Seán Kenny (Dublin North East, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I want to comment on the public transport investment programme, the €110 million which I welcome, in particular the provision of the 90 new buses for Dublin Bus. There is an increase in people going back to work and using public transport. Traffic congestion has come back again so it is important that we invest in transport infrastructure to allow people the option of leaving their cars at home and switching to public transport. That needs to be continued.

The other point I want to make was referred to by Deputy Ellis regarding the proposals announced yesterday. I welcome them, in particular the proposal to have a rail connection from Clongriffin on the Dublin-Belfast line to Dublin Airport, which is realistic in terms of cost. The land reservation is there in the Fingal County Council development plan and it would mean that Dublin Airport would have a connection to the mainline rail system, which every other capital city has. That is something I would welcome. I know it is going out to public consultation and there are other options as well, but that is certainly welcome.

Concerns have been raised by other Deputies regarding the comments and warnings made by the Irish Rail chief executive, Mr. David Franks, on the future of the rail system and the need for additional funding if the service is to be maintained. If there is a safety issue, services have to be curtailed and that is a concern. There have been a lot of savings and cost reductions in Irish Rail. I am thinking in particular of the Dublin DART system whereby manning levels have been reduced. A lot of DART stations do not have staff present and ticketing is automated. There is a particular difficulty for commuters who travel at night - if there is an unmanned station, very often there is a security risk and some people are quite concerned about travelling. In my own constituency there is a DART station in Donaghmede, Howth Junction, which at times does have safety issues at night. It is important that those issues be addressed.

I see that there is extra investment for the Luas cross-city in the subhead. Could I get some more details on that? It is a major project in the city and is causing a lot of changes in our city's traffic as well as disruption to traffic, businesses and traders and so on. I would like some more details on what the extra investment is doing.