Duncan Smith (Dublin Fingal, Labour) | Oireachtas source

That was an interesting exchange on the need for radar and so on. I was very interested in the response of the Minister.

Before I crack into my questions, I note the €3 million for Eircode was mentioned in the report and there was reference to how successful it has been after a rocky start. It is worth mentioning that when we invest long-term in these things, they can bear fruit. I remember it being described as a big waste of time. It was claimed that no one would use it. I think everyone now knows their Eircode off by heart. I assume the €3 million is for new builds and that kind of thing.

Many Ministers in various Departments through the years have pointed to increased funding and investment in certain areas that the public do not see. The investment may be very real but it certainly is not visible to the naked eye. I do not think that can be said about active travel, to the credit of the Minister. It is clear there is significant investment going into active travel, such as measures in respect of segregated and other cycle lanes and pedestrianisation. It is a very positive move and certainly represents in real terms where the people of Ireland, particularly young people, want to go. They want more active travel options. They want the Government to invest in it and it is doing so, which is to be commended. Two weeks ago, we discussed objections to housing and other matters. Have there been many objections to active travel measures? Has the Minister been disappointed by such objections, be they from stakeholder groups, councils or politicians, such as councillors? Is it an issue? Is it increasing the cost of the provision and roll-out of these pieces of infrastructure? It may be too early in this mass roll-out we are seeing for him to comment in detail in that regard, but I would be interested in hearing his thoughts on it and just generally around the whole culture of objecting to change.

Subhead 5.2, dealing with public transport infrastructure, covers light rail projects such as Luas and metro, as well as and public service obligation bus replacement and fleet enlargement programmes for BusConnects and next generation ticketing. Does the Minister have a more detailed breakdown of that? Obviously, I am very interested in how much will be spent on MetroLink in the coming year in terms of pushing it forward. In response to my question on Questions to the Taoiseach yesterday, the Taoiseach was very strong in terms of the Government being supportive of MetroLink. Representatives of Transport Infrastructure Ireland who appeared before the Committee of Public Accounts last week stated that 2035 is the earliest it will be delivered. That is disappointing. I would be interested in the response of the Minister to that projection. It seems like we are baking in as a given an awful lot of imponderables such as judicial reviews, environmental impact assessments and procurement timelines. It is like we are baking in the longest possible time those could take rather than trying to be positive and forward-moving. In fairness, what we are hearing from the State agencies is not what I am hearing from the Minister or from the Taoiseach in the Dáil. I would be interested in the Minister's thoughts on that.

On bus replacements, fleet enlargements and the electric buses we are now seeing in Dublin, I ask the Minister to comment on the investment in that regard into 2022 and what we will see in terms of these replacements. These buses can actually be seen now. It is another example of seeing things happen rather than just having figures on a spreadsheet.

I am very interested in the accessibility retrofit programme for which €15.3 million has been allocated. Could the Minister provide further comment on what that is going to deliver and where we will see the money being spent? I have a young disability activist in my constituency, Conor Dillon, who has been working with Dublin Bus. He has been taking trips on Dublin Bus to highlight just how difficult it is for wheelchair users to use public transport. This is someone with a great desire to use public transport but is frozen out of it. It would be great to hear about where the money is going to go and what we are going to see from it.

I echo the comments of Deputy O'Connor about a scrappage scheme. That is something we will need to see down the track in advance of 2030. Whether it is next year or two, three or four years from now, it is something we are definitely going to need to see.

The Minister mentioned the national broadband plan. There have been delays with it due to Covid. Has there been any impact on the cost from the Department's point of view and is he disappointed in that?

The Minister said that our economic future will be based on the Atlantic in terms of renewable energy. We hear a lot about renewable energy, wind energy and offshore energy on the east and south-east coast. I assume all parts of the coastline will be important in that regard. This is the first time I heard the Minister being so definitive about the west coast. There is massive expectation that the east and south-east coasts are going to play a major role as well.

On a more local and regional level, the Athy distributor road is included as well. The sod-turning ceremony is due to happen in early March. I assume that is still going ahead. Are there any timelines for that project?