Improved roads and rail infrastructure will only help people if they are actually delivered, according to Fianna Fail.

The party's Spokesperson on Transport, Robert Troy, made the statement after the Government made commitments to improve infrastructure on the National Development Plan (NDP).

He said: "Traffic congestion is causing significant hardship for people and a lack of proper planning by Government has compounded the problem. This plan represents an opportunity to address the mistakes made by Fine Gael in Government.

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"The key challenge for the Government will be to deliver on the commitments that it has made. Of the 25 road projects identified in the last capital plan, which was published three years ago, only five have been commenced. Many will not be delivered until 2025 at the very earliest. Time and time again we have seen Fine Gael launch ambitious plans that end up going nowhere.

"The completion dates for all of these projects are well into the future, and it will do nothing for the tens of thousands of commuters that have to wait for an hour to catch a bus in the morning. The CEO of Irish Rail recently confirmed to me that the lead in time for getting new train carriages into operation is at least 3 years. The Government remains a long way off from delivering any meaningful change for public transport users."

(CD/LM)