Transport and infrastructure

Sir, – Against the late Mary O’Rourke’s success in tech (Karlin Lillington, “Mary O’Rourke laid the critical groundwork for State’s success in tech”, Business, October 10th) is her failure to lay a similar groundwork for enhancing public transport in the Greater Dublin Area. As the minister then responsible for public transport, she went along with the 1998 government decision to build two non-interconnected light rail lines in our capital city. Twenty-five years later, the two Luas lines are still not networked for passenger services. As your obituarist put it (“Fianna Fáil grandee blessed with deep political stamina over a 30-year career”, October 4th), “her tenure in public enterprise was characterised by avoidance of confrontation with vested interests”. Those interests now support the €12 billion MetroLink, another rail transport project that will not be networked with Luas or heavy rail systems, such as the Dart. No wonder we read reports of international concern at how we invest in infrastructure. – Yours, etc,

DONAL O’BROLCÁIN,

Dublin 9.

Sir, – Joe Meade, chief executive of Irish Rail, speaking to the Oireachtas Transport Committee, said that plans were in place to deliver a four-track of railway line between Connolly and Malahide stations (News, October 10th). He also said this would ultimately make it possible for a rail link to be constructed from the northern line at Clongriffin to Dublin Airport.