At E260m per km, Cullen must take personal responsibility for Port Tunnel

Fine Gael Dublin Spokesman Senator Brian Hayes has called on Transport Minister Martin Cullen to take political responsibility for completing the Dublin Port Tunnel fiasco after reports suggested its leaks are more extensive than ever. Senator Hayes called on the Minister to publish a report on the tunnel's problems, its estimated cost and completion date.

Latest reports suggest that little or no progress has been made in stopping the leaks in the Port Tunnel. In fact, the problem could have got even worse, with water apparently pouring down from a 50 metre section of the tunnel. This is in spite of a commitment by Dublin City Council to shore up the leaks by January.

To date Martin Cullen has managed to avoid taking political responsibility for the Port Tunnel, thanks to the enthusiasm of his hapless former deputy, Ivor Callely, for the project. However, the escalating scale of problems at the Port Tunnel demands top-level intervention from Minister Cullen himself, and he must now take full responsibility for the project as the Minister for Transport.

The Port Tunnel has already caused untold chaos and congestion on the M1 and other roads. Its completion date has been pushed back by 18 months to summer 2006, and will probably take even longer. Meanwhile, the project is haemorrhaging as much money as it is leaking water. An outstanding claim by contractors DCC could push the total cost of the project up to E1.3 billion, or a staggering E260 million per km.

So in the space of just five years the cost of the project has risen by 136%. This is the worst example yet of the Government cavalier attitude to taxpayers money.

However, Dublin City Council and the Government have ensured that the Port Tunnel has been shrouded in a veil of secrecy from the start. Like the water leaking from the tunnel's roof, the public has been drip-fed information about problems, costs and the completion date. Taxpayers have had to rely on the media and unspecified sources in the project to find out what is really going on. This must change.

Minister Cullen has made a mess of most of his project, but he has a chance to redeem himself by taking political responsibility for the Port Tunnel. He must immediately present a detailed report on the estimated final cost and completion date of the Port Tunnel and all the problems which are currently being addressed.