Transport penalties likely

The Minister of State for Transport says that the Government will consider introducing penalty clauses in the contracts for the development of new transport projects in Dublin in an effort to minimise delays.

Ivor Callely said yesterday the Government wanted to see decisive and pragmatic decisions taken in relation to the construction of the new rail, Luas and metro projects set out in the Transport 21 programme.

The Government wanted to see "minimal disruption to the economy of the city".

The Irish Times reported yesterday that traffic experts had warned that the construction of new Luas lines and the development of underground stations for the new rail inter-connector between Docklands and Heuston Station was "going to screw up the city centre for a decade".

They said that city-centre disruption during the implementation of the transport plan was going to be widespread.

Mr Callely said that he would like to see contractors involved in the projects "getting in, doing their business and getting out again".

The Government would consider incorporating penalty clauses into the contracts which would impose penalties for undue delays and missed deadlines.

Mr Callely was speaking at the launch of new transport discs which will have to be displayed on the windscreens of road haulage vehicles and buses.

Each disc will contain relevant licensing and vehicle details. They will also have a specific bar code for security purposes.

Mr Callely said the disc, which will be provided by the Department of Transport, will replace the system under which the owner of a licensed haulage vehicle was required to apply separately to the Garda for a vehicle plate.

This arrangement was cumbersome in that it had placed an extra burden on haulage operators and an additional administrative role on the Garda.

The Minister said that "from now on, it will be illegal for the holder of either a road freight carrier's licence or a road passenger transport operator's licence to operate a vehicle for hire and reward unless that vehicle is displaying a valid transport disc".

The president of the Irish Road Haulage Association Vincent Caulfield welcomed the introduction of the disc but said that enforcement would be a huge issue.