FG criticises transport body delay

Five years after a Dublin Transport Authority was promised it has still not been established because Government favours special interests above the public interest, Fine Gael has claimed.

The party's transport spokeswoman Olivia Mitchell said "this is probably the final Question Time with the Minister for Transport in this Dáil. When we reached the final Question Time in the previous Dáil we were also promised a Dublin Transport Authority but it has not been established."

Minister for Transport Martin Cullen said, however, that substantial progress had been made in preparing the legislation.

He had appointed a chairman designate, the legislation was ready but he was waiting for final consultations.

Mr Cullen stressed that he had consistently stated that a transport authority was very important but he wanted to make sure it was set up correctly.

The chairman designate "is considering the management, organisational structure, human resource needs and financial requirements for the proposed authority and is involved with all the key stakeholders, which is very important".

Ms Mitchell said "the Minister is talking gobbledygook". He had promised this for five years but was still only talking about feeding views into the legislation.

The authority would not be established to deal with the significant issues facing Dublin such as the increasing incidence of gridlock and the failure of public transport providers and local authorities to work together as they continue to compete with one another.

There had been a complete failure to plan and co-ordinate the major infrastructure projects under way in Dublin, she said.

Rejecting her comments, the Minister insisted that a substantial amount of work is being undertaken on changes to the delivery of transport in the city and in the many different modes of transport being offered.

"The deputy knows the two Luas lines work exceptionally well and seven extensions are being worked on," he added.

Ms Mitchell said "special interests, who do not want a Dublin transportation authority but to maintain the status quo, have won out because the Government has always put special interests above the public interest which is why the necessary legislation has not been introduced".

When Mr Cullen asked who she meant by special interests, she replied "every body and organisation involved in transport. There are dozens of them."