TRANSPORT AND ROADS:LUAS LINES planned from Lucan to Dublin city centre, Cherrywood to Bray and the missing link between the existing Tallaght and Sandyford lines have been cut out of the Government's capital programme for the next six years.
This means that they are now unlikely to materialise until 2020, if at all.
Other rail projects dropped from the priority list include completing the line between Clonsilla and Navan, Co Meath, and the western rail corridor north of Galway.
However, the Government has pledged to invest €5.7 billion in public transport projects, principally Metro North, which would link St Stephen’s Green with Swords, and Dart Underground, running from Inchicore to Docklands.
“The renewed programme for government commits to the advancement of Metro North and Dart Underground projects and, accordingly, the reprioritised envelope . . . includes the upfront exchequer funding for these projects.”
As both are public-private partnership (PPP) projects, “it must be noted that continued substantial exchequer expenditure will be required over the next 25-30 years to repay the private financing element”, the Department of Finance warns.
At the same time, it says: “A significant fall in house completions and a reduction in numbers of people commuting owing to increasing unemployment will serve to dampen demand for public transport infrastructure in the short – medium term”.
Noting that Luas passenger numbers fell by nearly two million in 2009, it says: “It is reasonable to conclude that no new expansion of capacity on the existing Luas lines should take place in the medium term as existing capacity will be sufficient to cater for demand. “Planning and design work on other metro and light rail projects should continue with a view to commencement of construction when economic circumstances allow and demand necessitates.”
This includes the proposed Metro West line, linking Tallaght with Ballymun.
Nonetheless, €6 billion more is to be spent on “close-out payments” associated with the completion of the major inter-urban roads, all of which will be finished this year, and delivering a “select number” of key strategic road projects.
These “key strategic routes” would link both Dublin and Cork to Rosslare port as part of the Trans-European Network and provide a major new route linking Galway to Cork, which would form part of the Atlantic road corridor.
Although it would be “imprudent to suddenly cease investment” in the roads programme, “the Government is faced with stark choices of reprioritisation given the present budgetary constraints however, and therefore previous ambitious plans must be reappraised . . .
“While there may be a strong case for further development of outstanding routes between the major regional centres, the very significant achievements to date means that further investment on the scale of recent years will not be required.” Although it would be “imprudent to suddenly cease investment” in the roads programme, “the Government is faced with stark choices of reprioritisation given the present budgetary constraints, however, and therefore previous ambitious plans must be reappraised”.
According to the Department of Finance, “there is no potential for the private sector to build roads without State support.
“Therefore, the provision of roads needs to be understood as a public utility that requires ongoing State investment.”