Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

Dublin is a fabulous city but its transport infrastructure is something of a shambles. It is a little like a recovering patient in that while there has been some progress, many things have simply not been done. I will focus on a couple of issues which I raised with the Minister previously. The Minister should not bury everything under the idea of having an underground DART because that project will not be completed for a long time. What he could do is electrify the Sligo line as far as Maynooth to facilitate the DART. Approximately 12,000 houses have been built in the Ongar, Clonee and Hansfield areas in recent years and a special development zone has been in place in the area for more than ten years, although it collapsed when Fianna Fáil ruined the economy. Some 3,000 houses are ready to go in a lovely area in which people will buy and happily settle. However, the train service must be substantially upgraded. A pregnant woman using the Maynooth line will probably be advised by her doctor and will most certainly be advised by her mother not to use the service because the trains have become extremely overcrowded again. Extending the DART to Maynooth would be a fairly simple project. It would add lustre to any Minister's legacy to focus on a relatively simple project that feeds in subsequently to the rest of the transport plan. The return to work of large numbers of people has created a major capacity problem on the train service. Almost every train needs two additional carriages to ease overcrowding. This would be a relatively simple and cheap measure that would immeasurably improve commuters' lives.

As I have stated many times, Dublin Bus has made significant improvements in its service in the past decade, despite the financial crisis. The Minister should give up his mistaken policy of seeking to privatise buses.

Be it in respect of rural Ireland or Dublin, this policy is wrong. We need a public transport system whose workers are paid well and have good conditions of service. I am biased - I come from a CIE railway family, but the Minister would get the loyalty of people who work well and provide a great service to the public.

We need more capacity on buses. They are packed. Like the Minister, I am a regular bus and Luas user. At times, one would feel like fainting, such is the level of crowding now that people have returned to work. Most capacity on the routes is necessary. While I welcome the Minister's comments, please do not tell me that it will take years and years. Instead of paying down the debt, it would be better if the Government used the €3 billion that it proposes to get from the sale of AIB to invest-----

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