Brendan Griffin (Kerry, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I cannot speak for the Minister as to why he is not here. He has had a very busy day, including a Cabinet meeting this morning. We have just had over an hour and a half of parliamentary questions and he will be present again later for the taking of legislation. I apologise on his behalf. I will try to answer as many questions as I can for Deputy Eamon Ryan, give him the detailed written response I have and pass on his concerns and further queries to the Minister.

Everyone recognises that traffic levels have grown steadily since the economy began to recover and congestion is now one of the most significant challenges to the sustainability of Ireland's growth performance. On the busiest routes, bus lanes are only in place for less than one third of the corridor. This means that for most of the journey, buses are competing for space with general traffic and are affected by the increasing levels of congestion. In the capital, for example, approximately 70% of people travelling into the city each morning do so by sustainable transport. The bus system is important because each day the majority, 57% of all public transport trips, use the bus system for the journey. Buses are, therefore, the main component of the solution to address the current congestion problem and to meet future transport needs. As those numbers grow, and as congestion worsens, it is becoming increasingly difficult to operate a reliable bus system with sufficient capacity to cater for the needs of the region. The NTA published a discussion document earlier today outlining the core bus corridor project that is part of a wider BusConnects programme for Ireland's cities, starting in Dublin and rolling out to Galway, Cork and Ireland's remaining cities. The NTA's document focuses on the 230 km of continuous bus priority across 16 core bus routes expected to achieve up to 50% on current journey time savings. It also focuses on the more than 200 km of cycle tracks and lanes and pedestrian facilities that are emerging as the likely core bus corridors in and out of Dublin city under this new investment programme. These proposals will revolutionise traffic in the city of Dublin and on its outskirts. They take into consideration the current congestion situation and the challenges and opportunities that Dublin will face over the coming decades while setting out some of the key impacts, issues and challenges that relate to the 16 corridors. The document also sets out mitigations to these challenges, including compensation, as appropriate.

In response to one of the key questions Deputy Eamon Ryan asked, following today's launch by the NTA of a discussion document focusing on 16 core bus routes, the NTA will conduct a public consultation on the redesign of Dublin's bus network, including proposals on a major redesign of routes, schedules and fare structures. This is expected in July. Later this year, the NTA plans to hold a public consultation on the emerging proposals for the 16 core bus corridors, expected in September or October. This is to ensure that the public is fully informed by the NTA about the BusConnects programme as it progresses and will have the opportunity to have an input at various stages into its development.

There is a clear need to expand attractive public transport alternatives to car transport to reduce congestion and emissions and enable the transport sector to cater for the demands associated with longer-term population and employment growth in a sustainable manner. This is why the major flagship investments to be delivered within Project Ireland 2040 and the ten-year national development plan, such as BusConnects and projects like MetroLink, DART expansion, expanded Luas services and cycling and walking infrastructure, are needed to ease congestion, lower carbon output and add greatly to the quality and standard of our transport system.

Again, if there are specifics that have not been answered by this response, I would be happy to take them back to the Minister for Deputy Eamon Ryan. Specifically regarding public consultation, we will see the start of that next month and further stages of that process in September and October. I hope that is of some benefit to the people who are concerned tonight about this process.

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