Jerry Buttimer (Cork South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to speak on this Bill and the fulfilment of the commitment in the programme for Government. When the Members opposite, who have mysteriously vanished again, criticise expenditure they should reflect on the expenditure by this Government, the Minister of State, Deputy Kelly, and the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Deputy Varadkar. We must prioritise how we spend money and the role and remit of agencies. The Minister of State’s legacy in this Department will be that he prioritised spending and will have left a lasting legacy in the agencies under the Department’s remit. That is to his credit. So often we hear of Ministers refusing to take on sacred cows or vested interests, but this Minister of State has done that. He has done it diplomatically, although his Department might not have been so diplomatic. He has been a breath of fresh air, and I do not say that just because I served with him in the Seanad.

There are legacy issues. Deputy O’Donovan spoke about the contributions from Deputies Broughan and Nulty. What planet do they live on? I would love to come in here and say we will open light rail in Cork and spend millions of euro on reopening the West Cork railway line and put trams back in Cork city, but we cannot do that. Fianna Fáil made the mistake of getting rid of them. It had no forward planning. That is one of the legacy issues - lack of planning by the party that was in government for so long.

How are we to spend the money? It must be spent wisely and properly. I hope the role of the NRA can be reconsidered. I fully agree with Deputy O’Donovan. It must engage with people in planning routes, creating motorways and obtaining planning permission. Although I do not want to agree too often with Deputy Mattie McGrath, who supported the previous Government for long enough, he is right about rest areas on motorways. It is wrong that between Cork and Dublin there is no recognised service stop, apart from the one at junction 14 or the one at Cashel. That should never have been allowed to happen. This Bill may well be about the dissolution of the RPA but it should be the launch pad for a discussion about the future usage of infrastructure, motorways, roads - whether secondary or national roads - and road users, and about how, when and why we use roads. If we are to create a transport infrastructure service, it must have a real remit that goes to the heart of our business here: to get more people to cycle or use public transport and to get out of the car more often. There must be real engagement with stakeholders. There cannot be obfuscation, which is so often the case when one rings some of these people. I welcome the merger of the boards and the elimination of some of the quangos, some of which are completely unnecessary. We must consider what is best for the road user. The Minister, Deputy Varadkar, was right: we must prioritise the maintenance of what we have already.

Where possible, we must look at creating new outlets, which I will come back to shortly.

Many speakers spoke earlier in the debate about the roads infrastructure being the lifeblood of commerce, and they are right. In my constituency of Cork South-Central there is a major debate regarding the N28, the relocation of the Port of Cork and so on. In that regard what we must do, and we do not always do it well, is listen to the local people. Obviously, we have to differentiate between the vested interests and the genuine concerns of local citizens, be they commercial interests or homeowners.

A situation has arisen in Cork South-Central with the N28 where a Part 8 planning notice was put up. Anyone listening to or watching this debate should envisage the Shannon Park roundabout and Shanbally, in Cork. The N28 is the gateway from the harbour industries, which are predominantly pharmaceutical industries, to the Jack Lynch tunnel one takes to leave Cork. It is a hugely important road network. It is critical to the pharmaceutical industry but also important to infrastructure be it in terms of the relocation of the Port of Cork or the terminal for the ferry in Ringaskiddy.

Engineers sometimes baffle me. They are the experts, and we always defer to the experts whom we believe know best, but I do not understand the reason they are proposing the signalisation of the Shannon Park roundabout, which operates effectively. Measures that will increase capacity and improve traffic flow are welcome but I do not believe this proposal will do that. It does not achieve those twin aims. I am concerned that these proposals will adversely affect the flow of traffic at peak times and the use of the infrastructure by industry. Also, during peak morning traffic a signalised roundabout will result in a significant build-up of traffic towards Carrigaline, which will have a profound impact on traffic at a key junction that facilitates the movement of people out of Carrigaline, be it for school or work. There is also a move now to replace the Shanbally roundabout.

The N28 project is important because having spoken to locals, this roundabout works effectively and facilitates both commercial and local traffic, and it will have a profound impact on the lives of people in the locality.

What are the considerations in putting forward a Part 8 planning application in terms of the role of the council and the National Roads Authority? On whose behalf do they act? Who serves on behalf of the residents who find themselves faced with a huge dilemma? Who serves on behalf of the principal of a school or in this case the parish priest of a church where there is not adequate car parking or an alternative route? That is my concern regarding some of the issues we have to engage with in the NRA and, in this case, Cork County Council.

The relocation of the Port of Cork to Ringaskiddy makes economic sense given the vibrancy of the harbour area and the huge importance of Cork Harbour but I will stray from the topic briefly to refer to the completion of the Bandon Road-Sarsfield Road roundabout and the contractor going into financial difficulty. I hope the Department and the NRA will play a proactive role with Cork City Council and Cork County Council in ensuring the ancillary works, that is, the continued erection of the noise prevention barrier for local residents and some of the works on the side of that motorway, are finished. It is a fantastic project delivered on time and will serve hugely to allow for the flow of traffic around Cork.

The investment this week by the Minister of €8.5 million in sustainable funding for Cork is to be commended and welcomed. It is a positive story to which some of the Members here should listen. It is an investment of €8.5 million in key infrastructure development in the city of Cork, continuing on the theme of ensuring that our road and rail networks are key to the lifeblood of commerce and to creating and sustaining jobs.

Since I was a child the Cork train station has been the source of much commentary. I will not repeat some of the commentary but I welcome the Minister's decision and that of his Department to fund the redevelopment of Kent station, and in particular to make Kent station more amenable to Cork city. We are on the threshold of developing a new conference centre in Cork. Wherever it is located, and I have a preference in that regard, one of the central planks in terms of getting people into and out of Cork will be the train station. The Minister's decision to open that out into Horgan's Quay is a good one and is to be welcomed. I hope the works will be commenced this summer and will be concluded some time in 2015. That is important. It is the idea of a Department working with the local authority and seeing the bigger picture in terms of Cork developing a new conference centre and recognising the train station as being important.

We must consider how we can develop the synergy between the airport and the train station. I would be failing in my duty if I did not say that many of us have concerns regarding Cork Airport. I met with the general manager, Niall McCarthy, who is a very good person with a plan for the airport, but in terms of the competitive stakes involving Cork, Dublin and Shannon there is a view, rightly or wrongly, that Cork city is losing out in terms of its airport. The Minister, Deputy Varadkar, has appointed a new consultative board but we need to see real action regarding Cork Airport because that, too, is a central plank in bringing people to the Cork area. I also make the point, and it might be contentious, that Cork Airport is the metropolitan capital of the south. One can drive from Portlaoise to Cork faster than one can drive from Portlaoise to Dublin, get on a plane and fly to Barcelona, Paris or elsewhere. I cannot understand why the Dublin Airport Authority does not sell Cork better because the Minister can leave his home in Tipperary and be on a plane out of Cork faster than he would if he drove to Dublin and flew out of Dublin Airport, and I am not being parochial.

See this speech in context