€3m to be spent on T21 ads in 2008

Nearly €3 million is to be spent this year on advertising the Government’s Transport 21 strategy.

In a written Dail reply to a parliamentary question Minister for Transport Noel Dempsey said he considered it “essential” that the public is made aware of the programme and that a team of advertising consultants had been appointed.

Transport 21 includes road building and the construction of public transport projects over ten years ending in 2015, with a total investment of €34 billion.

“Given the scale and reach of Transport 21 I consider it essential that the general public and all interested parties are made aware of the programme and of the many transport improvements that are already being delivered,” Mr Dempsey said in answer to questions by Fine Gael’s Transport Spokesman, Fergus O’Dowd and his colleague Olwyn Enright.

Mr Dempsey said his Department had appointed consultants to undertake a media advertising campaign to “raise public awareness of Transport 21”.

The campaign involves television, radio, press and outdoor advertising and will run for the duration of the Transport 21 project.

“The budget allocated for 2008 for this campaign is €2.9 million and the project is progressing within this budget,” Mr Dempsey said.

Mr O’Dowd said the Government was “spending taxpayers’ money giving the impression of activity, rather than creating actual activity.

“The Government has spent €15 million on climate change PR and set aside €5 million for the home insulation programme”, he said.

“Now taxpayers’ money is being wasted on advertising forthcoming improvements to Transport 21, instead of putting more buses in empty bus lanes.

“A double decker bus costs €280,000. So the money being spent this year alone would buy ten more buses – for the duration of this advertising campaign, it would fund between 70 and 80 new double-decker buses.”

Mr O’Dowd said if €2.9 million was spent between now and 2015, when the Transport 21 projects are due to be finished, this equates to €20.3 million.