Pat Gallagher (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)

I move amendment No. 1:

To delete all words after "Dáil Éireann" and substitute the following:

"—commends this Government's very substantial levels of investment, both capital and current, in the expansion of the transport system in the greater Dublin area over the past ten years and the consequential significant increases in public transport and roads capacity arising therefrom;

welcomes:

the outstanding success of the Luas which will carry over 25 million passengers in 2006;

the doubling of DART capacity and expansion of suburban rail services;

the significant expansion of bus services and supporting quality bus corridors and the delivery of a further batch of 100 extra buses for Dublin Bus by the end of January 2007; and

the opening of Dublin Port tunnel next week which will enable almost two million truck trips annually to access the motorway network directly, in place of passing through the city centre streets and residential areas;

commends:

this Government's investment of €34.6 billion in Transport 21, including the unprecedented investment under Transport 21 of almost €13 billion in public transport, which will see:

a 60% increase in bus capacity and a doubling of the quality bus network;

the development of metro north and metro west;

a major expansion of suburban rail services, including the construction of the interconnector; and

a substantial extension of the Luas network;

resulting in an integrated public transport network carrying almost double the current passenger numbers."

Tá áthas orm deis a bheith agam páirt a ghlacadh sa díospóireacht thábhachtach seo faoi thrácht i gcathair Bhaile Átha Cliath.

I wish to share my time with Deputy O'Connor. I am disappointed but not surprised by the terms of the motion. The Labour Party seems to be of the view that proposals such as a €1 fare represent the best way forward in terms of building an integrated approach to meeting the transport needs of the greater Dublin area. The headline-catching €1 fare proposed is uncosted and it is not clear whether it would apply to some or all services in the Dublin metropolitan area. The motion is evidence, if that was needed, of the weak foundations on which the Labour Party's policy for public transport in Dublin is based.

The Government has a very proud track record of delivery. Since 2000 we have invested almost €3.5 billion in public transport, unprecedented in our history; more people are switching to public transport as we expand capacity; and major projects have been delivered, more are almost ready for delivery and more are at planning stage.

Traffic has grown nationally and in the Dublin area in line with the population and the growth in employment and the economy. The success of our economy has created new and more complex mobility and accessibility needs. This is demonstrated by comparing the total number of motor vehicles registered in the country in 2000 to 2005, which shows an increase of 27% to some 2.1 million vehicles. Average daily traffic flows on the M50 adjacent to the N4 junction increased by over 11% between November 2003 and November 2005, while traffic on the M4 increased by almost 9% in the same period. That level of traffic growth clearly reflects population and employment growth on the back of a thriving economy.

The Government has responded to these needs and is continuing to do so. There has been major investment in transport in the greater Dublin area since 1997. I wish to take this opportunity to put some of the benefits and achievements of this investment on the record of the House.

On the bus service, the Dublin Bus fleet and its capacity have been significantly increased. In 1997, it stood at just over 900 buses. By the end of January next it will have increased to approximately 1,182, taking into account the 100 additional buses currently being purchased by Dublin Bus. Bus Éireann has also deployed additional buses in commuter services to the Dublin area.

As well as those additional buses, there has also been significant bus replacement. Over the period since 1997, and including the 100 additional buses currently being delivered, Dublin Bus will have purchased a total of 1,095 new buses of which over 280 are additional, which is in line with our NDP commitments.

In terms of capacity, both seated and standing, I understand the capacity of the Dublin Bus fleet at the end of 2005 was, at over 98,000 passenger spaces, 30% greater than in 1999 due to the purchase of additional buses and the replacement of smaller buses by double deckers.

This increase in the fleet of Dublin Bus has been reflected in the increased subvention paid to Dublin Bus. The annual subvention paid has increased from €8.8 million in 1997 to almost €70 million in 2006. Over that period almost €440 million has been paid in subvention to Dublin Bus towards the cost of loss-making services.

The increased bus fleet and bus capacity has benefited from major investment in quality bus corridors and traffic management systems. Since 2001, a total of over €130 million has been allocated to bus priority measures. As a result, the current length of quality bus corridors in the greater Dublin area comes to 139 km, of which 72.3 km comprises inbound bus lanes and 52.5 km comprises outbound lanes. There are also a further 20 km of non-QBC corridors with bus priority measures.

Eleven QBCs are now in operation in the greater Dublin area. They are south Clondalkin, Swords Road, Blanchardstown, Tallaght via Rathgar, Rathfarnham, north Clondalkin, Finglas, Stillorgan Road, which includes an extension to Bray, Malahide Road, Lucan Road and the western orbital.

