Minister criticises road body

Minister of State Ivor Callely has criticised the National Roads Authority spending of €10 million on electronic roadside signage as being too low.

Mr Callely said the money was too little in the light of an overall transport budget of almost €2.5 billion per year. He told a conference of European transport authorities in Dublin Castle yesterday that more intelligent transport systems (ITS) will have to be developed in Ireland.

ITS are already in place on the N7 approach to the M50, where electronic displays advise drivers of travel times and congestion up ahead.

Mr Callely told the conference there was "a need to provide travel options involved in undertaking any journey, so that commuters can make informed choices on where, when and how they travel."

This may in turn require the development of an integrated real-time passenger information system and bus priority for Dublin's public transport, he added.

Electronic payment systems have been developed for road tolling, parking, park and ride and public transport. The systems are capable of being integrated and can be accessed by mobile phones.

"In short, we need accelerated deployment of ITS to help tackle traffic congestion, to make public transport more convenient for the travelling consumer and to deliver on road safety," Mr Callely said.