The period since 1997 when the Government entered power may be marked by unprecedented investment in transport, but it has also been a period of false starts, delays and budget overruns.
1997 Then minister for Public Enterprise Mary O'Rourke (right) suspends the development of the Luas system and orders a review of it amid concerns about the then plan for the Luas to run through the city centre and link up both lines. City centre business people claimed it would cause huge disruption to their businesses for little benefit.
1998 The Government publishes amended proposals for two Luas lines, which will not link up, in response to the business lobby.
1999 The Government announces funding of more than 650 million to upgrade the rail network as part of a safety programme which will last to 2003. The Government launches the National Development Plan in November 1999, which will last to the end of 2006.
The programme is heralded as an unprecedented investment in roads and rail.
The plan promises to have dual carriageways and motorways in place between Dublin and the cities of Cork, Limerick, Galway and Waterford, and on the M1 to the Border, by the time the plan is completed. Commitments to examine the feasibility of a commuter rail line from Midleton to Cork, along with a rail link to Navan, are also considered. A significant increase in the number and quality of trains is also proposed as part of the plan.
It is announced that the Luas will be operational by the end of 2002 on the Tallaght line, and 2003 at the latest on the Sandyford line, two years later than the original project completion dates announced in 1996.
July 2000 The Government unveils ambitious plans for a €6 billion metro system. The circular metro route will take in Kimmage, Tallaght, Quarryvale, Blanchardstown and Connolly and Tara Street stations in the city centre, integrating with the Dart, Arrow, mainline rail and Luas services, as well as with Dublin Bus and Bus Éireann services.
A new rail procurement agency is to be established to oversee this and the ongoing Luas projects. Meanwhile, the expansion of the Dart to Malahide and Greystones is nearing completion by Iarnród Éireann.
2001 Serious delays and overruns in relation to various road projects emerge. This is highlighted in the case of the Glen o' the Downs dual carriageway, which was to be completed by the end of 2002, but will instead not open fully until the end of 2003, and at double its original cost. The Rail Procurement Agency is established.
2002 The Programme for Government reiterates its plans for transport investment, including major increases in the fleets of Dublin bus and Bus Éireann, to open new routes and to utilise the series of bus corridors being built under the National Development Plan. Construction inflation is running at 10 per cent, while the Government decides to rein in public spending and announces that no additional road projects will be approved in 2003. In response to concerns about budgets, the first fixed price road contracts begin construction. These begin to deliver projects, such as the Ashford bypass, early and within budget.
2003 A major review of the metro plan is ordered by the then minister for Transport Séamus Brennan (right) after detailed costings show that just one line to the airport could cost more than €4 billion.
2004 A five-year 10 billion roads plan is unveiled by the National Roads Authority. This includes all of the inter-urban routes announced in the 1999 plan. These will not now be fully completed until 2009.
Sept 2005 The M1 motorway is almost completed with the Dundalk bypass opening. Significant sections of the other routes are at various stages of planning.
Detailed negotiations are ongoing between the Minister for Finance Brian Cowen and the Minister for Transport Martin Cullen on agreeing a specific budget for transport for the next 10 years.
Both believe the plan will, unlike previous commitments, deliver specific projects on time and within budget because of spending and administrative reforms.