of completions during the year would allow a number of start-ups which had not been included in the programme. These included the Monasterevin bypass in Co Kildare and the Kilcock-Kinnegad-Kilbeggan motorway.

The subvention to CIÉ of €500 million would allow Iarnród Éireann to continue its rail improvements, including DART upgrading and expansion of Heuston Station as well as new carriages for inter-city and suburban services.

However, the company is not going to press ahead with the resignalling of the central corridor, which was another capacity enhancement project.

Some €28.52 million has been provided for the development of regional airports and subsidised regional air services.

A figure of €5 million has been included for the funding of the penalty points system and "taxi-related matters".

The Minister said he could not provide a list of what roads projects were not being progressed next year as "those projects were still out there" and may in fact be done as capacity becomes available.

Mr Brennan said the list of roads identified by the National Development Plan was "indicative" and the Government had now accepted that the plan would take "a few extra years" to complete.

Pressed on the number of years, the Minister said that at rates of 4 per cent growth per annum, "it may be only one extra year".

Mr Brennan insisted overall fundingwas 2 per cent above last year's, but he acknowledged that this would change if an extra €80 million allocated after last year's Estimates was included, though that was "somewhat academic".