Imelda Munster (Louth, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

2 o’clock

I move amendment No. 2:

To delete all words after “Dáil Éireann” and substitute the following:

“recognises that:— transport and travel trends within the Greater Dublin Area (GDA) are unsustainable, congestion is increasing, transport emissions are growing, economic competitiveness

is suffering and quality of life for commuters and inhabitants is declining;

— the capacity of the Dublin Region as a destination for living, visiting and for locating and doing business is being seriously undermined;

— significant actions are required to increase capacity and usability of public transport, to better manage traffic during peak periods and to reduce the private car share dependence by commuting traffic especially;

— the population in the GDA is expected to grow by 22 per cent to 1.8 million by 2030 and by 26 per cent to 700,000 in the Mid-East Region alone including Kildare, Meath and Wicklow and increasing investment in rail services including the Dublin Area Rapid Transport (DART) expansion, as well as vital bus services including Bus Rapid Transit, is absolutely essential;

— this Government lacks a comprehensive vision and strategic plan for how to cope with future public transport demand in the core Dublin City Area as well as the GDA;

— previous Governments and the current Government have neglected infrastructural development, particularly in regional areas, but also in the GDA;

— many previous infrastructural framework plans were shelved or cut short due to lack of funding in the past decade, in particular the National Spatial Strategy; and

— the Capital Plan is emblematic of the lack of ambition, vision and forward planning for public transport;acknowledges:— that many of the main arterial routes into Dublin, including the M50, either have already reached operational capacity or are expected to reach capacity in the near future;

— the lack of preparation and forward planning for the impact of the Luas Cross City, including the impact of its construction on city trade and mobility;

— the urgent need to increase the numbers and frequency of public buses from expanding suburban areas, in order to tackle capacity issues and relieve traffic congestion for commuters;

— that while expanding capacity on our motorway and primary road network is something we need to plan for in the future, recognises that traffic demand policies are essential to relieving congestion as will sustained increases in public transport investment;

— that transport bottlenecks and congestion are increasingly becoming a drag on growth and productivity in our cities as well as hindering wider regional development in large parts of the country;

— that despite the historically low cost of financing to deliver economically and socially critical infrastructure projects, this Government has produced no policy plans for how to mitigate transport infrastructure deficits;

that now is the time to:

— examine the feasibility of decreasing the timeline for building critical transport infrastructure like the DART Underground and Metro North;

— make vital improvements such as bus lane completions and removing ‘pinch points’ for Dublin buses;

— ensure priority signaling at junctions;

— continue to invest in real time passenger information, which will increase capacity and service reliability on public transport, make it easier for commuters to get to work and relieve congestion in our cities; and

— begin work with local authorities to identify suitable sites for park and ride facilities at key locations for commuters, strategically located next to public transport connections;

— that the Government has completely failed to mobilise additional investment in transport infrastructure available under the European Fund for Strategic Investment (EFSI), and of the EFSI transactions within the European Union, 6 per cent are in the transport sector, yet in Ireland there has not been a single transport project put forward by the Government to the European Investment Bank (EIB) under the €500 billion funding stream; and

— that the decision to cancel the DART Underground project, described by the National Transport Authority (NTA) as ‘the missing link’ in Ireland’s rail infrastructure, was short-sighted and a costly set-back for the liveability of the city, while the only large transport infrastructure contained in the Government’s Capital Plan, ‘the optimised Metro North’ proposal, could be fundamentally lacking capacity as it was recommended on the basis of reduced employment growth and passenger demand projections in 2013, which are no longer accurate; andcalls on the Government to:— commit to the retention of existing Dublin Bus routes and cessation of the tendering of routes;

— publish and fund a time-framed plan to make public transport fully accessible to people with disabilities, with a particular emphasis on DART stations, many of which require major upgrades;

— give a firm commitment to significantly increase annual investment in public transport, including funding to Córas Iompair Éireann (CIÉ) companies to improve attractiveness, reliability and integration of public transport and to commit to an increased spend in Budget 2018, and in subsequent Budgets during this Dáil term, to allow for investment in key projects;

— establish a new, dedicated Cycle Way Fund for bike-lanes and cycle-friendly infrastructure, Dublin Bike extensions, the rolling out of secure bike lockers and parking throughout the city as well as funding for pedestrianised ‘open streets’ initiatives to encourage cycling;

— earmark a portion of the Local Government Fund to annual resurfacing, maintenance and quality improvements in bike-lanes and road verges to enhance safety for cyclists;

— commit, as part of revisions to the Capital Plan, to bolster capital investment levels by securing funding agreements from the EIB for critical transport investments like the DART Underground and Metro North;

— increase bicycle-parking facilities at bus and train stations to allow for commuters to cycle from home to and from train and bus stations;

— commit to the creation of regional forums, akin to the Dublin Transport Authority Advisory Council which was provided for in the Dublin Transport Authority Act 2008 and amending that Act if required to facilitate this across the State, to ensure there is joined up thinking in transport planning going forward, given that Act now governs the NTA which has remit over the entire State;

— ensure, via the NTA, longer term budgets for CIÉ companies, rather than annual allocations, in order that longer term planning can take place as budgets are known in advance to company management, making it possible for the transport companies to allocate resources to increase capacity as required, and upgrade equipment and services;

— examine the feasibility of the possible extension of Metro North to include commuter towns such as Balbriggan, Laytown and Drogheda;

— examine the feasibility of fast tracking the Greater Dublin Area Transport Strategy, and further to that, the Outer Orbital ring road which has been postponed until after 2035, as per the Greater Dublin Area Transport Strategy; and

— commit to setting specific commencement and completion time-frames for the commitments contained in this motion.”

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