Speech By Martin Cullen T.D., Minister for Transport to the National Infrastructure Summit

Date: 17 May 2006

Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen,

I am delighted to be invited here today on the occasion of the inaugural National Infrastructure Summit, to speak about the Government's Transport 21 programme.

You have just seen a visual presentation of Transport 21.

Transport 21 is the Government's capital investment programme for transport infrastructure investment for the next ten years. With a budget of €34.4billion, Transport 21 is the largest infrastructural programme ever undertaken in this State. It means €9.4million invested in transport every day for the next 10 years.

I would like to take this opportunity to briefly mention the background to the Government's decision to sanction such a massive transport investment programme.

Background to T21

Clearly one does not enter into an investment Programme of this scale lightly.

The rapid changes that have been taking place in Ireland in recent years have been clear for all to see. We have advanced greatly as a country, but with these advancements have come additional needs.

When we sat down to work out the type of integrated transport plan Ireland needs, we were astutely aware of the backdrop against which we were carrying out our work. Irish demographics have and are changing rapidly.

For instance, while the population of much of Western Europe is static or declining, our population has increased by 11% since 1996 to just over 4 million. Latest predictions suggest that our population will reach 5.3 million by 2020, an increase of almost 50% on the 1996 level.

From a transport perspective, it is worth noting that much of that population growth has taken place in the urban hinterlands around our cities, giving us urban sprawl and leading to longer distance commuting and a reliance on car based transport. The CSO has reported that the average distance travelled to work has doubled in the last decade. This, of course, places increased pressure on our transport systems.

Employment has grown from 1.2 million in 1991 to 1.9 million in 2004. Employment is forecast to grow further to 2.4 million by 2016, an increase of 23%. Our current 4.5% unemployment rate is one of the lowest in the EU. This has been wonderful for our economy but from a transport perspective, it means added needs and pressures.

Consider car ownership figures. Private car ownership has increased by around 50% between 1991 and 2003, but incredibly is still below the European average and so is expected to grow further. The tonnage of goods transported nationally by road has increased from 85 million tonnes to 283 million tonnes, over the 10-year period to 2004.

All of these trends translate into more people on our public transport systems, more private cars on our roads, more trucks and commercial vehicles. This has had a significant impact on the ability of our transport infrastructure and services to cope and will continue to do so in the years ahead. We must let business do business, to protect and grow the gains the Irish people have achieved over the past 10 years.

Any country would have difficulty coping with this scale of change over such a relatively short period of time. When Fianna Fáil was elected to Government in 1997, we immediately responded. We put in place the largest and most sustained programme of infrastructural investment in our history.

The record €7.8 billion in transport infrastructure investment made over the past 9 years means that it is almost impossible to travel a significant distance without coming across a major project which is underway. Increasingly, it is also almost impossible to travel a significant distance without benefiting from a major project which has already been completed.

While the progress to date is very real, it reinforces rather than questions the need for further sustained action to be underpinned by a clear vision of what our objectives are.

There is no doubt that further substantial investment in roads and public transport is necessary if Ireland is to enjoy an infrastructure which accommodates rather than hinders economic activity. Moreover, given the extended lead-time in terms of design and delivery of major transport projects, a long-term investment horizon is essential.

The introduction of five-year capital envelopes has been a major step forward and the announcement, in Brian Cowen's first Budget, of a long-term capital resource for transport has transformed our capacity to plan for the future.

In Transport 21, we decided to go further.

Transport 21 provides the level of investment necessary to develop a truly integrated National transport network. This is a key development. It is widely accepted that transport must be considered in a holistic way and not as an end in itself.

Crucially, unlike ever before, in Transport 21 we have a plan that is not just about individual high profile projects such as Metro, but it is about the way in which projects are integrated. In taking this approach, we ensure people have a highly efficient integrated transport network.

Transport 21 is built around two key strategies, in essence a Greater Dublin Strategy and a National Strategy.

The Dublin Strategy involves the transformation of our public transport systems. Among the results will be:

175 million extra public transport users
75 million extra suburban rail passengers
City Centre to Dublin Airport in 17 minutes by Metro
80,000 more bus passengers per day
80 million Luas and Metro passengers per annum
7 new Luas projects
An interconnector, meaning people can travel to or within Dublin, be it by DART, Luas, Metro or Suburban rail in zero or one change of train
A doubling of Park & Ride sites to 74

The National Strategy involves the development of a high-quality road network and the enhancement and development of public transport. This will mean for example that people can save up to an hour in journey times by car between cities, trains every two hours or less on the most modern rail fleet in Europe, new commuter rail services in the regions and a new road connecting the entire Atlantic Corridor.

I am under no illusions as to the scale of the task to be done to deliver the transport infrastructure in Transport 21. Neither am I under any illusions that non-delivery is not an option. In other OECD countries, infrastructure of this scale has traditionally developed over longer periods of time. However, there are precedents among the emerging economies for faster delivery of infrastructure. I am thinking of some of the Gulf States, China and the Asian Tiger economies.

Our State agencies have learned much about managing major infrastructural projects in recent years and that experience will hold us in good stead.

However, when it comes to the Greater Dublin Area, I am convinced that we need a new approach to transport, delivered through a single authority, with real powers to ensure joined up thinking and delivery across all the transport modes. Under the guidance of Professor Margaret O'Mahoney, proposals have now been brought forward in this area. I now propose to consider this crucial work with my Government colleagues in advance of seeking a Cabinet decision.

Planning and the Law

One of the most frustrating things for our State transport agencies in delivering major infrastructure projects has been the time taken to bring projects through the various planning and statutory approval processes. That is why, as Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, I brought forward the Strategic Infrastructure Bill.

The Strategic Infrastructure Bill proposes to amend the Planning and Development Act 2000 to provide for the introduction of a streamlined planning consent procedure for strategic infrastructure developments. This will include strategic railway infrastructure such as Metro, Luas and conventional rail lines.

Under proposals brought forward by my colleague Dick Roche, this streamlined planning consent procedure will be administered by a new Strategic Infrastructure Division, to be established within An Bord Pleanála. Promoters of certain categories of infrastructure, which the Bill specifies as strategic infrastructure, may apply to An Bord Pleanála for inclusion in the single-step application process. An Bord Pleanála will decide if the infrastructure in question is of strategic importance, having regard to criteria which are listed in the Bill.

Of course, the decisions of An Bord Pleanála are subject to judicial review, and that is as it should be in a democracy.

However, the time taken by the courts to issue decisions on judicial reviews has been another cause of frustration to our State agencies in delivering major transport infrastructure projects. In an effort to tackle this issue, the President of the High Court will be introducing new arrangements to improve procedures for such cases, including designating specific judges to manage the process. This will build on the precedent of the Commercial Court and should have a similar impact in improving case management.

The twin initiatives of the Strategic Infrastructure Bill and reforms of judicial procedures should, together, achieve significant time and cost savings in delivering major transport projects under Transport 21.

Conclusion

When one considers these developments, together with the experience gained in recent years on other major projects, the mechanisms I have put in place to monitor the progress of the Transport 21 Programme, the fact that we have been fast out of the blocks on Transport 21 projects in its first few months, and the prospect of a new delivery approach for Dublin, I am confident that the whole Transport 21 agenda will be delivered on time and on budget.

We need a 21st century infrastructure for a 21st century economy. Transport 21 will make that aspiration a reality.

Thank You.