Catherine Martin (Dublin Rathdown, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I am happy to be living in Dublin for the last 25 years.

Tá an Comhaontas Glas fíor-shásta tacaíocht a thabhairt don rún seo.

In recent months, commuters in the constituency of Dublin Rathdown, a constituency the Minister represents too, have been continually frustrated by the Luas green line which has overnight gone from a consistent, reliable service into one which commuters can no longer currently depend on. In recent days and weeks, I have been flooded with complaints from constituents who are exasperated with the current quality of the Luas service. I can only assume the Minister is receiving similar emails and phone calls.

Commuting at peak times is a nightmare for Luas passengers due to overcrowding resulting from inappropriate capacities, delays and the repeated failures and malfunctioning of the real-time information displays and debit card machines. Some of the technical failures have been resolved today but the substantive problem persists, namely, there are not enough trams and for the pressing demand, the trams simply do not arrive frequently enough. This is not to mention accessibility issues for commuters, with the lifts at Dundrum and Connolly stations consistently out of service in recent weeks.

We have also witnessed an entirely unacceptable lack of communication between the Luas operators and passengers. Passengers are the lifeblood of the service and should be treated with an appropriate level of professionalism and courtesy. They should not be taken for granted. At the weekend, I was contacted by constituents who told me of an instance on Sunday where passengers on the Luas green line travelling into the city centre were given no advance warning of having to disembark at the Luas stop at Cowper. That problem at Cowper did not occur suddenly and the authorities had adequate time to warn passengers travelling on that line, but failed to do so. Cowper is not an isolated example. This caused distress for many of the passengers, particularly several elderly and less mobile passengers, who were stranded halfway between their starting point and their destination. This simply is not good enough. The Minister referenced these issues in the House as "teething problems", but the problems grow day by day. When will this teething period end?

Yesterday I called for Transdev to appear before the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport to explain the poor service in recent weeks and to find out what is needed to restore the reliability of Luas services. I welcome the fact that the Chair of the committee has indicated that he would be happy with this suggestion. I would also call on the committee to consider calling other stakeholders in, including the Minister, officials from the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport, and Dublin City Council officials to outline the measures being taken to ease the current pressures on the Luas lines.

The problems faced by commuters on a daily basis have shown an unacceptable lack of preparation on the part of the Government in the roll-out of the Luas cross city. It has shown a distinct lack of proper and thorough forward planning and joined-up thinking.

While I welcome the publication of the Project Ireland 2040 plan, and its commitment to planning ahead, there are real concerns about where the emphasis is placed in terms of transport investment and the lack of detail in the document. The bulk of planned transport investment is still set to go on interurban roads and by doing so, the Government is committing a generation to longer commute times and urban sprawl. While the long-delayed Dublin metro and light-rail plans for Cork are to be warmly welcomed, they will not be enough on their own and the details for public transport in Cork city are non-existent.

Dublin needs the DART underground, real investment in cycling infrastructure and an upgraded bus network to avoid being crippled by traffic gridlock. Galway, Limerick and Waterford need similar radical transport plans if they are to be able to grow. However, in the here and now, and into the medium term and long term, the capacity issues with the Luas green line will not go away. With the Cherrywood development bringing at least 3,000 new homes at the end of the current line, and further developments along the Ballyogan Road, we need to be planning now for an increase in Luas capacity which will be needed not too far into the future. There is no evidence of this planning. I emphasise that the Luas service is vital to the daily life of so many.

Commuters do not want an analysis of recent Irish political history, especially not a jaundiced one, on so many occasions when the Minister is asked in this House to respond to and account for many transport concerns. With respect, all commuters care about is tomorrow and the next day and they would really appreciate knowing how reliable the service will be. As a new Deputy to this Dáil, I want the same. Commuters do not want what they perceive as evasive comments or party political distractions. I repeat it is about how reliable the service will be tomorrow and into the future, what is being done and what precise concrete assurances and detail the Minister can give commuters tonight that they can rely on the Luas to get to their job on time and home to their families in the evening on time. As it stands, the faith and confidence of commuters needs to be immediately restored as a matter of priority, and I call on Deputy Ross, the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, to deal with this.

Working, efficient, reliable public transport lines are essential to our working and functioning properly and effectively as a city. This is an essential part of reducing our carbon emissions and making Dublin a more liveable city and these issues need to be sorted out as soon as possible.

See this speech in context