Transport investment vital for continued growth - IBEC

 The Government needs to invest in an improved transport infrastructure in order to boost Ireland’s competitiveness when the global economy recovers. That’s the message of Irish Business and Employers’ Confederation (IBEC) President Tom Noonan, who spoke at a major national transport conference.

The Conference, organized jointly by IBEC and the Department of Transport, took place at Dublin Castle on May 7th, with Mr Noonan joined by other keynote speakers including Noel Dempsey TD, the Minister for Transport, Department of Transport assistant secretary Julie O’Neill, Department Sustainability Advisor Aoife O’Grady and Road Safety Authority chief executive Noel Brett.
The environment formed a central tenet of Mr Noonan’s address; green issues should not, he stated, deflect from the need for further investment in the transport system and in any case, a viable and thriving economy integral to the ongoing battle for environmental reform.

“While we should not use the current state of our economy as an excuse to ignore environmental issues,” he said, “we should not do the opposite either. From a commercial transport perspective, I think it is incumbent upon me as President of IBEC to stress that our environmental policies, now more than ever, need to avoid the danger of running counter to economic sustainability. Both must go hand in hand and complement each other, with the essential recognition that enterprise is the key driver of the economy and a successful economy is fundamental to environmental protection.
“Our desire to create a green economy is commendable but it surely cannot be considered other than in the context of where we are and what’s best for getting our country working again, in every respect. In a global economy, people and goods must be able to move from place to place quickly, reliably and efficiently. Enterprise and society will only thrive if physical infrastructure is adequate for international trade. Therefore, the challenge is to make all forms of transport not just greener, but more efficient.”

While conceding that a significant cut in capital expenditure, imposed by Minister for Finance Brian Lenihan in April’s emergency budget, was a blow, Mr Noonan was keen to stress the importance of the Transport21 project, which he described as the envy of many competing countries. But he also declared that job creation and the protection of existing jobs was of paramount importance – even if that meant ongoing cuts to capital expenditure, such as the 11 per cent reduction introduced in April’s emergency budget.

“Today’s overriding national imperative has to be sustaining jobs, over and above everything else,” he warned. “If this means that our infrastructure fund has to be reduced in order to find the required resources for enterprise supports that are so badly needed, then so be it. A country that allows hard-earned jobs to be lost with no immediate prospect of replacement will end up on one very definite road – the road to nowhere.
“The challenge now is to balance the long-term need for better, more sustainable infrastructure, with the need to take immediate steps to stabilise the economy and protect jobs. These pressing concerns may ultimately lead to a partial reduction in the planned infrastructure budget to provide necessary enterprise supports. It is vital that we make the right choices and get the balance right. Ireland will not fully reap the rewards of an eventual global economic upturn if our transport links remain inadequate. Major investment to improve the transport networks must continue and more use must be made of public transport.”

Julie O’Neill of the Department of Transport also warned that the current economic climate should not be used as a crutch to row back on necessary goals. She said: “We all need to have clusters of individuals working in our organizations who see beyond the immediate crisis and develop a vision for the longer term, who have their eyes and their mindsets firmly fixed on what life in Ireland will be like beyond the bust and, in my case, what smarter and more sustainable travel and transport can contribute to that new reality.”
Ms O’Neill also welcomed the input of the private sector, declaring that the issue of a sustainable transport future must be backed jointly by both public and private bodies in order to succeed. “I’m delighted with the real commitment demonstrated by the Irish business community to the Smarter Travel agenda and this conference is itself an example of how we can work collaboratively across the public and private sector on this agenda.”
Smarter Travel can, she said, improve morale in both community and business, as well as reducing the congestion which has become a major obstacle to competitiveness.

So what, precisely, is Smarter Travel? In her address, the Department of Transport’s Sustainability Advisor Aoife O’Grady outlined the compelling reasons for seeking a change in approach to the transport issue, which prompted the introduction of the Government-backed scheme, which started earlier this year with 11-year objectives. Between 1996 and 2006, said Ms O’Grady, there had been an 88 per cent increase in transport sector emissions, with a 100 per cent increase of energy use in transport. Studies showed that these increases were projected to continue until 2020, a situation made all the more unpalatable with the likelihood of a marked augmentation in air pollution, declining quality of life and ongoing issues over the future supply of energy.
So what can be done to reverse those trends under Smarter Travel? According to Ms O’Grady, the essence of sustainable transport policy boils down to four key targets:

- reducing the need to travel, with particular focus on employment planning which could diminish commuting hours;
- providing alternatives to the car, with new public transport ventures in the offing and the promotion of walking, cycling and car-pooling arrangements with the stated aim of getting 500,000 people out of their cars by 2020. In Dublin, for instance, almost 50,000 people drive less than 2km to their place of work;
- improving fuel and energy efficiency, looking specifically at eco-driving and electric cars as well as Intelligent Transport Systems on our roads; and
- implementing new institutional arrangements involving interdepartmental groups, Dublin Transport Authority and North-South bodies.
One thing that is undisputed is that the country’s roads are now safer than they have been in decades, with Road Safety Authority chief executive Noel Brett outlining the progress made in that field over the past four decades. In 1972, for instance, there were 640 fatalities on the nation’s thoroughfares, a figure which has declined steadily to the 2008 total of 279 – and that despite a marked increase in the number of registered vehicles on our roads during that time.

As well as better training and education for drivers of all vehicles, Mr Brett stated that maintenance and improvement of the transport infrastructure and continued regeneration of the national fleet were key factors in maintaining the trend towards maximum safety on our roads.
As far as ongoing investment in transport infrastructure is concerned, Minister Dempsey affirmed the Government’s conviction to continue its policy in that field despite April’s emergency budget. He said: “The Government [continues to offer a] deep commitment to and priority given to the development of our transport systems in Ireland. Over a long period of time we have been bringing our transport infrastructure to a world-class system. Even before Transport21 was announced we had delivered Luas lines in Dublin. Now you can see that the interurban motorway system will be completed by 2010.

“And Transport21 hasn’t gone away you know. In the various estimate processes since last October there has been much focus on cutbacks. Naturally I would rather accentuate the positive. The Government’s commitment to radically improve the transport system in Ireland remains unchanged. This is reflected in the substantial provision of €3.1 billion for transport, which is being retained in such difficult circumstances.”