[Article] Transport chief appointed

markpb

Irish Times wrote:

GERRY MURPHY has been appointed chief executive designate of the Dublin Transport Authority (DTA). Former Dublin city manager John Fitzgerald has been appointed chairman. The new agency will have a broad range of responsibilities, including managing congestion and regulating public transport providers in the capital. It will also be in charge of funding for major transport projects and for the provision of an integrated ticketing system.

While conceived to better co-ordinate transport planning in Dublin, Minister for Transport Noel Dempsey is keen for the agency to have a national remit. Once the DTA has been formally established, by the end of the year, the Minister plans to bring forward the Public Transport Regulation Bill to give it a nationwide remit. This means it will be responsible for commercial bus route licensing and the allocation of public transport subventions nationally. It will also oversee local and county development plans.

The Commission for Taxi Regulation and Dublin Transport Office are to be subsumed into the new body with a number of functions currently carried out by the department, transferred. Mr Murphy is a qualified engineer and was appointed chief executive of the Grangegorman Development Agency in June 2007. He was previously involved with the National Roads Authority and in the project management of Dublin Port Tunnel. Mr Fitzgerald currently chairs the GDA, An Post and the Limerick Regeneration Agency.

link

murphaph

Why couldn't they just have head hunted somebody from Germany? Because a german wouldn't undertstand the oul "nudge wink" politics in Ireland and would rapidly lose patience with the DoT interfering as the gimps in the DoT see their 'power' being eroded. Truth be told the DoT could have done all this years ago if it had the inclination. Unless the government (and the people) are prepared to inject a lot more money into transport (particularly public) then the DTA will fail.

Hungerford

murphaph wrote: »

Why couldn't they just have head hunted somebody from Germany?

Fianna Fail doesn't have a party organisation there.

J_Dublin15

Nice to see they recruited someone with a proven track record in public transport. sigh

paulm17781

So it is envisaged that the Dublin transport authority will have a national remit? I'm already seeing another pointless quango.

When I was in P11 this was one thing we campaigned for. I'm quite sad to see we seem to be getting something far different to what was planned.

DWCommuter

Giving the DTA a national remit is yet another example of how amateurish we are in Ireland. This aspect could dilute any possible effectiveness and I fear lead to yet another state body that doesn't know its arse from its elbow. A national transport authority and a Dublin transport authority are two very different beasts.

As for the appointment.....did we expect any better?:rolleyes:

Slice

Hmmm, a nationwide DTA - what's left for the Dept of Transport to do?

munchkin_utd

they'll take inspiration from the dept of health

Theres 600 working in there yet all health matters are looked after by the HSE exclusively.
Essentially, 600 people to sign a cheque for the HSE every year.

So maybe they can share tips on solitare, and other ways of pasing time without doing anything, with the department of transport next year when they are also surplus to requiremants.

bk

Slice wrote: »

Hmmm, a nationwide DTA - what's left for the Dept of Transport to do?

They are basically implementing the same shield technique as the Department of Communications and ComReg.

DoC - It isn't our fault that Ireland has some of the slowest and most expensive broadband in Europe, ComReg are the regulators.

ComReg - It isn't our fault, DoC haven't given us enough powers to properly regulate the market.

AlekSmart

Originally Posted by Irish Times
GERRY MURPHY has been appointed chief executive designate of the Dublin Transport Authority (DTA). Former Dublin city manager John Fitzgerald has been appointed chairman. The new agency will have a broad range of responsibilities, including managing congestion and regulating public transport providers in the capital. It will also be in charge of funding for major transport projects and for the provision of an integrated ticketing system.

Oh it`s all about maintaining the Status Quo,that`s for sure.

One can be reassured that Gerry Murphy is a well regarded "safe pair of hands" of the old school.
In this he is ably assisted by his Chairman,the equally redoubtable John Fitzgerald whose affinity for Public Transport is the stuff of legend :rolleyes:

I did have great hopes for the DUBLIN Transportation Authority as was originally envisaged and reported upon by the DTA Implimentation Group report.

However that quite sound report was based upon a strongly held belief and pre-requisite that the putative DTA would have control over the issue of Land Use & Planning within it`s area of operations

The very FIRST item dealt with by the Minister for Transport when accepting the Report from TCD`s Prof Margaret O Mahoney was the absolute rejection of that initial premise.

Hardly surprising then that Prof O Mahoney promptly resigned to devote her energies elsewhere,possibly in places where her expertise might just count for something tangible.

