Martin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)

The Deputy raises an issue that is very much part of a modern developing economy. I agree the way Ireland has developed has resulted in this becoming a very significant issue. The NRA has managed its contracts — for example the Naas dual carriageway — with very strict penalties. It compelled the contractors to keep two lanes open in both directions, which worked very well. The issue on the N11 was one of those unexpected sudden issues that occurred. We would all agree that it could have been handled better. I am struck by what the team has done in traffic management. The Deputy has referred to the two key issues. The development of a specific on-street traffic corps on the beat as opposed to in vehicle is a significant traffic management feature in major cities similar to Dublin. This week I saw figures showing that we have almost 2.2 million vehicles on our roads. The growth is continuing apace. We need very significant control centres capable of monitoring and controlling the entire area, to reflect traffic flows, to change traffic signals, to assist public transport and a range of other issues. This is a further reason for having the Dublin transport authority, which can introduce the required technology.

There is no simple solution. In some respects Operation Freeflow has worked well in some areas and in other areas it has not delivered the sorts of results we would like. The disjointed way in which traffic management has been handled in the capital city is not satisfactory. Ceding authority to the DTA will give a tremendous impetus in that it will have an overview. Working in conjunction with the local authorities to implement some of the different policy areas will clearly bring benefit. It is not a question of resolving this. From what I have seen as best practice in a very short space of time, it is a complex issue requiring interaction between physical presence of gardaí or others at many of the junctions, the technology that is involved and having a strategic plan in place.

See this speech in context