Many targets in first plan not achieved on time or on budget

The first question Taoiseach Bertie Ahern was asked in December 1999, as he launched the first National Development Plan, was whether the plan could deliver the promised roads, public transport, water services, housing and energy targets on time.

His answer was in the affirmative. However, seven years on we now know the Taoiseach was substantially inaccurate.

Despite a Cabinet subcommittee being formed to drive the development's promised infrastructure, most programmes remain unfinished, while there are substantial overspends in a number of areas.

None of the inter-urban highways - a mix of motorway and high-grade dual carriageways - from Dublin to the regional cities of Cork, Galway, and Limerick as well as the Border, were completed by the 2006 deadline. The 2007 deadline for the Waterford highway will not be met.

In fact, 2006 saw only about 38 per cent of the proposed inter-urban roads open to traffic.

The cost of the programme has not been the promised €6 billion but will be about €20 billion by the time the inter-urban motorways are complete - now scheduled for 2010.

To be fair to the National Roads Authority, the road-building programme changed dramatically in 1999 from improvements to existing roads to completing mostly new motorways, but the money allocated by the Department of Finance did not correspond to the new requirements.

In addition, the compensation paid to farmers and other landowners was far in excess of what was initially expected.

Iarnród Éireann was promised about €1.3 billion to rebuild the railways. It spent about €1.9 billion and while it can be said to have transformed passenger experience, many projects are incomplete. These include quadrupling of the track between Hazelhatch and Sallins in Co Kildare to separate long-distance and suburban services; the plan to link Heuston and Connolly stations to allow Arrow services to run through to Connolly and regional rail improvements, particularly around Cork.

Dublin Bus was promised 275 new buses but the Government withheld approval for increases between 2001 and late 2005, with bus numbers remaining at about 1,062. Late last year this number was increased by 17 to 1,079 and is due to rise to 1,182 by the end of next year. However, Dublin Bus, in its network review of 2005, claimed it was short 425 buses just to keep pace with demand.

The National Development Plan 2000-2006 proposed spending of €3.17 billion on water and waste water treatment plants. According to the Department of Environment €3.2 billion was spent on 334 projects.

However, the funding should have included upgrading the infrastructure to levels required under the urban waster water treatment directive. This included treatment plants at Dublin, Cork, Swords, Waterford, Limerick, Sligo, Westport and Letterkenny. Letterkenny, Waterford and Sligo are not yet in operation, raising the issue of compliance.

Other issues in relation to the delivery of the plan arise in relation to the numbers of council houses built, which are fewer than forecast by about 4,000 units.

Demand for social housing fell but demand for affordable housing rose and the target of 2,000 affordable and voluntary sector houses has not been met. Renewable energy achievements are also below targets contained in the relevant European directive, while the roll-out of broadband communications has been slower than envisaged.