Tommy Broughan (Dublin North East, Labour)

I also commend my colleague, Deputy Shortall, on her excellent Labour Party policy document, Getting Dublin Moving, and tabling the motion before the House. If the measures proposed were implemented, they would play a major role in combating the ever increasing congestion on our city streets and, in a matter in which I am also interested, helping to reduce our energy consumption and carbon emissions. A well funded, cheap and reliable public transport network would be a key foundation stone of any low or zero carbon economy and society.

In recent decades the public transport system has been starved of necessary funding by Fianna Fáil and Progressive Democrats Ministers. Effectively, Transport 21 is pie in the sky and provides no solace for harassed and angry commuters in the short to medium term. They will face a daily nightmarish trek in getting to and from work. I hope metro north will arrive on time in 2012. The linkage of the green and red Luas lines should also occur at approximately the same time. Even Blanchardstown and west Dublin may receive a much needed DART system. However, what will happen to commuters in this gridlocked city in the intervening years? Deputy Shortall's solution, namely, the provision of 500 buses and a €1 fare, appears to be the only feasible one to get people out of cars in the short to medium term.

Many residents on the western side of my constituency of Dublin North-East are bitterly disappointed by the metro north decision. As the Ceann Comhairle is aware, there was intense competition in the consultation process between proponents of the three possible routes. The proposed eastern route ran through Whitehall, Coolock and Clonshaugh; the central route ran through Glasnevin and Ballymun, while the western route ran through Finglas. Strong arguments were made for all three routes and I congratulate the people of Ballymun, their residents associations and representative bodies, for convincing the Railway Procurement Agency, RPA, to formally propose the central route as the preferred option. Of course, I also congratulate Deputy Shortall as their representative.

Metro north will be a terrific asset to all the districts and communities along its route, including Drumcondra, Glasnevin, Dublin City University, Ballymun, west Santry, Northwood, Nevinstown and Swords. However, this means the greater Coolock district does not and will not have a fixed line transport system. Consequently, I again call on the RPA to return to the Dublin Transportation Office strategy to 2016, A Platform for Change, which includes the provision of a Luas line that would run across the top of what has become, to an increasing extent, a major new region of the city. It stretches from the eastern side of my constituency to the western side of the constituency of Dublin North-West. Many enormous developments are under way, particularly at Northside Shopping Centre, and it seems incredible to construct a major new urban centre without having a fixed rail link. I again call on the Railway Procurement Agency's chairman, Mr. Padraic White, to immediately resurrect the Coolock Luas proposal.

I have received many complaints in recent months regarding gross overcrowding on the DART line that runs through my constituency and the health and safety issues involved when passengers are stuffed like sardines into trains at rush hour. While the commencement of work on the Malahide to Greystones link was welcomed, the upshot was the Dublin North-East constituency lost approximately 18 trains, nine in the morning and nine in the afternoon. I have called and again call on the CIE chairman, Dr. John Lynch, to ensure he will try to increase the availability of rolling stock on the Donaghmede to Howth lines.

I also warmly welcomed the DASH project, under which stations were upgraded. Seven or eight years ago I called on the former Minister for Public Enterprise, Senator O'Rourke, to try to provide the north side of Dublin with railway stations constructed to the same finish as those on the south side. At long last the DASH project followed through in this regard. However, much unfinished business remains, particularly regarding Bayside station, in which a major drain was burst asunder by DASH project workers. Despite campaigning for two years via endless e-mails, telephone calls and attempts to contact CIE management, it still has not been repaired. In addition, park and ride facilities are required at Raheny and Donaghmede stations. An opportunity arose to create such facilities, which would have been highly beneficial for the entire DART network. However, once again, CIE, Iarnród Éireann, Dublin City Council and Fingal County Council signally failed to pursue the matter.

The Ceann Comhairle will have heard me discuss the northern fringe many times. It is a new city of perhaps 20,000 to 25,000 housing units, a key element of which should be a new railway station which is already two or three years behind schedule. It is a key piece of infrastructure for the northern fringe. I again call on the Minister for Transport, Deputy Cullen, to try to ensure a new DART station will be secured for the new Clongriffin town centre with its growing population. Incidentally, a new bus route has been promised for the area, with buses to be provided from the 100 new buses. However, while the DART line is already in situ, there is no station. If a new city is to be developed, key pieces of infrastructure are essential.

I commend Deputy Shortall on an extremely well thought out proposal for the intervening years up to 2012 or thereabouts. I also congratulate her for bringing it before the public.

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