Frank Feighan (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Mr. Nolan and Mr. Creegan for their presentations. I shall start on a positive note. This morning I travelled here by bus and I was pleasantly surprised at how free flowing traffic was on Kildare Street and College Green. Perhaps that is due to the work that has been done by the organisations and I hope that it is a good omen for the future.

It is a fascinating fact that between 2012 and now in 2018, the volume of traffic on the M50 has increased by more than 30%. I acknowledge that there are great difficulties in sweating the assets, as referenced by Mr. Nolan, and that the current average incident response time has decreased to 13 minutes. However, I concur with the Chairman that traffic congestion on the M50 is a huge issue. Mr. Nolan said such measures simply sweat the asset rather than bringing significant capacity improvements to the operation of the M50. What significant capacity improvements are envisaged for the M50? I note that he called on the Government to invest more money.

I want to discuss the park and ride provision. If I want to commute to work by car then I must set off from my home in Boyle, County Roscommon at 4.30 a.m. in order to arrive in time for work. If I delay my departure then I shall be an hour late for work. Also, I cannot leave Leinster House until after 7 p.m. in order to avoid traffic congestion.

I understand that there are park and ride facilities at Maynooth, County Kildare. Will the NTA provide park and ride facilities for people travelling by car from the west of Ireland along the N5 and N4? What does the NTA intend to do? I understand there are park and ride facilities on the road to Cork and acknowledge that people can avail of a LUAS service. We have a very good public transport system but many people must drive some or all of the way to Dublin. It would be extremely helpful if park and ride facilities were provided for people who travel from the west of Ireland to Dublin. Park and ride facilities would also reduce traffic congestion and allow people to reach their destinations much quicker.

The witnesses have a tough job and most capital cities around the world have this issue. My office is on the fifth floor. Five years ago I looked out from my office and I could see no crane at all on the Dublin skyline but last week I counted approximately 45 cranes. There is a large construction industry that has seen an increase in capacity. Fair play to the witnesses, as they are trying to address it. I am delighted they are here today and I hope we can work together to resolve the difficulties. We need to get more people on public transport.