The budget of the Road Safety Authority has been doubled to €40 million with increases in funding for the detection of drink drivers and the reduction of waiting lists for driving tests, Minister for Transport Noel Dempsey said yesterday.
Outlining how his department would spend a record provision of €3.8 billion in 2008, Mr Dempsey said the main elements were €2.3 billion for roads; €1.3 billion for public transport; and smaller increases for maritime safety, regional airports and harbours and road safety.
Commenting on the doubling of the budget of the Road Safety Authority, Mr Dempsey said some €11 million was earmarked for the driving test system and almost €6 million for road safety promotions. Mr Dempsey said driving test waiting times would be "slashed to 10 weeks" from June next as a result of the funding.
He added that spending on the Medical Bureau of Road Safety was to increase by €1.8 million next year "because unfortunately some people are still not getting the message about drink driving". The extra funding was due to the increased cost of processing random breath testing.
The Budget allows for significant progress on new Luas lines and Metro North, and the purchase of new buses for Bus Éireann. Mr Dempsey also said the National Roads Authority was currently evaluating more some 125 projects that it would deliver after the major inter-urban motorways, post 2010.
He also acknowledged there was a continuing delay in establishing the Dublin Transport Authority (DTA) due to a review of its provisions for land use and transportation studies which he had undertaken.
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