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

I welcome the opportunity to contribute to the debate and thank my colleagues on this side of the House, who have ensured that the issue of congestion is kept high on the political agenda. It is not solely a result of the Luas cross city. Certainly, it has been a major contributing factor in recent months but congestion in the capital city has been getting progressively worse over the past number of years.

Listening to the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Deputy Ross, not only this evening, but when I raised the issue on Priority Questions last week and when Deputy Lahart raised it during the Topical Issue debate, it is obvious that he simply does not grasp the severity of the congestion. The Taoiseach takes great credit for the Luas cross city, something he claimed to have spearheaded, and he relegated the Minister on the day of its opening. What Deputy Rock said about the NTA and Dublin City Council having a role to play is correct.

However, the Minister has been in situfor two years. He should have ensured adequate preparatory work was completed in advance of the opening of the Luas cross city. It is worth remembering that planning permission for this project was submitted in 2010. Even at the height of our economic crisis, the then Fianna Fáil Government laid the foundation and had the foresight to carry out the preparatory work and invest in public transport.

There were seven years to plan for this. Some €360 million was a very significant and welcome investment of taxpayers' money. It was great for the infrastructure of our capital city and has contributed to a welcome 24% increase in people using the Luas. However, not every section of society or every geographical area in Dublin and the greater Dublin area has access to the Luas.

We heard earlier about the financial impact of congestion. It runs to €350 million per annum in lost productivity, a figure which could rise to €2 billion in 2033. My colleagues have spoken of the impact on their constituents, but this has a much wider impact. Talk to my constituents in Athlone, Longford and Mullingar. It is having a detrimental effect on them. I attended a public meeting with Bus Éireann in Mullingar a number of weeks ago and we heard stories of people getting up before 6 a.m. and not getting home until after 7 p.m. That is partly a consequence of job strategies by this Government and previous Governments, where there was an over-concentration on creating jobs in the capital city.

We are robbing people of their lives. The quality of life is compromised. We are forcing people to commute, and we have a finite amount of road space. We want to get people out of private cars, but the journey times on public transport are increasing. The Minister talks about preparatory work, such as the second bus lane on the quays. It takes 40 minutes to get from Heuston Station to O'Connell Bridge. How would that encourage anyone to get out of his or her car and take the bus?

The lack of preparedness is simply appalling. This was preventable. Who is answerable for the fact that the necessary work was not done? The failures of the State are hijacking people's lives. The quality of people's lives is eroded more and more. As congestion is getting worse, not better, people are leaving their homes earlier and are arriving home later. Mothers and fathers are missing the chance to put their kids to bed, and they are not there in the mornings when the kids get up. That is morally wrong. That is the impact that congestion is having on people's lives.

Tomorrow, at my suggestion, some of the key stakeholders will appear before the Joint Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport. Reading some of their pre-prepared opening statements, I can see they are already blaming each other. Dublin City Council blames the National Transport Authority, NTA, that is, it is up to it to reroute bus routes. Dublin City Council did not want to move in advance of An Bord Pleanála making its decision on College Green. It hoped that the decision on College Green would be made before the Luas cross city opened. Why did the council not submit the application on time? Why was it left to the eleventh hour to submit the application? It knew the opening date of the Luas cross city, and yet it left it to the eleventh hour.

The Minister spoke about the positive aspects of the Luas cross city, and they are welcome. However, he seemed to forget that not every area in Dublin is served by the Luas. He spoke about the new buses that are coming on stream. The Minister has never actually answered the following question, and will not have an opportunity today. I will submit a written question, although I know I will not get an answer. How many additional buses will be introduced? New buses are coming on stream but the majority of them are replacement buses. New buses have been ordered, but we recently learned that many of them have diesel engines. Where is the joined-up thinking?

Dublin Bus accounts for 140 million passengers a year, and a third of its bus routes go through College Green. Why were those responsible not more in tune? Why were they not better prepared for the Luas cross city? We know that 17 bus routes changed in January, and tonight we have been told that a further ten routes will change in March. Only two days ago, when Dublin Bus's opening statement was prepared, only eight routes were to be changed in March but now it is ten. This is being made up as we go along, and the Minister is saying that it is all part of a plan. That is rubbish.

The frequency of the trams, the time it takes them to get from one area to another and the time it takes for the tram to clear O'Connell Bridge were all known. Therefore, the length of time available to the buses would have been known. However, there was no preparation by the Minister, the Government or, quite frankly, many of the stakeholders.

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