Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

It may be projected that the M50 will be congested in ten years' time, but I am not sure it can be described as "a fact" given that it will depend on many things, not just the level of growth in the economy but also the modal split between vehicles and public transport. A number of the proposals that are made in the report, including the introduction of variable speed limits, the provision of increased information on the motorway, the establishment of a national traffic control centre and the development of some other smarter travel measures, could help to manage congestion. I expect that such technology will increasingly be used to manage our road network. It is a flawed approach to try to deal with the issue of congestion in Dublin as an M50 issue, because it is not that simple. This issue affects the roads adjoining the M50 and the greater Dublin area as a whole. Two things are being developed in that regard. The Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport is developing a new transport investment strategy in preparation for the next national development plan. The National Transport Authority is developing a six-year plan for traffic and investment in Dublin. I believe we should approach this issue in that holistic context across the greater Dublin area and not just down the M50 mainline.

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