In January of this year, the Dublin Transportation Office reviewed the bus priority programme in the context of the goal set in Transport 21. As a result, extra capacity will be delivered by the end of 2007 by projects that are currently under construction. These include the Blackrock QBC, Snugborough Road, Kilmacud QBC, South Clondalkin QBC — phase 3, Pearse Street bus priority scheme — phase 2, Dunshaughlin, Bracetown, Earlsfort Terrace-St. Stephen's Green, Naas Road QBC — phases 2 and 3, and Waterloo Road bus priority scheme. In addition, the tender process is under way for schemes at Santry Avenue and Coolock Lane-Oscar Traynor Road.

As part of the overall effort to improve bus services, the Dublin Transportation Office undertakes an annual monitoring exercise of bus services. This helps to pinpoint where bus priority measures are constrained by pinch points. These are particular locations that need additional work to protect bus operations from the effects of traffic congestion. The results of this monitoring is taken into account by the DTO in the bus priority scheme programme. I understand that a significant portion of the quality bus network office's 2006 programme addresses urgent needs at such pinch points.

The rail service has also been dramatically improved since 1997. The DART fleet has been increased from 80 to 156 carriages and the DART upgrade project involving track renewal, upgrades of stations, etc, has been completed. Peak hour capacity on the DART increased from approximately 14,000 to 27,000 when refurbishment of the original fleet was completed.

The Maynooth line has been upgraded through the doubling of track between Maynooth and Clonsilla and 143 new diesel commuter railcars have been brought into service. More than 90% of the 180 commuter railcars are new or less than ten years old. Capacity increases of approximately 25% have been achieved on the Maynooth line, more than 40% on the Dundalk line and approximately 30% on the Gorey line.

The completion of the Heuston Station redevelopment project including, inter alia, the provision of four additional platforms and the upgrading of track and signalling has improved services. The beneficial impact of this investment is reflected in the overall passenger numbers on the DART and suburban services, which have grown from 20 million in 1997 to approximately 25 million today. In overall terms, numbers being carried on the Irish Rail suburban rail network are at an all time high.

The completion of the two Luas lines has taken public transport services to a new level. Luas has been an unprecedented success and is indicative of what is to come in terms of the quality of public transport services to be developed under Transport 21. Luas is providing high quality, high capacity and frequent services. The existing Luas network is expected to carry in the region of 25 million passengers this year, an increase of more than 13% on last year's carryings, and the expanded Luas and metro networks provided for in Transport 21 are expected to add an additional 80 million passengers per annum when complete.

The success of the Luas has already demonstrated that light rail is an essential and popular component of the public transport infrastructure for Dublin and augurs well for the continued success of the major expansion under Transport 21. This will make an important contribution to achieving more sustainable transport solutions through reducing congestion on the road network.

The investment I have outlined in public transport is only part of the picture. Since 1997, the Government has driven the upgrade of the national roads network in the Dublin area with major upgrades completed on the M1, the N2 to Ashbourne, the N3, the N4 to Kinnegad and beyond, the N7 to Portlaoise, the N11 to Arklow and the completion, and now the upgrade of the earlier sections, of the M50. The opening in the coming days of the Dublin Port tunnel will remove thousands of trucks from the city streets and will be another milestone in the upgrading of our roads infrastructure.

All of these investments have helped tackle major traffic bottlenecks in the Dublin area and greater Dublin region and helped in coping with the vastly increased volume of traffic attributable to our economic, employment and population growth. Progress has also been made by the director of traffic for Dublin in improving traffic management and control while the growth in the number of taxis has improved that service dramatically.

Transport 21 will build on these achievements. The Transport 21 strategy for the Dublin area includes the transformation of public transport in the greater Dublin area through a major expansion in rail based public transport infrastructure, a 60% increase in bus capacity and a doubling in size of the quality bus network. Transport 21 recognises that the bus will continue to play a crucial role in Dublin's public transport system. Accordingly, it provides for major investment of more than €500 million in the bus service with a greater focus on the development of orbital, feeder and local services. In addition to funding for the 100 additional buses, my Department has also approved funding of €12 million towards the cost of replacement buses for Dublin Bus in 2007. As announced by the Minister, Deputy Cullen, in September, it is intended to secure the next tranche of additional buses for Dublin from the private sector.

