Maureen O'Sullivan (Dublin Central, Independent) | Oireachtas source

It really is about joining the dots and ensuring people talk to each other, and there is an awareness of changing demographics. For instance, traffic counts were done for the environmental impact statement that preceded the construction of the Dublin Port tunnel. How often are such assessments conducted before plans are done up for different types of infrastructure projects?

We all agree it would be great to see more children walking or cycling to school instead of being dropped off by car. Where road transport cannot be avoided, it is much better to have 20 children in one bus, ideally an environmentally friendly bus, than one child in 20 separate cars. The problem is that when it comes to planning for and addressing these issues, people are operating in isolation to each other, whereas a coming together would be much more effective.

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