Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

I will share two minutes with Deputy Cairns.

According to the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland, SEAI, transport is the sector with the largest energy demand and it is the most sensitive to the economy. It tends to grow or reduce sharply in response to economic growth or contraction. It could not be more evident with the economy now in hibernation with Covid-19 that such is the case. Transport is also by far the largest source of final energy demand, at 42% in 2018. According to the EPA, 19.5% of Ireland's greenhouse gas emissions are from the transport sector. The national climate policy goal is to reduce the overall emissions of carbon dioxide by at least 80% of 1990 levels by 2050. We know what the problems are. It is the solutions that we really need to focus on.

First, we have to change the mindset. We have got to stop thinking about moving cars and moving vans and vehicles. We have got to start thinking about moving people. The dramatic increase in the number of people who are cycling is very evident. I expect it is because people feel safe, not least because of Covid-19 but also because the roads have less traffic on them, although that is growing again. We have underdeveloped cycle networks. Our concern is that the policy response will be to clutter our towns and cities with electric cars. This will result in cleaner traffic jams where a mix of public transport, cycling and walking is what is needed.

Due to the dispersed nature of the population in many parts of the country, there is no doubt that vehicles fuelled by electricity are a good fit. However, in large population centres we need decent networks of fast, efficient, reliable and cost-effective public transport. Between the cities, we need high-speed rail transport.

Many of our railway systems date from the 19th century. In the capital, for example, the northern line terminated at Connolly Station, the great southern and western line at Heuston Station, and the great western line at Broadstone Station. What did not occur was the networking of the three lines. The missing piece is a 3.2 mile-long tunnel called DART underground, which has been talked about for decades and has been at an advanced planning stage for a considerable period. Those 3.2 miles are the final piece of what is known as the game changer. If provided, it would quadruple the number of passenger journeys per year on public transport, free up the surface space and allow for the development of a cycle network. It would also make it highly attractive to use public transport from areas within the Dublin suburbs, the outer counties of Meath, Kildare and Wicklow and further afield. Owing to the pattern of settlement that has occurred, more people live in the combined counties of Kildare, Meath and Wicklow than in the Dublin city area. That is hard to believe but it is the case. I refer to the city area rather than the whole county of Dublin.

It is essential that we deal with traffic congestion at origin, provide good park-and-ride facilities in the suburbs outside the city core and offer the type of public transport that makes it a no-brainer to switch modes. It is expensive infrastructure but it is the kind of investment that pays for itself over time. Low interest rates at the moment make it an even more attractive proposition, not least because it would help to deal with our emission targets, reduce congestion, have a consequence for our accident rates, free up our road surface space and improve air quality. It would improve journey times for everyone and make the city a nicer place to live in. It is only when one goes to other European cities and sees a cohesive network across a range of modes that one can see the level of catching up that is required to be done here.

The Minister might answer the following questions after Deputy Cairns's contribution. Additional funds have been made available for developing cycling networks in 2020. Is there an impediment at individual local authority level to deliver them? Would the Minister agree that projects such as DART underground, where considerable planning has been done, would provide a stimulus and deliver a long-term return on many levels?

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