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

It is linked because it is infrastructure in terms of transport, and the airport is central. It is probably the pivotal piece of infrastructure we must get right in terms of Cork. We created 1,000 jobs in Cork in the past month but we need to encourage people to come to Cork and stay in the city and in the region of Cork.

I come back to a comment the Minister made reference to earlier in the week when he was in Cork, namely, that only 7% of Cork city commuters use a bus or a bike to get to work. That has been an indictment of public policy for a long time. The Department allocated moneys to Cork City Council earlier to try to improve that figure but I can tell him, and I would like him to go back to Cork City Council, that one of the major mistakes it made, and I do not know who the engineer was nor do I want to know, was the Washington Street realignment, which is a disaster. This is the most important west bound thoroughfare out of the city heading towards Macroom and Killarney but it has become congested; it is a nightmare. I am happy that Cork City Council has parked the scheme for the moment but nobody is happy, be it taxi drivers, motorists, cyclists, pedestrians or business people. If we want to encourage more people to avail of bus services, which have increased in Cork, and we have seen significant investment in bicycle lanes and bus corridors in Cork, that defies logic.

I realise the Minister of State, Deputy Kelly, cannot get involved directly but perhaps his officials will liaise with Cork City Council in regard to the bus corridor on Wilton Road and the lack of joined up thinking on that busy thoroughfare, which is a gateway to Cork University Hospital, the Sarsfield Road and Bandon Road roundabouts and on to the city and the county. If we are serious about getting people out of their cars we must provide meaningful bus corridors.

We will probably not see the return of light rail in our lifetime but there is potential for a tourism bonanza with the viaduct outside Cork city. I hope the Department and the local authorities will consider an initiative in this regard. Mistakes were made in getting rid of the trams in Cork city and closing the west Cork railway line but there has also been significant investment in the Cork-Midleton and Cork-Cobh lines. People are critical of Government expenditure but during the lifetime of this Government we have seen work identified and almost completed on the Cork city centre movement strategy. New traffic management plans have been put in place and an appropriate balance has been found between the needs of the respective transport modes, with resulting improvements in reliability and journey times for buses and enhancements for pedestrians, cyclists and other road users. It may now be appropriate to develop a new Cork area strategic plan, CASP. I was involved with developing the current CASP while I was a councillor. It was a fantastic project and the steering group did great work on it but we need to modernise the way in which we manage our roads and other infrastructure.

I welcome the investment of almost €250,000 in sustainable transport intersections in Douglas. If one includes traffic calming measures on the old Carrigaline Road, the total investment comes to €330,000. These investments will improve journey times not only for motorists but also public transport users, walkers and cyclists. Safety and accessibility for pedestrians and cyclists must be central to projects in the parts of the city that require enhancement. With the Cork metropolitan cycling network, we must build build on previous work done to ensure the overall cycling plan for Cork is enhanced and that we encourage awareness amongst all road users.

I welcome that we are spending money strategically and wisely. Speaking from a Cork point of view, there might be a concern that we are concentrating too heavily on bicycles when the figures do not indicate much movement in this regard. Long term investment will be needed if we are to get more people cycling. The cycle route between University College Cork and the city centre will help in this regard, as will the Carrigaline green route on which a further €850,000 is being spent to bring the project to its final stage. The green route will make Carrigaline more accessible to the city and help to deal with the horrific traffic congestion that people in areas like Maryborough Hill and Rochestown have faced for years. This congestion is partly due to the lack of joined up thinking when we built thousands of houses without providing bus routes, schools or playgrounds. Even though we are playing catch-up, at least this Government is committed to constructing green routes and key infrastructure.

The Minister, Deputy Varadkar, does not have a big pot of money but he has done a good job. His legacy will be one of change, particularly in the case of Cork city, and I hope Cork City Council will engage with his Department in reversing the bad decisions made in areas like the Washington Street intersection. I commend the Bill to the House.

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