Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank all Deputies who contributed to Private Members' business this evening. We are all agreed that congestion in Dublin and indeed across many of our cities is having a detrimental impact on economic activity and the family life and mental health of so many commuters. According to the Minister, this is costing our economy €350 million per annum. Can Members imagine how many infrastructural projects could be developed if that money was spent on infrastructure? As a party that invested in Terminal 2 at Dublin Airport, expanded the M50 from four to six lanes, constructed the initial two Luas lines and invested in rail improvements, we are delighted to give Members across all parties the opportunity to speak to this motion this evening.

This motion is not about pitting Dublin against the rest of Ireland. It is about how Dublin needs to be addressed as a capital city. Deputy Eamon Ryan criticised Fianna Fáil because for some reason he thinks Dublin Chamber of Commerce should not be given a voice in this debate. Dublin Chamber of Commerce represents retailers who generate employment for up 300,000 people. If, as is suggested in this motion, the transport advisory group was adopted, it would give a voice to a range of stakeholders.

What is critically important is the lack of investment over the past number of years in public transport and road infrastructure. The past number of years has seen Ireland fall down to the second lowest level of investment in this critical infrastructure in Europe. Only Romania is behind us. This Government has failed to make a case to the European Commission for greater flexibility in the fiscal rules when it comes to investing in critical transport projects. The Juncker plan is there. A total of €500 billion can be availed of at unprecedented low interest rates. A total of 10% of this plan has been already been drawn down for critical transport infrastructural projects but where is that 10% of the plan being drawn down? It is being drawn down in every country other than Ireland. We have not applied for one cent of this fund to invest in any infrastructural projects across this country. If we applied for funding under this fund, we could invest in improving public transport, including DART and commuter rail expansion and increased capacity and reliability. We could offer better access to well-serviced commuter and inter-regional rail for commuters because that would be central to reducing car dependency.

The Minister talks about the new bus policy that will appear at the end of this month. I will welcome the publication of that and we will definitely engage in that just as we engaged in and made a comprehensive submission to the national rail review. However, the worrying thing is, which was alluded to by one of the previous speakers, is that the Minister never saw fit to conduct a public transport policy review in advance of the review of the capital plan. It is a case of seeing what crumbs from the table we will get from the capital plan and adjusting our transport policy accordingly. We should publish an integrated national transport plan and the Minister should fight at Cabinet level to ensure the necessary funding is put in place to have a national integrated transport plan. We should not devise a plan based on the level of funding that is available. I call on Members to support this motion but, more importantly, I ask the Minister to ensure that he avails of the funding that is there at European level to invest in our public transport because without investment in public transport, it will not be fit for purpose.

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