Chris Andrews (Dublin Bay South, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Unsurprisingly, I agree with my colleague Deputy O'Rourke, who said the Minister for Transport should have come in here today and briefed us on the shambles that is Dublin Airport and the queues there. It is horrific for people planning to go away. There is no clarity. It is an absolute shambles. The Minister of State himself would know that. It must be embarrassing to be working in the Department of Transport and to have to try to justify what is happening, because there is no justification.

I welcome this opportunity to speak on the issue of transport in Dublin Bay South. The communities in Ringsend, Irishtown and Sandymount are facing a nightmare due to the lack of public transport. There will be 3,500 new homes built on the Irish Glass Bottle site and there is no prospect of a Luas, which was part of the planning application and the strategic development zone, SDZ. Residents in the new houses are being held hostage. We have a cycle lane but I think I am the only one who uses it. Some 3,500 new homes are being built on this site and the Luas has been kicked down the road for another ten or 15 years. Seán Moore Road is already a car park. Residents cannot move in or out during peak hours. The Government has now decided not to put a Luas there even though that was an important part of granting planning permission for the glass bottle site. Residents feel let down by the Government. They feel it is a game of smoke and mirrors. They were told they would get a Luas, new bridges, public transport and infrastructure. The preparatory work is taking place for the homes on the glass bottle site and yet none of that infrastructure is being planned. Residents in Ringsend, Irishtown and Sandymount are being let down by this Government.

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