Shane Ross (Dublin Rathdown, Independent) | Oireachtas source

On the issue raised by Deputy John Curran, we do not intend to develop an outer orbital route. It is not in our plans and not feasible. The National Transport Authority's greater Dublin area strategy does not include such a project because it would be incredibly expensive. It also recommends protection of this corridor.

The suggestion made by Deputies John Lahart and John Curran that I everything I mention is Project 2040 focused is somewhat unfair. It is the nature of government and opposition that the former will always look for short-term alleviation measures and the latter long-term alleviation measures. It would be absurd for me to say I have a short-term solution to the problem of congestion on the M50 because I do not. Congestion on the M50 will continue in the short term. We have introduced a number of measures to alleviate it which I have outlined and intend to introduce many more which are not Project 2040 orientated. For example, the Luas cross-city service which is carrying an extra 10 million passengers per year will alleviate traffic congestion to some extent. BusConnects, in which we are investing €750 million plus, will commence operations next year, while MetroLink, on which work will commence in 2021, will be operational in 2027 which is a long way from 2040. We have already extended the Luas service and propose to introduce further park and ride facilities. We have introduced a number of measures, but we also have plans up to 2027 to remove thousands of people per day from their cars. I am not suggesting there is a panacea to traffic congestion on the M50. We have to optimise its use, but we are dong what is necessary to get people out of their cars onto public transport, which would automatically lead to a reduction in congestion on the M50.

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