Sir, - I am a little surprised at Dr Garret FitzGerald's articles (The Irish Times, July 5th and 6th) regarding transport in Dublin. Dr FitzGerald unusually failed to question the complete about-face that the Dublin Transportation Office underwent to endorse an underground system against which it fought tooth and nail in favour of the on-street system. This complete bouleversement did not just happen.
The Unified Proposal group (Cormac Rabbitt and Rudi Monahan) was largely responsible for stirring debate on transport issues, highlighting the deficiencies of the planned on-street Luas system and motivating business and community groups alike. On February 14th, 1996, when I and some of my independent colleagues put forward a motion on public transport it was this same group which provided the then elusive but vitally necessary independent information. The Unified Proposal group was instrumental in influencing the Government to put the system underground in the city centre. I am furthermore surprised at the omission as it encouraged Dr FitzGerald to write his first articles on the topic. It was the Unified Proposal group which first demonstrated that the private sector would be interested in taking on the major risks of the project.
An issue that needs to be put on record is that of the remarkable similarity between the recent DTO "new" metro plans and those of the Unified Proposal. The Unified Proposal's city-wide LRT/Metro and bus QBC plan was first mooted and submitted in 1991; the DTO's in 2000. Unified Proposal was well ahead of its time.
These gentlemen should be honoured for their tireless work - I first saw their extensive plans in 1992 - and for saving Dublin and the Government from a system that couldn't work when Dr FitzGerald himself admits he "gave up the battle". -Yours, etc.,
Senator David Norris, Seanad Eireann, Baile Atha Cliath.