A new vision for Dublin in which the city competes with New York, Beijing, Hong Kong and Bangalore - "not Cork, Galway or Limerick" - was outlined by Minister for Transport Noel Dempsey last night. Addressing a Dublin Chamber dinner which was attended by US governor of Maryland, Martin O'Malley, Mr Dempsey painted a picture of a "vibrant, car-free, culture-rich capital city". He outlined a vision of the future in which the ambitious projects planned under Transport 21 have been delivered "on time and in budget", and city centre businesses have seen a "consequential spike in business". Some 100 million passenger journeys were being made into Dublin each year on "hassle-free" public transport, while every five minutes in rush hour a Luas traversed a newly pedestrianised College Green."Metro West is taking 20 million people from Tallaght to Dublin airport and back. In its first year Metro West took 10 million cars off the roads and gave M50 motorists an alternative..."