Remember also,that all of this was happening at a time when Éire Teo was still surging forward on the crest of an unstoppable wave,with BILLIONS available under Transport 21 for EVERY form of Public Transport Project.

Now,in the cold light of reality we can get a clearer picture of just how much damage was inflicted upon our country by a generation of Land Grabbing Poli-Criminals whose legacy to forthcoming generations is going to have to be implimented by the Gerry Murphy`s and John Fitzgerald`s of Irish Public Administration.

Make no mistake,neither of these Gentlemen was chosen for their interest in,or affinity with PUBLIC TRANSPORT !

Their areas of expertise are firmly in ADMINISTRATION and schmoozing with the movers and shakers to bring "Grands Projets" such as DublinBikes or the Grangegorman Supercampus to our sitting rooms.

Interesting too that as the Grangegorman wheeze has lost some of it`s initial impetus we should see not one but TWO senior heads associated with it appearing on this new DTA board ...

Of course It`s probably mere co-incidence.

Yet more reason to brush up on a foreign language I feel......this leaky oul tub of a country simply cannot remain afloat for much longer with the likes of Noel Dempsey taking decisions of this import :mad:

Victor

I'm surprised this didn't get mention.

http://www.transport.ie/pressRelease.aspx?Id=125

Dempsey announces appointment of Chairperson and CEO designate of the Dublin Transport Authority
02 - 09 - 2009

Mr. Noel Dempsey, T.D., Minister for Transport today announced the appointment of Mr. John Fitzgerald as Chairperson of the soon to be established Dublin Transport Authority. Minister Dempsey also today announced that Mr. Gerry Murphy will be appointed as Chief Executive Officer designate of the Authority arising from a competition held by the Public Appointments Service.

Commenting on these new appointments Minister Dempsey said today: "I am very pleased that Mr. Fitzgerald and Mr. Murphy have agreed to become Chairperson and Chief Executive Officer designate of the Dublin Transport Authority.

Mr. Fitzgerald possesses an unparalleled experience of planning and development in the Greater Dublin Area which will be of great benefit, to the new Authority given the important interaction between transport and land use planning. Mr. Murphy is well qualified to lead the new Dublin Transport Authority given his experience at a senior level in the public service and his wide experience of transport in Ireland at local and national level, including the planning and successful delivery of major infrastructural projects. Both John and Gerry possess the personal and professional attributes necessary to successfully lead this new important Agency and they will have the full support of the Department of Transport in making this Agency a real success.

It is my intention to have the Authority in place before the end of the year. I will be appointing other members of the Authority over the coming months.”

Under the Dublin Transport Authority Act 2008, the Authority will be responsible for preparing a strategic transport plan for the integrated development of transport infrastructure and services in the Greater Dublin Area, which is consistent with the relevant regional planning guidelines for the area. In addition, the DTA will have responsibility for the capital funding of all major public transport infrastructure projects planned for the Greater Dublin Area. The DTA will contract for the provision of all bus and rail services and will also have responsibility for the allocation of subventions in respect of public transport services, which are provided on a public service obligation basis.

Minister Dempsey will shortly publish the Public Transport Regulation Bill, which provides for the renaming of the Dublin Transport Authority as the National Transport Authority given its proposed national focus in relation to commercial bus route licensing, future bus and rail subvention and the regulation of small public service vehicles.

The Dublin Transportation Office will be subsumed into the DTA as soon as possible following establishment. With the passage of the Public Transport Regulation Bill, the Commission for Taxi Regulation will also be subsumed into the DTA and the bus route licensing function of the Department of Transport will also transfer to the Authority. This rationalisation process was among the Budget 2009 measures announced by the Minister for Finance last October.

ENDS

Note to Editors:

Mr. Fitzgerald was appointed first County Manager with South Dublin County Council in January, 1994. He subsequently served as Dublin City Manager from 1996 until 2006. During his term as Dublin City Manager Mr. Fitzgerald oversaw a major redevelopment of the city at a time of significant investment in public transport infrastructure and services, including the introduction of Luas and the rollout of the Quality Bus Corridor network. As City Manager he chaired the Steering Group which prepared and monitored the Strategic Planning Guidelines for the Greater Dublin Area. Mr. Fitzgerald is currently Chairman of An Post and Chairman of the Grangegorman Development Agency. He also chairs the Limerick Regeneration Agencies.

