The Government has proposed establishing a new regional authority for the Greater Dublin Area, with a likely annual budget of £500 million-plus and wide powers for strategic planning and transport provision.
The Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, said yesterday that setting up a strategic body with real power was the only way to reconcile "too many different agendas" among numerous agencies, including local authorities and public transport providers.
He was speaking at the publication of a consultation paper on the proposal, which is seen by the Government as vital to overcome inadequate institutional arrangements and to speed implementation of the National Development Plan in the Dublin region.
Asked why it had taken the Government so long to reach this conclusion, Mr Ahern said the need for change had become clear after working over the past few years with the local authorities, CIE and the Dublin Transportation Office.
"Setting up a statutory body with real power is the right thing to do now," he said. "It will have the power to do most of the things that need to be done, and I see it as an important part of the jigsaw for the future of Dublin for the next generation or more."
The Taoiseach said he believed the Government's proposals would create "a strong authority with a regional focus". Its composition, with a broadly-based governing council and a small executive board, also struck the "correct balance" between democracy and delivery.
The Dublin Transportation Office is to be "subsumed" into the new body, which is likely to be known as the Greater Dublin Authority.
The authority will also take over responsibility for the Strategic Planning Guidelines, first adopted in April 1999, and their enforcement.
As envisaged by the 36-page consultation paper, it will be given power to regulate all public transport services throughout the Greater Dublin Area, which includes Meath, Kildare and Wicklow, allocating funding from an annual block grant from the Exchequer.
The authority will also have "step-in" powers, similar to those available to the National Roads Authority (NRA), in cases where implementing agencies fail to comply with its direction. The roads authority will also have to take "full cognisance" of its strategy for the region.
Projects planned by the proposed Rail Procurement Agency will also have to be consistent with the new authority's strategy on major projects such as the underground link between Connolly and Heuston stations and the reinstatement of the Navan line.
At a meeting with the CIE group on Wednesday evening, the Cabinet sub-committee on infrastructure emphasised the need to make much more rapid progress on suburban rail improvements, which the Taoiseach believes could help to counteract urban sprawl.
He said initiatives were being taken to ensure that Iarnrod Eireann could deliver the suburban rail programme. These include an "independent high-level review" of its management structure, to report back in coming months.
However, Mr Ahern accepted that there were "no quick-fix solutions to the challenges we face in the greater Dublin area". After a two-month consultation, he expected that the general scheme of a Bill to set up the authority would be ready by autumn.
Realistically, he said, it would be the beginning of 2003 before the authority was up and running. Preparation will proceed in parallel with the processing of the legislation, which is likely to be introduced in the Dail early next year.
In the meantime, the Minister for the Environment, Mr Dempsey, will use his powers to enforce compliance by the region's seven local authorities with the Strategic Planning Guidelines. These powers would subsequently be devolved to the new authority.
