The Minister for Transport, Mr Brennan, insisted the Dublin Luas light rail system will open on schedule next year.
He was replying to the Fine Gael spokesman on transport, Mr Denis Naughten, who said it had been reported that the Office of the Director of Traffic in Dublin claimed that trams would not be operational and taking passengers before 2005.
The Minister said: "I will repeat, in case there is any misunderstanding, that my reply stated that the current timescale for the opening of the Luas lines is August 2004 for the Tallaght to Connolly Station lines and June 2004 for the Sandyford to St Stephen's Green line. The dates allow for a testing period of three months - this period is taken into account when determining the opening dates." He said the estimated cost of completion of the project was €691 million, and there was provision for a risk figure on top of that. It was not fair, he added, to quote the earlier figure of €300 million because substantial alteration and redesign was undertaken before final approval was given.
"It is important to state that the Luas project is broadly within budget, if one takes into account the risk provision that was included in the construction costs," he added.
Asked by Ms Róisín Shortall (Labour, Dublin North West) about the implications of the proposed Luas crossing at the Red Cow roundabout, Mr Brennan said it was the view of the Railway Procurement Agency (RPA) that it would not have a negative impact on traffic. He added that he had just received an adviser's report on the matter, and he was studying its recommendations with a view to an early decision.
Ms Shortall said it was absolute nonsense for the RPA to say that the Luas would not have a negative impact on the Red Cow roundabout. "Does the Minister not accept that it is the busiest junction in the country which carries some 80,000 vehicles a day on the M50 and 60,000 on the N7?" she asked.
Mr Brennan said he accepted it would have been better if the project had been designed differently. "That is the view which I expressed to the Railway Procurement Agency, the Dublin Transportation Office, the National Roads Authority and to South Dublin County Council," he added.
"However, these decisions were taken some years ago. There was a public inquiry which signed off on it."
He said numerous experts from those agencies took the view that Luas would move thousands of cars from the area. "They make the point that the tram path does not run through the roundabout," said Mr Brennan. "It crosses the slip roads but not the roundabout proper. They point out that the trams will cross the M50 on a new Luas bridge."
