Madam, - The establishment of a single transport authority for Greater Dublin is long overdue. If it had been established at the right time, we might not have spent €2 billion on Luas and the Port Tunnel.
The proposed body must operate as an authority in both name and deed.
In the long run, it is unlikely to be effective unless it controls (or, at least, supervises) Dublin Bus, Luas and Dart and has real clout with the four local authorities and other vested interests which collectively and separately are making such an utter mess of Dublin's traffic.
However, no amount of legislation will ensure this.
The only way forward is brute political force and, where this doesn't work, unhesitantly to "name and shame" over the heads of obstructing bureaucrats.
When the current Minister for Transport, Martin Cullen, ditched his predecessor Noel Dempsey's plans for directly elected mayors, he also jettisoned the opportunity to put in place a publicly accountable transport supremo for Dublin, namely, a directly elected lord mayor.
It is far from clear whether the authority is being set up to manage future developments or whether it will also have an overriding role in sorting out the existing traffic and public transport chaos.
If only the former, then we could be throwing more good money after bad. I hope its chairwoman, Prof Margaret O'Mahony, will take this broader need into account when planning the authority and locating its chief executive. - Yours, etc,
BRIAN FLANAGAN, Blackrock, Co Dublin.
Madam, - Prof Margaret O'Mahony, speaking on RTÉ radio about her appointment as non-executive chairwoman of the new Dublin Transport Authority, said that she was not averse to changing the scope of the project or adding extra elements to it.
If this is her attitude going into the position, then I think the Government may as well abandon the project now.
It is precisely this attitude which leads to the cost overruns and delivery delays which we have seen in other State-sponsored projects.
In approaching a project one should have a very definite goal to aim at, but if one approaches it saying we know what the timeline is and the budget and have an idea of what's expected, but we'll take that as it comes, then this project will end in Disaster Central rather than the Grand Central it's aiming for.
It will not matter how qualified the person leading it is, if they are working with such an attitude, then they will fail.
I think that from the very outset it should be made very clear exactly what this project is to deliver, when it should be delivered and how much it should cost.
The correct protocols will also need to be put in place to prevent unnecessary additions or changes to the project.
I agree that what this project aims for, an integrated public transport system, is very sorely needed.
However, given Prof O'Mahony's initial comments on the radio today, I am not confident that this will be delivered. - Yours, etc,
DESMOND GILHOOLY, Kilcock, Co Kildare.