Cathal Crowe (Clare, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister and his officials and thank them for their continuous engagement with the committee. I want to go through a few points. One point I have repeatedly made at the committee is that in the months of July and August, when the schools are closed, people can get around any town or city in Ireland with relative ease. This morning, I got the 7.40 a.m. train and as there is not much traffic in the mornings, I made it from my home in a border area of County Clare to the train station in Limerick city in about nine or ten minutes. However, to do that during the school year might involve a 45- or 50-minute journey because everyone is getting up and out early, dropping kids and trying to get to work. I have always believed there are huge projects in this country that merit progression, including Metro North, rail spurs and the all-Ireland rail review projects. All of these are very important elements but the true nub of our congestion problem, I contend, is the daily drop-off at school gates. I know there is active travel and many other measures but surely to have a better strategy, on top of what the Department of Education is providing for school transport, is the key. Even though the rules are being overhauled by the Minister for Education, Deputy Foley, there is an opportunity to be grasped with regard to getting more children to and from school, taking cars off small roads in the mornings and alleviating the congestion that they bring.