Mr. Brendan Logue:

I wish to reflect on some of the human consequences of the chaos in Julianstown. As my colleague, Ms Uí Loinsigh, stated, it is the 16th busiest road in the country. It is busier than many motorways, main arteries and so on. However, Julianstown is not an artery like other major roads such as the M50. Rather, it is a blocked artery that will lead to heart attacks for many people, as well as in the political system. Two years ago, Mr. Foley stated that it was imperative that work begin on finding a solution so as to significantly ease traffic volumes to a level that, as Ms Uí Loinsigh noted, befits a village street. Apart from the Duleek road which was realigned, roads generally in the east Meath area are the same as they were 200 years ago. That is not a big issue as far as east Meath is concerned. We are back to the era of the horse and cart. Anyone who has attempted to go through Julianstown into Laytown knows that at some narrow points, such as the bridge under the railway line or beside the Church of Ireland church, the road is not wide enough to accommodate two cars. These roads are hardly adequate for a horse and cart, let alone the traffic volume coming from the east Meath and south Drogheda areas which have an estimated population of 40,000 with a planned increase to 65,00, taking account of zoned land in the area.

It is of note that the traffic count is increasing by 2% per annum which, when calculated on a compound basis, gives a far greater figure than one may expect. To the best of our knowledge, the traffic counter in Julianstown is located at the school at Whitecross and, as such, does not take account of traffic travelling to or from Drogheda on the R150 Duleek road. An Aldi supermarket is under construction and will open shortly. It will bring a far greater volume of traffic from the hinterland and along the R150 Laytown road through Julianstown to Aldi.

I ask members to picture a commuter travelling to work from south Drogheda or east Meath and sitting in a traffic jam which probably extends 1.2 km to 2 km along the road in the direction of Drogheda. Traffic may be creeping along or at a standstill. The driver may be under pressure to get to an appointment or be utterly frustrated with the way things are happening. The situation is even worse in the evenings as traffic becomes backed up on the R132 as far back as the Gormanston interchange or even the slip road onto the M1, which is a safety hazard. As Ms Uí Loinsigh indicated, it is not just about the financial cost as there is a very significant human cost to this issue.

Ms Uí Loinsigh also referred to the risks to pedestrians. There is no safe place to cross the R132 between Whitecross school and the village community garden, a distance of 1.2 km.