Starting on a seven-year plan to clear `bottleneck'

Huge investment in roads, housing, transport and water services has been included in the Government Estimates. The investment is the first step in the State's seven-year plan to tackle the "infrastructural bottlekneck". The Minister for Public Enterprise, Ms O'Rourke, announced £350 million for public transport measures. This compares with £166 million last year. It includes £115 million for Exchequer funding for CIE - up from £109 million last year, an increase of 6 per cent. The remaining £235 million is for the Dublin Light Rail programme and public transport initiatives, including £100 million for the rail safety programme. The £235 million represents four times the provision under this heading last year, the Minister said.

The rail safety programme is part of a five-year, £500 million plan to improve the rail track, signalling and permanent way.

The £100 million will go towards track renewal on the Dublin to Sligo, Mallow to Killarney, Cherryville to Kilkenny, Athlone to Westport and Ballina, and Connolly to Arklow lines. It will also cover new signalling at Heuston and safety management systems .

In addition to yesterday's Estimate for £350 million, Mrs O'Rourke intends to bring in a supplementary Estimate of £80 million to cover rail safety items provided in 1999.

The Luas element of the allocation is £90 million to start the construction phase of the Tallaght to Abbey Street and St Stephen's Green to Sandyford lines. Other projects provided for include £45 million for the Maynooth to Clonsilla line, 16 new DART cars, extra buses, integrated ticketing, and time information systems.

The Minister for the Environment, Mr Dempsey, described the £437 million for the national road network as "the cornerstone of economic and social development".

A total of £27 million is for maintenance of roads - an increase of £3 million on last year. The remainder - £410 million - is earmarked for new national roads, such as the Southern Cross and the South-eastern Motorway sections of the M50, although the Minister acknowledged that the latter depends on a Supreme Court hearing into a challenge to the motorway.

Delays are also being encountered with the Dublin Port Tunnel, but the Minister has made provision for work to begin if the project is cleared by the courts. Other projects expected to proceed are the Drogheda bypass and the Nenagh bypass.

The Minister revealed that a Cabinet subcommittee considering infrastructural bottlenecks is expected to report before the end of the year and will probably advance new proposals to streamline the planning process in relation to motorways.

A total of £285 million is to be provided to local authorities under the Local Government Fund - an increase of £15 million on this year. The total fund, when motor tax receipts are taken into account, "is likely to be £665 million net of collection costs," he said. The Department of the Environment plans to spend £290 million on water and wastewater projects next year - an increase of more than £13 million on this year. A large number of schemes throughout the State come under this heading, both in terms of waste-water treatment and the provision of fresh water under the serviced land initiative. At £290 million, provision in this category has doubled since 1996, the Minister said.

Mr Dempsey said the serviced land initiative will provide service to 60,000 sites this year, and 100,000 next year. Rural water schemes will be provided as will rural town treatment systems, leading to a marked decrease in untreated effluent entering lakes and rivers.