Transport Joint Communique 14 September 2007

1.  The third meeting of the North/South Ministerial Council in the Transport Sector was held in the Manor House Hotel, Killadeas, on 14 September 2007.

2.  The Northern Ireland Executive was represented by Minister Conor Murphy MP, MLA, and Minister Arlene Foster MLA. The Irish Government was represented by Minister Noel Dempsey TD.

3.  The Council noted and welcomed progress made since the last meeting in April 2002 and the opportunity to meet to discuss opportunities for cross-border co-operation in relation to Strategic Transport Planning and Road Safety.

STRATEGIC TRANSPORT PLANNING

A5 and A8 Major Roads Projects

4.  The Council discussed and agreed the necessary steps to progress the A5 and A8 projects which will provide dual carriageway standard on routes within Northern Ireland serving the North West Gateway and Belfast/Larne.  It agreed the payment process taking into account that progress on the A8 project will be the responsibility of the Northern Ireland Executive and its agencies.

5.  The Council also agreed to the formation by October 2007 of a management structure for the A5 project comprising a Cross Border Steering Group, Technical Group and dedicated Roads Service Project Team to evaluate and monitor progress as required, and the early appointment of consultants to enable a route corridor study of the A5 project to commence.  

Restoration of Two Bridges on the Tyrone/Monaghan Border

6.  The Council noted and welcomed progress on co-operation to restore the Annaghroe and Knocknaginny bridges on the Tyrone/Monaghan border.  The Irish Government has given a commitment to fund the replacement of the bridges and the approach roads in County Monaghan while the Northern Ireland Roads Service has agreed to improve the approach roads in Northern Ireland. Construction work on the bridges is expected to begin in 2008.

Narrow Water Bridge

7.  The Councilnoted the Irish Government’s proposal for the construction of a bridge at Narrow Water linking Co Louth with Co Down and that the Irish Government has granted funding to Louth County Council to undertake preliminary technical work on the proposal.  It will keep the matter under review and draw on the results of the technical work when they are available.

Dublin-Belfast Rail Link

8.  The Council noted that discussions are taking place between Iarnród Éireann and Translink on the preparation of plans for the further development of the major cross-border rail link between Dublin and Belfast. These discussions include consideration of options for the short and medium-term, including limited stop services, hourly frequency, removal of speed, restrictions and new rolling stock, and a phased implementation programme. The Council agreed to consider the outcome of these discussions and the plans at the next NSMC meeting in the Transport Sector.

Cross-Border Community Based Rural Transport

9.  The Council welcomed the research study currently underway with the support of the Department of Transport and the Marine and the Department for Regional Development into community based transport services to local cross-border communities and agreed to consider the report and its recommendations at a forthcoming meeting of the NSMC in the Transport Sector.

ROAD SAFETY

10.  The Council discussed cross-border co-operation on road safety including consultation on road safety strategies. In relation to the mutual recognition of penalty points, the Council noted that a study on co-operation between the UK and Ireland is currently underway.  It agreed that efforts to promote road safety through joint advertising and publicity campaigns should continue, and that the available evidence on the effectiveness of the existing approach should be reviewed. It also agreed that work should continue through the Steering to Safety project on finding practical ways of improving road safety in border areas. The Council also agreed that where possible, the results of relevant road safety research should be shared, and that the opportunities for improving and harmonising arrangements for collecting, collating and reporting road safety information will continue to be explored.

Next Meeting

11 .The Council agreed to meet again in this Sector in December 2007.