Noel Rock (Dublin North West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for coming into the Chamber to discuss this most important issue. The National Transport Authority's announcement on Tuesday of plans for new bus corridors in Dublin has caused confusion, unease and distress for many of the people living along the 16 affected routes. Approximately 20,000 households live along these 16 routes and it is planned to procure 1,300 portions of property by means of compulsory purchase order. As the Minister is well aware, traffic is beginning to clog up the arteries of Dublin in a way that is not sustainable and can no longer be ignored. Naturally therefore, any plan to alleviate congestion and improve the public transport offering is to be welcomed wholeheartedly. The Minister has overseen a great many public transport developments in his tenure, including the plan to electrify the DART network, the opening of Luas cross city and plans to deliver MetroLink and upgrade the Luas green line. Many capital spending plans for transport have been advanced on his watch and these will leave a tremendous legacy in the decades ahead in public transport, public investment and preventing further deterioration in traffic in Dublin.

That said, the NTA's communication to the affected residents leaves much to be desired at this early stage in this sensitive process. As I said, some 20,000 households live along these 16 routes. We have been told specifically by the NTA that 1,300 households will have a portion of their property compulsorily purchased from them. If the number involved is so specific, it raises the question as to whether the NTA knows exactly which properties will be affected. I suspect it does, which raises follow-on question as to why on earth the people who will be affected were not informed, consulted, written to and treated with basic respect, not only as stakeholders in this project, but also as citizens of this country. They deserve that at the very least. It is a regrettable misstep by the National Transport Authority to announce a plan at this halfway point. The NTA will make further announcements in September concerning the affected services within the existing bus network. I am not entirely sure why it could not have liaised with the affected residents and held off on these route announcements until then. That would seem a sensible course of action.

It is clear that this is not a problem of the Minister's or Department's creation. However, I would appreciate it, and I know residents in my constituency and elsewhere, particularly those affected in Rathfarnham who have been in touch with me and Deputy Colm Brophy in droves, would be very grateful if the Minister used his considerable influence to impress upon the NTA the need to learn lessons from this and to communicate better and more thoughtfully and inclusively with residents and stakeholders in future. I would appreciate the Minister's thoughts on this matter.

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