Chris Andrews (Dublin South East, Fianna Fail)

I wish to share time with Deputy Áine Brady, with the permission of the House.

I am delighted to have the opportunity to speak on this particular issue. Living in south Dublin and representing Dublin South East, it is obviously a problem that I see and face every day. Sometimes when people talk to public representatives such as Deputies and councillors, they believe they are detached from the problems of traffic and everyday life, but that certainly is not true. There is a sense that because we have the Luas, the DART and an increasing number of QBCs, people believe everything is rosy in Dublin 4, 6 and 8, when this is not true at all. Very many communities are located in those areas, Terenure, Rathgar, Crumlin, Dundrum and Rathfarnham, for instance. Every morning in the greater Dublin area, in which not everyone has access to public transport, private cars descend on residential and small communities and depart through them in the evening. In time the DTA will change that, but in the meantime in Dublin South East residents and visitors have a problem because many of the villages such as Ranelagh, Terenure and Rathmines are regarded by the planners and experts in Dublin City Council as obstacles to the delivery of traffic management systems. They regard these communities as difficulties which have to be overcome — and then they drive through and create arteries through these small village communities.

There is a great sense of village and community life in Dublin South East, but most people are commuting through it, with ramifications for the quality of life of residents and families. In particular, Rathgar and Terenure have literally had a wall built between them, which has divided communities and had a major impact on residents. The RPA has just carried out a feasibility study to extend the Luas from Christchurch through Terenure and into Rathfarnham, but I am not sure how much further that process will go, given that this is not a natural route in the way the line to Sandyford is — it was traditionally a rail route. The line through Terenure would mean the displacement of traffic from the main artery into the residential side streets, the compulsory purchase of people's gardens etc. It would also mean the Luas, for all its advantages, running through settled residential areas and small streets such as Brighton Street and Brighton Square, with major repercussions for residents. While this has been examined I am not sure how successful it will be, as it would mean the existing QBCs, in effect, will have to be closed down. Instead of complementing the QBCs, the Luas would, in fact, be replacing and substituting them. I am not convinced that is the objective when we are looking at public transport options.

The infrastructure that Transport 21 will deliver has an enormous impact. When a road race was organised through the Dublin Port tunnel shortly after it opened — or perhaps just before — I thought people would be wading through water because of the headlines about it over the years to the effect that it was flooding, leaking and so on. There were major objections to it, but it is a great success from the perspective of residents in the inner city and people visiting Dublin. It has had an enormous impact on people's lives and reduced the number of heavy goods vehicles significantly, which has had a major impact on schools. The children attending City Quay school are much safer going there in the mornings. It is healthier for them, their parents and older people; the port tunnel has made a real difference to the lives of ordinary people and the city of Dublin.

The need for a DTA is very clear, and makes sense. People will find ways of objecting to it, of course, and that is inevitable since they object to everything that comes through the Oireachtas while, at the same time, wondering why things do not happen sooner and more quickly. The DTA will deliver faster and more reliable public transport. Reliability and the ability of public transport to arrive on time and deliver people to their destinations on time is the key. Luas has made an enormous difference and the reason it is so popular is that it is reliable, clean and efficient. When one leaves home in the morning, one knows one will get to work or to one's destination within 20 minutes or half an hour from the time one arrives on the platform. While the authority will be powerful, the Minister and elected representatives will be more powerful and will have a direct say in how the authority delivers public transport infrastructure.

When the directly elected lord mayor is in place, there may be a turf war between him or her, the authority, the Minister and the councillors. If the lord mayor is from a different political party from the Minister, it could lead to interesting times ahead for us all. Members of the Dáil should keep this under review when the procedure for reforming local government is being framed.

I was concerned initially that the Dublin transport authority would be another large organisation, such as the HSE, into which Members would have very little input. This is not the case because I have seen what the Minister has done. The Minister stated the Government will retain responsibility for setting overall transport policy and determining the broad direction of transport investment policy, as already laid down in Transport 21. The Minister will approve the authority's transport strategy and will be able to give mandatory policy directions with which the authority will be required to comply. This power is crucial and can be used to ensure the authority acts in accordance with Government policy. The authority's chairperson and chief executive will be required to appear before Oireachtas committees, including the Committee of Public Accounts. This is very important. It is good that elected representatives, including the Minister, will be able to determine how the authority manages its policy direction. The legislation allows councillors to sit on the board of the authority. Those at the coalface of interaction with residents in the city will have an input, which is very important.

Chapter 4 obliges the authority to implement appropriate demand management strategies. This is a reference to the congestion charge. The Minister stated recently: "While the introduction of congestion charging in the GDA is not provided for at this stage, the authority will be required to keep the position generally under review and may make recommendations to the Minister if it considers that additional demand management measures are required." I welcome this. In principle, I have no difficulty with a congestion charge but the devil is in the detail. The required transport infrastructure is not in place and it would, therefore, be very premature to consider a congestion charge for Dublin. I have no doubt one will be introduced eventually but it is not yet on the cards. I welcome the Minister's message in this regard.

The Dublin transport authority will streamline the decision-making process and will deliver the required infrastructure in the greater Dublin area. It will also strengthen the interaction between land use, planning and transport. I commend the Bill to the House.

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