Transport | Evaluating the Transport System

QUESTION
To ask the Minister for Transport the extent to which his Department continues to evaluate the transport system, road and rail, public and private to ensure the development of efficient and effective transport in all areas throughout the country; and if he will make a statement on the matter.

REPLY
As Minister for Transport, I have responsibility for overall policy and exchequer funding in relation to the National Roads Programme, and for policy and overall funding in relation to public transport.
Once funding arrangements have been put in place with Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII), under the Roads Acts 1993-2015, and in line with the National Development Plan (NDP), the planning, design, improvement and upgrading of individual national roads is a matter for TII, in conjunction with the local authorities concerned. TII ultimately delivers the National Roads Programme in line with Project Ireland 2040, the National Planning Framework and the NDP. This is also subject to the Public Spending Code and the necessary statutory approvals.
The Government has earmarked €5.1bn for capital spending on new national roads projects from 2021 to 2030 as part of the NDP. This funding will enable improved regional accessibility across the country as well as compact growth, which are key National Strategic Outcomes. The 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.
A major priority in the NDP, in line with the Department’s investment hierarchy, is to maintain the quality and safety of the existing national road network. The NDP foresees an exchequer allocation of circa €2.9 billion for the Protection and Renewal of existing national roads over the 10-year period to 2030, allocated fairly evenly across the decade.
With regard to public transport, the Government is strongly committed to providing all citizens with reliable and realistic sustainable mobility options, and public transport plays a key role in the delivery of this goal. To support this objective, under Budget 2024, a funding package of c. €613.463m has been secured for Public Service Obligation (PSO) and Local Link services. This package includes funding for the continuation of the 20% fare reduction on PSO services, the extension of the Young Adult Card on both PSO and commercial bus services to include 24-and-25-year-olds, and the continuation of the 90-minute fare until the end of 2024. Funding has also been secured to support the continued roll-out of new and enhanced bus and rail services this year under programmes such as Connecting Ireland and BusConnects. The statutory responsibility for securing the provision of public passenger transport services nationally rests with the National Transport Authority (NTA). The NTA works with the public transport operators, who deliver the services and have responsibility for day-to-day operational matters.
As the Deputy will be aware, the Government is committed to improving public transport and is backing up that commitment with significant infrastructure investments across the network.
The NTA in collaboration with local authorities, prepare transport strategies for the greater Dublin area as well as the Cork, Limerick-Shannon, Galway and Waterford metropolitan areas. These transport strategies ensure an evidence-led, holistic, multi-modal approach toward transport planning and provision.
The All-Island Strategic Rail Review, which is being undertaken by my Department in co-operation with the Department for Infrastructure in Northern Ireland, will inform the development of the railway sector on the Island of Ireland to 2050, in line with net zero carbon emissions targets.
I expect that a final report, taking account of the comments received during the recent Strategic Environmental Assessment consultation, will be submitted for Government approval, in both jurisdictions, by the Summer.
At an individual project level, the Transport Appraisal Framework (TAF), which implements the Department of Public Expenditure NDP Delivery and Reform (DPENDR) Infrastructure Guidelines, sets out the appraisal requirements for the transport sector including the requirement for scheme options to be assessed and evaluated using appraisal techniques such as Cost Benefit Analysis (CBA) and Cost Effectiveness Analysis (CEA). The appraisal required is proportionate to the value of the scheme, major projects with an estimated value of over €200 million are subject to a review by independent technical experts under an External Assurance Process and presented to the Major Projects Advisory Group convened by DPENDR.