Infrastructure and politicians

Lenton Lane · 10-09-2015 05:49PM #1

As we have seen with Paschal Donohoe's routing of a Luas line through his constituency rather than Dart Underground and Metro North, is it time that responsibility for transport infrastructure was taken away from a politician and handed to an independent body that will make the decisions and not part of the civil service?

Is having an elected politician as transport minister a good thing or are they always the puppets of the civil service?

Carawaystick · 10-09-2015 08:20PM

Well democracy is the worst form of govt apart from all the other worse ones

If the minister is a puppet of civil servants how can he then build a line in his own constituency

aliveandkicking · 10-09-2015 09:06PM

I think the NTA was originally supposed to be exactly like what is described in the OP. As usual though the politicians established the NTA with as few teeth as possible.

Pete_Cavan · 11-09-2015 07:17AM

Firstly, I understand the airport Luas proposal to be a product of the RPA (http://castleviewresidents.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Luas-D2-January-2015.pdf). They knew their MN proposal was too expensive so fell back to their successful Luas system. New new extension is the closest point on the Luas network so designed the cheapest proposal they could (people mover and all). I would say the Luas airport extension is more parochialism on the side of civil servants in what was the RPA rather than the minister.

Secondly, has a decision actually been made? Are people just getting their knickers in a twist over a couple of speculative articles in daily rags which ordinarily they would completely ignore?

Infrastructure and politicians

Comments