Ladies and Gentlemen,
Transport is central to family life. Central to careers. Central to commerce, entertainment – and health. It’s one of those rare factors which reaches into every aspect of our existence. And because it reaches into every aspect of our lives, we have to get it right. Sustainably right.
We have to manage and plan transport options for a growing population, support an expanding economy and at the same time reduce emissions and improve energy efficiency. Hence, Transport 21, launched on 1st November. It’s an integrated solution to Ireland's transport needs, underpinning competitiveness, promoting balanced regional growth, and enhancing quality of life. It’ll cost €9.4 million per day for the next ten years.
Approximately €16 billion of the total funding is earmarked for investment in public transport, providing commuters with greater travel choices and encouraging a shift away from less sustainable transport modes. In Dublin, seven new Luas projects, further DART development, two Metro lines and an underground station at St. Stephen's Green, have been announced. Park and Ride facilities will also be provided. Bus capacity will be increased.
Public transport outside of Dublin will also benefit. New commuter rail services for Cork City and Galway City will be put in place, and the Western Rail Corridor will be developed.
The national road network will be significantly upgraded, with five major interurban motorways, linking Dublin with Belfast, Cork, Galway, Limerick and Waterford to be completed by 2010. The Atlantic Road Corridor from Letterkenny through Sligo, Galway, Limerick, Cork and Waterford will be developed, providing better connections between the National Spatial Strategy's Gateway cities. National secondary routes will also be improved.
In designing Transport 21 the Government was particularly mindful of Ireland’s obligations under the Kyoto Protocol. Transport is the third highest contributor to national green house gas emissions, accounting for 17% of the national total. Road transport is the main culprit, accounting for an estimated 93% of the CO2 emitted annually by the transport sector. Part of the solution lies in fundamental shift away from the private car and towards public transport.
Other solutions lie in improving vehicle efficiency. In this area, I want to continue an argument I had recently with a friend of mine about the NCT test. He was whingeing on about the cost of the test. I was making the point that – on one single front alone – the test saves life. Meaning that if your car’s brakes have to prove to be functional, it does improve your chances of avoiding a collision.
But there’s another benefit that doesn’t often get mentioned. Older, poorly maintained cars are notoriously wasteful and polluting: they use fuel badly and they pollute much more than more modern or better-cared-for cars. The presence of the NCT test has quite simply raised the bar for car performance, with very positive environmental results.
I should also mention that, within the Programme for Government is a proposal to rebalance the VRT and motor tax regimes to favour vehicles with lower carbon emissions. The Department of Transport will support proposals to incentivise a shift to vehicles which are more fuel efficient and which utilise alternative technologies such as hybrid electric vehicles.
Clearly, too, there’s a need to focus on cleaner and renewable fuel sources such as biofuels. My Department is responsible for the promotion and development of renewable energy, including biofuels, and it’s great to have the opportunity here today, to bring you up to speed on developments in this area. Liquid biofuels have significantly less emissions than fossil fuels.
They provide a unique opportunity to reduce emissions in the transport sector, and also provide a new and alternative fuel source. This is a welcome development for a country such as Ireland. Remember, we rely on imports for 100% of our transport fuels. It’s particularly welcome in the face of rising fuel costs. Above all, though, the production of biofuels can re-generate rural Ireland. They represent a new kind of crop for a new kind of farming.
It’s as simple, and as positive as that.
For all these reasons, I’m pushing to introduce measures that will develop Ireland’s biofuels market. In 2004, my Department secured an amendment to the Finance Act 1999, which provided for the introduction of a scheme for mineral oil tax relief for biofuels. A scheme under the Act was launched in April and eight projects have now been awarded excise relief totalling €6m. This will result in 16 million litres of biofuels being placed on the Irish market.
The strong interest in the scheme let me to have discussions with the Minister for Finance about scaling up fiscal support for biofuels in the Budget. Contacts are also ongoing between Government Departments, to identify further policy initiatives.
The Department of Transport is already engaging with the public transport and road haulage sectors with a view to promoting increased use of alternative fuels.
The Minister for Environment, Heritage and Local Government announced recently that his Department intends converting the Parks and Wildlife fleet of 160 vehicles, to run on biofuels.
I know that later today you’re going to hear from Sarah Danaher and Brian Cassidy from Cork City Council on the Council’s use of biofuels in its fleet of vehicles, as part of its sustainability strategy.
All of these are welcome initiatives. There has been a massive shift in attitude and awareness, over the past ten years. Out of that massive shift in attitude and awareness have come practical solutions. Out of practical solutions comes another wave of attitude and awareness change: “Oh, look at that new way of doing things. It works. Maybe we could apply the same principle over here?”
We are on a roll. Towards the creation of transport systems geared at linking up all areas of our island nation and towards a sustainable, national use of energy that respects the environment. Respecting the environment is the best insurance policy we can take out, individually or nationally. Because the environment is where we, and our children, are going to have to live – in the present and in the future.
Up to relatively recently – indeed, when I was Minister for the Environment – there was still a trailing notion that in some way, taking care of the environment was sort of idealistic. Not very practical.
The fact is that, whether in energy use or in transport planning, taking care of the environment is the best kind of constructive selfishness…
ENDS