Jerry Buttimer (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

First, I endorse the remarks of my colleague, Senator Seery Kearney, about metro south west. We have had much engagement from members of that group and principals in that area who are articulating strong views. The officials have received a couple of emails, as we have as correspondence, from that committee around the whole Dublin transport authority and Dublin transport plan. I welcome Ms Graham and Mr. Creegan once again. They seem to be permanent fixtures at our committee. They could both take up residence here, no bother at all. They may be surprised that I, a Cork person, am speaking on Dublin but I have a number of points I want to raise on behalf of Councillor Joe Neville, who has engaged extensively with me on the matter, as well as Councillor Pádraig McEvoy, to which I will come back in a second.

In a manner similar to Deputy Catherine Murphy, Councillor Neville has expressed concerns on the issue of St. Catherine's Park. The Deputy is correct the three local authorities took a deliberate stance on that development and I support the remarks she made. I thank Councillor Neville for his engagement with me. The concerns he has raised are articulated in the context of the previous plans and references to putting a road through the park. There is genuine concern at a residential level and at a local authority level because St. Catherine's Park is a special area of conservation in the Liffey Valley area. As the officials will know from the remarks this evening and their own extensive deliberations, it is bordering counties Kildare and Dublin and everybody is concerned that we should not allow it to happen. Councillor McEvoy is a member of the Eastern and Midland Regional Assembly, EMRA. It met yesterday and considered the NTA transport strategy for consistency and has put forward amendments around the "Measure ROAD8" proposal.

In the context of what has been said today, I wish to articulate on behalf of Councillors Neville and McEvoy that neither Kildare nor Fingal county councils supported a roadway development between the N3 and N4 across the Liffey Valley in their county development plans. The objective was not added and was removed from the respective plans. The big thing with the NTA's draft transport strategy for the GDA is it has an objective in Measure ROAD8 to develop a new road as a resilience alternative to closure of the M50 between junctions 6 and 7. We have done much work on the committee on changing speed limits on the M50 already but the EMRA continues to have concerns. Deputy Catherine Murphy rightly made reference to climate action in the context of the development of a new road but the concerns expressed to both Councillors Neville and McEvoy rest with the county development plan going back as far as 2017. There is an issue around the transport strategy, given the climate emergency, with additional road development. There is the matter of recommending alternative studies be undertaken if we are talking about reducing car journeys and movement and the whole issue around Measure ROAD8 remaining in the latest draft of the transport strategy. As a committee, and with the NTA, it is about having the Department and the Minister give their attention to the real concerns of local communities. To be fair, both Councillors Neville and McEvoy are outstanding public representatives who rarely engage in terms of the level of concern around this piece of work. I ask that the NTA, in the context of the proposals, give consideration to the full range of options and that it would either engage with the councillors in question or meet the EMRA as a matter of urgency.

As we have heard not just today but on an ongoing basis, it is important to getting it right that there be consultation and co-ordination. There has been on the draft. We have had the Metro South West group engaging extensively with us and Senator Seery Kearney has articulated that but I wished to give a platform to members of the local authority on the issue before us tonight.