John Curran (Dublin Mid West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I wish to raised increased traffic congestion in the Dublin area. I have raised this matter a number of times in parliamentary questions and have received a number of answers that go some way towards addressing the issue. In the course of my contribution I wish to focus on transport, public transport and transport infrastructure in my area in the western part of Dublin. It lies roughly between the N4 and the N7 and is affected by the M50.

In a previous reply to a parliamentary question the Minister stated:

I recognise that there is considerable evidence emerging of increased travel demand across the Dublin region in general, with growing traffic levels on many of the region's roads and streets. The increase in the number in employment has impacted on transport through the beginning of a recovery in public transport numbers, but also through increased car use and the re-emergence of peak period congestion. ...

Insofar as congestion issues in Dublin are concerned, the National Transport Authority (NTA) has overall responsibility for the implementation of their published Transport Strategy for the Greater Dublin Area (GDA). My Department is working closely with the NTA with a view to intensifying efforts to combat congestion across Dublin in the short to medium term through greater use of bus priority, demand management and other alleviating measures.

I accept the Minister's response, but I am greatly concerned because I do not see its impact in my area. The challenge for the Minister in his response is to outline whether the plan of the National Transport Authority needs to be reviewed. What are the other alleviating measures to which the Minister referred?

I will outline some of the problems. Two weeks ago I was driving home from Leinster House but at Bluebell I ended up sitting in a traffic jam at a certain time in the evening. The journey took me almost one hour and 45 minutes. The cause of the traffic jam from Bluebell, as I heard it reported on the radio, was a broken-down car on the N7 at Rathcoole. It was reported that there were delays to the Long Mile Road, but the delays were not just to the Long Mile Road but back to Bluebell and Inchicore. That is the capacity at which these roads are operating. Try to get out of Palmerstown at the junction of the N4. There is no flyover or intersection, so people queue for hours on end each day. Consider the M50 between the N4 and N7 junctions. In 2014, it was predicted that by 2023 there would be an annual average traffic flow there of 143,000 per day. The figure was 140,000 in 2016. By any stretch of the imagination, it is far ahead of what was expected. However, our responses are not dealing with those issues.

In terms of public transport, there were 10 million extra passengers last year. Where are the increased number of new buses for Dublin Bus? Kishogue railway station in my constituency is lying idle. It will be opened at some time in the future. Where is the Luas to Lucan project that was planned? Surely it is time to address that, given the volume of traffic movements on the M50. Metro west, an orbital route to link Tallaght, Clondalkin, Lucan and Blanchardstown, whether it is a metro or bus service, is gone. Try to get a bus out of Lucan in the morning. If one has to get into town, people know that there is no point in queuing at certain bus stops because the bus will be full when it arrives. They move to the next bus stop.

There is an immediate crisis in public transport in my part of the city. I am glad the Minister is present today because the written replies I have received on this matter offer very little comfort that real and tangible solutions will be put in place in the short and medium term. The Minister referred to alleviating measures. What are they? We need more than just a promise that the mid-term capital review will deliver something. We need specifics and we need them urgently. As I said, the traffic movements on the M50 between the N4 and N7 junctions are already at the levels predicted for 2023.

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