Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)

He is obviously planning a new future for himself. What exactly is he saying Dublin Corporation should be doing? Do I decode what he stated as a suggestion that Dublin Corporation should introduce a congestion charge, for example? Is that the import of what he stated?

Second, the traffic problem in Dublin is not confined to one local authority area. At the time the M50 ground to a halt over the burst water main in Bray, I recall making inquiries and finding that seven statutory bodies had responsibility of some kind or other for what was happening on the M50 — three or four local authorities, the Garda who are the traffic authority, the NRA and the Department of Transport.

This brings me to the question of what has happened with regard to the promise to introduce a Dublin transport authority. We have been waiting for legislation for this for some time. When Deputy Martin Cullen was Minister for Transport he said, in November 2006, that the Bill for the authority would be published by Christmas of that year. Will we ever see a Dublin transport authority or is it the Government's intention to leave it all to the traffic committee of Dublin Corporation?

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