Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome Deputy Lahart's motion and congratulate him on seeking action in respect of the increasing traffic congestion in Dublin and surrounding counties. In Wicklow the situation is now extreme. Some 70% of the working population leave the county to go to work. As my colleague Deputy Casey said one solution to that is more local jobs. In the meantime, however, something has to be done about the increase in congestion that we are witnessing. The vast majority of those leaving County Wicklow are travelling to Dublin. Whether they are travelling from the east or west of County Wicklow, they just see more and more congestion on a monthly basis.

This is not primarily a planning issue, which is important, but rather it relates to a lack of implementation. Despite numerous promises, Wicklow commuters see no relief on the horizon. The new public transport links are strained to breaking point.

The long-promised extension to the Luas has been kicked so far down the line that is now probably decades off. Increased capacity for rail is obviously not possible without serious capital investment. The Bus Éireann services, such as the 133, and the Dublin Bus services, such as the 84X, are now regularly filled beyond capacity so people have to use private transport. This, as we know, is coming under huge pressure too. A recent Transport Infrastructure Ireland report indicates that a third lane is needed for the M11 around the Greystones and Bray area, and yet, as the Minister pointed out to me a number of months ago, no funding has been allocated and no funding will be allocated without a review. It is well known that the Minister of State and the Minister, Deputy Ross, work hand in glove together, so I ask him to relay to the Minister that the reviews have now been completed and we would like to see some serious action in terms of capital investment for commuters in Wicklow.

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