Sir, - Even though Judge O'Leary recently suspended the inquiry into the Luas project for a period of at least six months to allow studies take place into the possibility of putting the Luas project underground, extremely important issues remain which still merit attention in the immediate future.
Let me be clear about one thing. There is a lot more to the debate about the Luas project than whether this initiative is put partially underground in the city centre or not. Issues which must be immediately prioritised and worked out by the public, private, government and European sectors involved in this project include the following:
1. Compensation to those businesses disrupted during the construction phase of Luas. Smaller businesses in particular may not or do not have the resources necessary to survive a decline in revenues resulting from this disruption. It is only a matter of fairness and equity that entrepreneurs and business owners affected by the Luas project continue to earn a livelihood during the construction phase of the Luas project.
2. Private funding. More imaginative approaches to the whole issue of capital funding, as already proven and adopted elsewhere in the public sector, would allow planners to seek an optimum solution for the Luas project in Dublin city, in terms of cost effectiveness rather than simply trying to do what is possible within a predetermined budget.
3. Project management. More rigorous project management procedures must be adopted to ensure implementation complies with predetermined quality standards within budget and on time. Large infrastructure projects in particular appear to have a propensity to fail to meet time and budget criteria.
4. Integration of other public transport systems. The Luas system cannot succeed without other mainstream transport infrastructure-related projects being completed. Transit traffic in Dublin needs to be reduced heavily if the Luas system is to succeed. Inner ring roads closer to Dublin city centre could be incorporated onto existing roads by changing traffic flows and improving their overall management.
Solutions to all these issues can be reasoned out in the immediate future, even though the Luas tribunal has been suspended. - Yours, etc.,
From Niall Andrews MEP
Molesworth Street, Dublin 2.