Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 22 June 2023
55. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Transport the extent to which he expects to achieve a balance between road and rail transport in the future; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30095/23]
View answerThis Government has committed to protecting transport maintenance budgets while also investing in new public transport at a ratio of 2:1 compared with new roads. Together, these commitments will preserve the value of the infrastructure that we already have, while facilitating the transition to a low-carbon transport system.
Under the National Development Plan (NDP) significant progress will be made on a number of strategic public transport projects and programmes, including MetroLink, BusConnects in all five cities, DART+, the Cork Commuter Rail programme and the replacement of the Enterprise fleet.
Enhancing and expanding our public transport services provision across the country is also a firm commitment of this Government. To support this objective, in Budget 2023, the Department secured €563m of funding for Public Service Obligation (PSO) and Local Link services. As the Deputy may be aware, the PSO programme represents a significant expenditure of taxpayers' money, and funding has increased in recent years to cater for additional services and growing capacity.
Budget 2023 funding was also secured for the roll-out of new services and service enhancements. This includes the continued development of the BusConnects and Connecting Ireland programmes, in addition to new town services and enhancements to existing services.
The Government has earmarked circa €5.1bn for capital spending on new national roads projects from 2021 to 2030 as part of the NDP. This funding will provide for the development of numerous national road projects, including the completion of projects which are already at construction stage and those close to it, as well as the development of a number of others. As the greater portion of this funding becomes available in the second half of the decade, this means that there is a constraint on the funding available for new projects this year – however most national road projects in the NDP will continue to be progressed in 2023.
The primary focus for investment in regional and local roads is the protection and renewal of the network. Funding under the NDP will allow the Department to continue to provide significant grant support to eligible local authorities for a range of protection and renewal programmes, including road pavement resealing and strengthening works, bridge rehabilitation projects, climate adaptation and safety measures and drainage works together with community involvement schemes on less trafficked roads.
In addition to maintaining the regional and local road network in good repair, it is a priority to carry out targeted improvements to sections of the regional and local road network.
The NDP also notes that the All-island Strategic Rail Review will examine all aspects of the inter-urban and inter-regional rail network including decarbonising the railway, the feasibility of higher speeds, increased capacity, improved connectivity to the North-West. The Review is being undertaken in co-operation with the Department for Infrastructure in Northern Ireland. and it will inform the development of the railway sector on the Island of Ireland over the coming decades to 2050, in line with net-zero carbon commitments in both jurisdictions.
Work on the Review is now at an advanced stage, and it is expected that a draft will be published for the purposes of Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) public consultation in July. Following the SEA process and finalisation of the report, it will be subject to the appropriate approval process on both sides of the border. It is expected that the final Review will be published in the autumn of 2023.
