Metrolink Funding Signals Lack of Government Commitment to Public Transport
Metrolink Funding Signals Lack of Government Commitment to Public Transport - The Labour Party
Labour’s Climate and Transport Spokesperson Ciarán Ahern TD has hit out at the Government’s revised National Development Plan (NDP), accusing Ministers of dragging their feet on public transport. Speaking following the publication of the revised NDP today, Deputy Ahern said that the €2 billion allocated to Metrolink does not represent the scale or urgency required to deliver the long-awaited rail project for Dublin. Labour is calling on the Government to immediately commit the full funding required for Metrolink and other key rail projects already granted planning permission.
Deputy Ahern said:
“Metrolink is supposed to be the country’s flagship public transport project and €2 billion is no small sum, but in the context of the overall cost of the project, it’s nowhere near enough. We’re talking about a fraction of what’s actually required to see this project through.
“It’s long past time that the sod was turned on Metrolink. There’s been a lack of political will for years, and today’s investment doesn’t show me that anything has changed under the new Minister. A serious Government would have prioritised this and provided the funding to match.
“If a project like Metrolink – which has the potential to be transformative for our capital city – isn’t being backed fully, then what chance is there for the rest of the public transport network? I have serious concerns about this Government’s broader commitment to climate action and sustainable transport.
“The Junior Minister has already confirmed that the previous commitment to spend twice as much on public transport as on new roads has been dropped. At precisely the moment we need bold climate action, this Government is going in the wrong direction. Labour had been calling for a 5-to-1 ratio in favour of public transport, and instead we’ve been handed more roads and more spin.
“The great innovation on transport from this coalition was to pour more tarmac, and nothing in the revised NDP suggests they’ve changed tack. It was baffling to hear the Junior Minister effectively admit that Metrolink is the only project with firm funding pledged – and even then, it falls far short of what’s needed to deliver the project.
“This Government has no vision for public transport in Ireland. The climate-regressive, parish-pump instincts of this coalition have once again won out. Instead of a reliable, efficient and integrated transport system that works for people, we’re getting bypasses for the boys and laybys for the lackeys.
“Government must now change direction. The time for excuses is over. Government talks about prioritising “shovel ready” projects, by which they seem to mean roads. But actually there are public transport projects like Dart+ which have full planning permission. They must put real, deliverable funding behind Metrolink and commit to progressing Dart+ West and South West, both of which already have planning permission. If they are serious about climate, about congestion, and about building a transport system fit for the future – it’s time to act, and time to deliver.”