Mr. Michael Nolan:

There were many questions. I welcome the debate and the robustness of the exchanges. It is good for us to hear this. We have been working under severe constraints for the past eight or nine years, which was not our fault or of our making. We are probably in catch-up mode on many different fronts.

I welcome the comment of Senator Feighan that things have improved in the College Green area. He also asked what capacity improvements we can bring to the M50. We have made considerable effort in the past ten years to improve the capacity and safety of the M50 but we are at a point where we just cannot keep building out the M50. I do not think that going to four lanes or five lanes in each direction is tenable. We must keep in mind that, at the time the M50 upgrade was mooted and there was a hearing, there was a whole series of public transport initiatives in Transport 21 that were supposed to come into play and be delivered and executed at around this time, but they have not happened. It was not the case that the M50 was a single solution to traffic ills along that corridor; it was one of a range of solutions. It just so happens that we managed to execute the Government's vision of the time, upgrade the M50, remove the toll plaza and move to free-flow tolling.

I agree with Senator Feighan that one would have to be in Dublin by 7 a.m. to have an efficient journey and would need to leave early or, otherwise, leave around 7 p.m. in the evening. I empathise with those coming from the west but that is the reality of what is happening because of congestion. Due to the economic upturn of the past two or three years, every second car on the M4 is a commercial vehicle, such as a white van working in the construction industry. There was a comment that construction traffic has not lifted yet but I believe construction traffic has been quite buoyant in the last three years. There has been significant commercial development within the city core and a lot of traffic is heading into the city, not just on the M50 but using the M50 to distribute along different radial routes.

With regard to park and ride, and the M4 is an example, there are a number of opportunities. Drivers can pull in at Mullingar, Enfield or Maynooth and get a train, and there is ample parking at those locations. Nonetheless, the M4 does not have a park and ride facility such as at the Red Cow roundabout on the M50, which is a fantastic facility that has been well used.

With regard to the capacity that exists in the port tunnel, the charges are set to prevent unnecessary traffic coming into the city at peak times. It is a man management measure in its own right, and it works. The tunnel has considerable capacity. Where we do not have the capacity is in the receiving street network in the centre of Dublin. It is fine heading north, as anyone who uses that route on a daily basis will appreciate, but-----