Transport 21 also provides for major improvements in the suburban rail service through the Kildare line project, the opening of a new station in Docklands, the provision of rail services to Navan on a phased basis and improvements to city centre resignalling to increase the number of trains per hour through the city centre. All these improvement works are progressing well with the Docklands Station due to open in four months' time in April next and work due to get under way shortly on the Kildare project and the signalling project in 2007.

The key to unlocking the full potential of the suburban railway network in the Dublin area is the interconnector and electrification project. Irish Rail has commenced the planning of this project. With the interconnector in place, a major expansion in services will be possible. New DART services will be available on the Kildare line, to Drogheda on the northern line and to Maynooth. On completion of the Transport 21 programme, the suburban rail systems will be able to carry an extra 80 million passengers per annum.

The Railway Procurement Agency is making good progress on the roll-out of the Luas and Metro projects provided for in Transport 21. Projects for early delivery include the extension of the trams on the Luas red line, the Tallaght line, from 30 m to 40 m, which will provide an additional 40% capacity. The first 40 m trams will be delivered early in 2007 and all tram extensions will be completed in 2008. Additional trams will be purchased to increase capacity on both Luas lines. Subject to approval by my Department of the business case, an additional eight trams will be ordered early next year and will commence service early in 2009, providing an additional 15% capacity across the existing system.

Subject to an enforceable railway order, the Docklands extension to the red Tallaght Luas line should be completed in 2009. This extension will add an additional 2 million trips to the Luas network and remove over 1 million trips from the road network. Subject to the provision of a railway order, the Citywest extension to the red Tallaght Luas line should be completed in 2010. It will serve the residential and commercial centre of Citywest, including the National Digital Park. The project will also serve the communities of west Tallaght, including Fettercairn and Cheeverstown. Additional patronage is estimated at 3.5 million per annum.

The Minister, Deputy Cullen, signed the railway order for the Luas extension to Cherrywood on 14 August 2006. Additional patronage on this extension is expected to be 8 million passengers and over 5 million car trips will be removed from the roads. In early October, a third party sought leave in the High Court to challenge the grant of this order by way of judicial review. This matter is now before the courts. The completion date for this project is now dependent on the outcome of the High Court proceedings.

Good progress is also being made on other major metro and Luas projects. The RPA has completed a comprehensive public consultation process on four potential routes for metro north and the preferred route was announced on 19 October last. Metro north will have 15 stops between St. Stephen's Green and Lissenhall. An estimated 34 million passengers a year will travel on this service, with trains every four minutes, increasing to 90 seconds as the demand builds. The journey time from the city centre to Dublin Airport will be 17 minutes and the journey to Swords from the city centre will be 26 minutes.

The RPA is on target to submit a railway order application in summer 2007. The procurement phase will start shortly with the prequalification of consortia to finance, build and maintain the metro. The Minister launched the public consultation process for metro west on 22 November last. Some 50,000 newsletters will be circulated to households and other interested parties along the proposed routes as part of this consultation. It is expected that a preferred alignment will be identified in 2007. A feasibility study on route alignments for the Lucan Luas line is ongoing and public consultation on the further extension of the Luas from Cherrywood to Bray was launched on 14 August 2006.

Under Transport 21, the quality bus network will be doubled over the ten-year period of the programme. This will result in a more consistently reliable set of services than is possible with existing congestion levels. QBCs will allow for more efficient use of buses resulting in enhanced levels of service. Priority projects being targeted by the quality bus network project for an early start and for which funding has been provided include south Clondalkin QBC — phase three; Malahide super QBC upgrade; Howth Road; Blanchardstown Road north and south; Foxrock to Dún Laoghaire, Blanchardstown super QBC; north Clondalkin; Tallaght QBC; Lucan QBC enhancements; and city centre priority measures.

Transport 21 also provides for substantial investment in park and ride facilities. As the Minister has made clear on previous occasions, we regard the provision of appropriate park and ride facilities as having an important role to play in persuading people to move from their cars to public transport. This in turn will have obvious benefits for congestion relief, for the wider economy and for the environment.

In 2005, a Dublin Transportation Office strategy for rail-based park and ride facilities was approved. This envisages facilities at 22 locations on the existing and proposed rail network within the greater Dublin area. These sites represent a combination of strategic and local sites. The DTO strategy emphasises the importance of developing park and ride facilities in line with expansion of the rail network, rather than ahead of it. This is because there is no point in building park and ride facilities where the public transport network is not yet ready to absorb additional capacity. Accordingly, additional park and ride facilities are being provided as part of rail improvements, such as the Kildare route project at Hazlehatch, Fonthill, Kishogue and Adamstown, as well as the metro.

See this speech in context