Mr. Murphy has been CEO of the Grangegorman Development Agency since June 2007. Prior to that he was head of Public Private Partnerships and Network Tolling at the National Roads Authority. An engineer by profession, he has project managed very large infrastructural projects (e.g. Dublin Port Tunnel, Finglas Bypass) and has been particularly involved in private financing between public and private sectors.

Principal functions of Dublin Transport Authority

· The Authority will be responsible for strategic transport planning in the Greater Dublin Area. It will set out the framework for the delivery of infrastructure and services in an integrated transport plan covering a 12 to 20 year period.
· It will allocate capital and current funding for public transport and traffic management.
· Public transport infrastructure projects such as Metro North and the new underground Dart (“The Interconnector”) will be implemented by the responsible transport agencies under the direction and supervision of the Authority. The Authority will be able to decide to implement projects itself if it judges it to be appropriate and will be able to give mandatory directions to the implementing agencies (i.e. Irish Rail, RPA, etc).
· The Authority will procure public transport services and regulate public transport fares. It will specify public service obligations. This will allow the Authority ensure the integration of services and provide a new framework to hold service providers to account for the quality of services provided to the public.
· It will prepare a traffic management plan for the Greater Dublin Area so as to ensure a consistent approach across all local authority areas, including during construction works for major infrastructure projects. Most traffic management functions will continue to be discharged by the local authorities within the strategic framework provided by the Authority. However, the Authority will be able to decide to carry out certain functions itself if it judges this to be more effective and to give directions to local authorities.
· The Authority will be closely engaged in each stage of the planning process i.e. from the Regional Planning Guidelines through City and County Development Plans to Local Area Plans, in order to ensure the fullest possible consistency between the Authority’s transport strategy and the land use planning process. At the same time, the Authority’s transport strategy will have to be consistent with the Regional Planning Guidelines in the Greater Dublin Area.

DWCommuter

It did.

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055670033

Victor

Ooops, merged.

AlekSmart

It will prepare a traffic management plan for the Greater Dublin Area so as to ensure a consistent approach across all local authority areas, including during construction works for major infrastructure projects. Most traffic management functions will continue to be discharged by the local authorities within the strategic framework provided by the Authority. However, the Authority will be able to decide to carry out certain functions itself if it judges this to be more effective and to give directions to local authorities.
· The Authority will be closely engaged in each stage of the planning process i.e. from the Regional Planning Guidelines through City and County Development Plans to Local Area Plans, in order to ensure the fullest possible consistency between the Authority’s transport strategy and the land use planning process. At the same time, the Authority’s transport strategy will have to be consistent with the Regional Planning Guidelines in the Greater Dublin Area.

It`s already becoming clear that we are in for a succession of bunfights over territory.

It`s abundantly clear,to THIS observer,that the Initial Government desision to reject the 1st recommendation of the DTA Implimentation Group was Incorrect (The DTA to have CONTROL over Land use and Planning issues).

The once focused nature of a DUBLIN Transportation Authority is now scattered to the 32 counties and the result will be a big green,white and orange fudge.

There is of course also the VERY real possibility that all of this leglislation being "brought forward" by Noel Dempsey may well be buried by him instead as his political future hangs precariously in the balance

I`m just wondering how many BusDrivers will get to sit on the board of the new DTA....... :rolleyes:

icdg

There really is no point in setting it up without giving it a specific Dublin remit. There seems to be quite a number of different agendas getting mixed up here. In particular, I can't see John Gormley's plans to have his proposed Mayor of Dublin (if THAT ever gets off the starting blocks) as Chairman of the DTA go ahead if we aren't going to have a DTA.

If we are having an NTA - which essentially is CIÉ Mark II, after all, CIE, are supposed to be our National Transport Authority! - then the least the Minister could do is allow the DTO to remain in existance to provide some semblance of a Dublin focus remain.

AlekSmart

I`m suspicious about the sweet fragrance coming from this .....:o

The preponderance of Grangegorman DA people right at the top leads me to believe that the CIE/Government "issues" on the Broadstone vs Grangegorman area may well be first on the order of business.

I am also acutely aware that the original and by now avowedly grandiose plans for a DiT Supercampus at Grangegorman are essentially dead in the water,leaving the Authorities with a very BIG chunk of property of indeterminate worth.

Sadly,this all has little to do with Public Transport but everything to do with Politics,a principle which has dogged and defeated Public Transport policy in Ireland since the foundation of the State !