€83M IN EXTRA FUNDING WILL KEEP PUBLIC TRANSPORT AND ROADS SERVING PEOPLE EFFICIENTLY - KENNY

Posted on July 17, 2015 3:29 PM   |   Permanent Link   

Dublin Bay North Labour TD and member of the Oireachtas Transport Committee Sean Kenny, has said that the latest round of funding from Government for transport projects will help to ensure that public transport and roads are able to continue serving people and communities efficiently. "I welcome the announcement by Minister Brendan Howlin which will see €83 million worth of funding allocated to handle issues to do with underinvestment in public transport since the economic collapse. This money is available to use now because our economy is finally starting to grow strongly again and so extra funding is available." "€29 million of the funding is intended to be used to maintain rail carriages and locomotives - this work will ensure additional reliability and timely services and hopefully show people where rail services can be a better alternative than the car. Also in terms of funding for our railways, €9 million in funding will be going towards the very important Rail Safety programme on the Dublin/Cork line which will ensure a safer and faster service." "In terms of buses and bicycles, €20 million worth of investing will be made available to invest and expand bus fleets, which is very important. People do not realise how much mileage our buses clock up on an annual basis and it is always essential to ensure funding is available for new busses, both to replace old buses, and to purchase additional ones to expand services. I also understand that €2 million will be available for the expansion of city bike schemes, which have been hugely successful, and also for cycle safety measures, which go hand in hand with such schemes." "Looking at roads, there will be €34 million worth of investment for critically important projects that need to be tacked, as well as maintenance of roads that is always needed. The funding here will be aimed at where it has been constrained the most since the economic crisis began and will have a wide ranging and positive impact in terms of jobs and the economic benefit of doing this work. €10 million of all this funding for road works will be spent on pavements on the national road network and the remainder will go towards regional roads and will be aimed at road surfaces that are not up to standard." "I am very pleased about all of this investment as it is badly needed and I commend Minister Brendan Howlin for releasing this funding and enabling the work to happen."