Marc MacSharry (Sligo-Leitrim, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Ceann Comhairle for including this item and the Minister, Deputy Ross, for taking the time to come to respond.

Like so many commuting families, particularly in the greater Dublin area but also in the larger urban centres, I despair. We all are aware of the lady who tweeted about standing and watching eight trams pass by and the fact that when one did stop, she would have required assistance to push her in to a tram to allow her to get on and make her journey. We do not need to remind anybody because he or she is suffering twice daily for five days a week the commute misery.

Over the weekend, to my amazement, when I was looking at the eTenders website, I read the following: "Irish Rail has a requirement for a transport and economic consultancy to prepare a robust and comparable detailed business case for DART expansion for submission to Government for securing capital expenditure approval". Hello. Do we need a business case to prove and underpin the fact that there is a need for additional rail capacity? We are throwing good money after bad in going to eTenders to have some third party bill us for a couple of hundred grand or more to do this job. What is more, when this was first mooted on 18 July 2013, the then CEO of Irish Rail announced and sought the committee's support for this wonderful proposal for DART expansion. Later, on 9 December 2014, in responding to a parliamentary question from my colleague, Deputy O'Dowd, the Minister for Finance gave further assurances about this great plan. On 18 May 2016 he Minister, Deputy Ross, our newly appointed saviour from the public transportation nightmare, gave detailed information to Deputy Lawless on the great expansion. In that debate he made reference to July 2015 and something being based on the outcome of the updated business case, presumably the second one. The call on eTenders for the making a third business case was made last Friday and it will be received in one month. When it comes in at whatever cost, however long it will take, will we have a fourth updated business case?

The stones on the road know. Is there a total absence of common sense that we have to throw good money after bad? Is the Minister honestly telling me that, given the competence and capacity of its expert team, Iarnród Éireann is not capable of putting a business case together? If it is not, what about the National Transport Authority or Transport Infrastructure Ireland? If they are not capable of doing so, what about the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport?

While the Minister is between photo calls with sport stars at Dublin Airport and given that the festive season is fast approaching - no doubt the Santa hat will be donned once again for photo calls outside Stepaside Garda station - people are suffering commute misery on a daily basis and we continue to have promises about great ideas in respect of what we are doing. At his press briefing to announce the construction of the Adare bypass, a project which has yet to proceed to planning, the Minister was also telling people once again about the greater Dublin area and DART expansion. It is great to know that following the making of a business case, the great idea the NTA described, and the making of an updated business case in July 2015, tenders are being sought for a further business case. Who is driving the bus?

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