Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

There is very definitely increased traffic on our roads. This is related to more people now working, which is a positive but it has negative consequences, including very significant increases in traffic and journey times. I cannot tell the Deputy what the interim steps are that are particularly relevant to his constituency. The Deputy will be aware that Luas services have been increased and we now have longer trams. There will be more frequent off-peak services on heavy rail in Dublin once the industrial relations issues in Irish Rail have been resolved. In addition, the DART is moving to a ten minute service. These are steps that could be taken within months subject to agreement with the unions. We need a ten-year term plan to improve public transport not only in Dublin city but all cities across Ireland. We also need to improve motorway access to parts of the country that do not currently have it. We will be publishing details in this regard on Friday. We wish we could have done all this years ago but the Deputy will understand the reasons that was not possible.

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