Roads, trains and buses are priority

The State is to spend a minimum of €900 million (£708m) on roads and €608 million (£478m) on public transport projects next year, according to the Estimates published yesterday.

The spending is part of a concerted effort to tackle traffic congestion on Dublin's roads and capacity problems on the public transport system, the Government believes, although many of the projects such as Luas and the port tunnel will not produce visible benefits for some time.

For public transport, €366 million is to be provided for capital expenditure on additional suburban rail carriages, buses, rolling stock, Luas and the rail safety project.

Under those headings, the State is to spend €142 million on rail safety including track renewal, signalling, level crossings, bridges as well as management safety systems.

It is also planned to spend €97 million on investment in public transport in the greater Dublin region as well as €127 million on the further development of Luas.

The State subvention for CI╔ is also to increase from €200 million to €232 million.

Funding is also to be provided for broadband telecommunications in the regions as well as to aid the development of regional airports.

Under these headings, the Estimates provide for €25 million towards the cost of the broadband infrastructure, which would allow for improved, high-speed telecommunications, and €29 million to enable the Government to fulfil its obligations to the MIT/MLE (Media Lab Europe) for the development of the digital hub project in Dublin city.

Funding for regional airports is to increase from €19.3 million in 2001 to €27 million in 2002.

Welcoming the allocations, the Minister for Public Enterprise, Ms O'Rourke, said the improvement scheme in public transport implemented by her Department had so far led to an extra 275 buses for Dublin Bus; 200 buses for Bus ╔ireann; 38 new DART carriages, 20 new diesel rail cars with a further 80 ordered. The public transport spending would represent an 11 per cent increase on the previous year, she said.

Mrs O'Rourke also said the subvention to CI╔ had now increased by almost 70 per cent while the capital spending on transport had increased by almost 700 per cent since the Government took office.

She said the long-term Government commitment had assisted in funding for rail safety, and provided annual funding for Luas, allowing more strategic planning.

The Estimates also include an increase of 20 per cent in the allocating for energy conservation to €9.3 million and a three per cent increase in the level of grant aid for the Radiological Protection Institute of Ireland.

While the Estimates do not specifically mention the proposed Metro system for Dublin, the Minister for Finance, Mr McCreevy, acknowledged that Ms O'Rourke would be bringing proposals for the Metro system to Cabinet "within weeks". Mr McCreevy declined to say what projects would benefit from any additional funds, which he hinted he may have on Budget day. He said it would be "a matter for discussion with the departments involved".

The allocations were however criticised by the Green Party who said they represented the neglect of public transport, "which received just over one third of the funding given to roads in the Book of Estimates launched today".

Party spokesman Councillor Eamon Ryan said "the Book of Estimates confirm our worst fears that public transport will be the big loser as our budget surplus evaporates".

He accused Ms O'Rourke of "trumpeting an 11 per cent increase on the tiny base of public transport capital expenditure while the reality is that the National Roads Authority has scooped the remaining cash in the Department of Finance's dwindling coffers".

The Greens are calling for a review of the role of the Dublin Transportation Office (DTO)"given the abandonment of the DTO's Platform for Change plan which the Government agreed to earlier this year", he said.

According to Mr Ryan, "the DTO had highlighted the fact that some €5 billion had to be invested in public transport from 2002-2006 if we were to save the city from gridlock. The Book of Estimates has provided funding for the existing Luas and Iarnr≤d ╔ireann projects but for no new projects which are urgently needed," he maintained.