Terence Flanagan (Dublin North East, Fine Gael)

I look forward to many more contributions from the Minister of State.

As a new Deputy for Dublin and daily road user — I travel both by public transport and car from my home in the north east of Dublin — I must admit that I am not overly impressed with the standard of our roads or the length of time it takes to commute. For me, a journey of six miles can, depending on whether it rains, sometimes take up to one hour to complete. That is simply not good enough. Too many of the capital's streets are badly congested. Is it any wonder that motorists drive around the city with very gloomy faces and that they are stressed out, particularly if they are late for work? This is not acceptable and the sooner the better Operation Freeflow is introduced on a year-round basis in order to help rectify the situation. After all, carbon emissions will decrease if traffic begins to flow.

Motorists pay their fair share of taxes, including VRT and excise duties on diesel and petrol. They must also meet the high cost of insurance. They deserve better treatment.

There is a serious lack of adequate public transport services in my area. There is no Dublin Bus service for the residents of Clonshaugh in Dublin 17, referred to by the people concerned as the forgotten estate. In addition, there is a very poor bus service for those who live on the Howth Peninsula. Many elderly residents are forced to walk, sometimes in inclement weather, to catch buses on other routes. There are no Luas or metro lines in my constituency.

There is still no DART station for the people of the north fringe area, which will house a population of up to 40,000 over the next ten years, despite the promise of one once the population reached 1,000. Today, the population is more than 1,200 but there is still no DART station to be seen. However, there is promise of one by the end of 2008, about which I am sceptical. I certainly hope the Minister will take note of this issue.

I agree with the provision to provide adequate rest facilities for drivers on our national road network and feel that these facilities will be greatly welcomed by all road users. They will help to prevent driver fatigue, which certainly contributes to many accidents on our roads. I welcome this new legislation which will also provide sanitary and refreshment facilities to cater for all road users.

There should be no tolls on our national roads. Motorists pay enough taxes and should not have to face double taxation charges. As it stands, anyone travelling from the south side to the north side on the M50 on a daily basis faces a daily charge of €3.60 or €18 per week, over €900 per annum. Someone living in Howth and working in Finglas faces no toll so the system is neither equitable nor fair. Travelling to work by car is very expensive but for many, there are no other options because of our poor public transport network.

I attended the match between Dublin and Offaly last weekend in Croke Park and felt sorry for the many residents in Fairview and North Strand whose gateways and driveways are constantly blocked by cars abandoned during match days. For the emergency services, this situation is totally unworkable. For local residents and other road users, there is no doubt that this new legislation to deal with parking at sports stadia on event days will be welcomed.

Why are 75 out of 100 new buses recently delivered to Dublin Bus not operational and why is the bus service from Swords to the city centre, which briefly used the port tunnel thus cutting 30 minutes off the journey, now discontinued?

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