Dáil debates
Tuesday, 28 November 2006
Leaders' Questions
4:00 am
Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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After ten years of this Government, waiting has become a legacy. It is what we do. Every day people are forced to wait in traffic, children wait for months to see an orthodontist, patients wait for years to see a neurologist and people wait for up to a decade to receive a house from a local authority. Today, like every other day, 274 men and women wait on trolleys in units throughout the country. Every day, in every public service we try to use, waiting has become a national pastime. It is the legacy of the past ten years.
I want the Taoiseach to imagine a different kind of waiting. I want him to imagine the plight of a woman who has been sexually abused or raped in this city on a Friday night. Her first instinct is to scrub herself clean but she cannot do that. She too has to wait. She has to wait in those clothes, not for hours but for days, for the simple reason that the Government has provided inadequate resources and there is no doctor on duty in the Rotunda assessment unit. That woman, who has been sexually abused or raped, will wait on Friday evening, all day Saturday and all Saturday night. She cannot have a shower and is unable to feel clean again simply because to do so would destroy the evidence which nobody is able to take up because there is no doctor on duty until Sunday evening.
This happens not only in Dublin. Recently, two women who were sexually abused and assaulted had to travel to be treated in Dublin because no facilities were available locally. There are times in Cork when women who have been raped or sexually assaulted must travel to Waterford for treatment.
Women wait and suffer while the rapists go on about their lives. This happens because there are insufficient gardaí and because assault unit staff are not present to collect evidence when they should be. These women, having been raped or assaulted, must wait for lengthy periods in the clothes they wore when the assault occurred because we do not have doctors on duty and insufficient staff are available to take evidence when necessary.
The cost of sorting out this problem is a mere €3 million. I ask the Taoiseach, as the leader of the country and the Head of Government, in these days of protest about violence against women, whether the time has come to treat this matter with political will and as a political priority. Will the Taoiseach allocate €3 million to sort out this problem and not have women who have been raped or sexually abused waiting, weekend after weekend, in the same clothes for days on end because no doctor is available and no one is available to take the evidence, which would be destroyed if they showered and cleaned themselves off as they want to do?
Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)
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This had not been brought to my attention until I watched the RTE report last week which indicated that on the weekend before last a number of women were, as described by Deputy Kenny, left waiting in the Rotunda sexual assault treatment unit, and were told to wait in their clothes for a prolonged period in poor facilities. I raised the matter with the HSE and asked for an explanation of the position.
There is dispute, as there always is on these issues. I was going on what I saw. The chairperson of the rape crisis unit gave an even-handed report on the circumstances and the requirement for resources. There is dispute about the facts of what actually happened in the unit. That is neither here nor there. These are small units. It does not seem like a big issue or a big financial issue to resolve. There are four sexual assault treatment units in the Irish Republic — in Dublin, Cork, Waterford and Letterkenny. It is recognised that it can be difficult to obtain medical expertise for forensic examination. The national review of sexual assault treatment services recommends the establishment of further units in the west and midlands to ensure nobody is more than three hours' drive from a sexual assault treatment unit. The HSE has identified a resource requirement to develop such units. It has argued that such works should be covered in the 2007 Estimates. That request is being examined. Services for people who report rape or sexual assault should, as far as possible, be available locally. It is vital that such services are provided within a short period of time by practitioners who conduct the relevant examinations on a regular basis. It has been suggested to me that issues relating to skills and the level of expertise should be addressed. I have also been asked to ensure that a unit is established in the west. There are two issues in this regard. One issue relates to what is needed in 2007. The other issue relates to what happened in the Rotunda Hospital the weekend before last. I have asked that it not happen again.
Olwyn Enright (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)
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It happened again last weekend.
Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)
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I will not get into the two sides of the story because I do not think it would do much for either side. The fact is that it should not happen.
Olivia Mitchell (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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There are no two sides to the story.
Olwyn Enright (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)
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There are no two sides.
Jim O'Keeffe (Cork South West, Fine Gael)
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There is only one side to the story.
Damien English (Meath, Fine Gael)
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The Government has failed again.
Rory O'Hanlon (Cavan-Monaghan, Ceann Comhairle)
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This is Deputy Kenny's question. Perhaps his party colleagues will allow him to hear the answer.
Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)
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I do not want to get into all the sides of the argument. I was shown what happened over an enormous amount of weekends. There was a problem on a certain weekend and then a campaign was lined up around that weekend. The information I received related to the number of victims presenting for examination and treatment. I was told there is a sexual assault reporting rate of nine for every 100,0000. I was also told that the services had been provided way beyond that. I do not know whether they had or had not. The fact is that a coherent argument was made to the effect that there was a major problem on the weekend in question. I took up the matter on that weekend. I received all kinds of figures to show that adequate numbers of staff are available. The case in question relates to one doctor. I do not intend to get into an argument about why a doctor was not in the Rotunda Hospital on a certain weekend. People were rostered.
Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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What argument is there?
Olivia Mitchell (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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There was no doctor to deal with women who had been raped.
Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)
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I do not roster doctors in the Rotunda Hospital.
Olivia Mitchell (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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The Taoiseach is responsible for everything else.
Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)
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I do not intend to get into why a doctor was not available. Those involved in the lobby group in this regard, who seem quite fair, asked me to provide for a treatment centre in Galway, in addition to those in Dublin, Cork, Waterford and Letterkenny.
Dan NevilleBertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)
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The Department of Finance is examining the group's resource proposals for 2007.
Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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I find the Taoiseach's reply appalling because its implication is that women who are sexually assaulted or raped should shut up, go away and be quiet.
Olivia Mitchell (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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The Taoiseach was doubting the word of such women.
Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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Deputy Kenny is stooping very low.
Tom KittEnda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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If a number of the Taoiseach's Ministers concentrated on their briefs——
Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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——instead of devoting their time to giving out about the Opposition, they might be better off.
Liz McManusDermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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Deputy Kenny should look after his own brief.
Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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This problem could be sorted by the provision of €2.8 million. The Taoiseach's reply did not deal with the anguish, torment and mental desperation of women who have been raped and then have to sit in their own clothes from Friday or Saturday night until Sunday evening because no doctors are available. That would not have happened when the Taoiseach was the financial director of the Mater Hospital. He would have made sure there was a doctor on duty. The report published in June found there is no unit in the west or the midlands, that the unit in Letterkenny is closed and that the unit in Cork does not operate effectively. The remaining units are those in Waterford and Dublin. I have been informed by the Rape Crisis Centre that the weekend before last, a garda drove a woman who had been raped and sexually assaulted around in a squad car because there was no unit to go to. It is absolutely appalling that something like that should happen in 2006. The Government intends to spend €54 billion next year, but it cannot provide €2.8 million to sort out our sexual assault treatment units. People who perpetrate crimes of this nature — rapists — should be subject to the process of the law and should be put where they belong, which is behind bars. It is perfectly obvious that nobody is being arrested because the number of convictions has decreased seriously. It seems that just 5% of reported rapes go to court.
I would like the Taoiseach to answer some questions. The provision of €2.8 million would sort this out. This should be a matter of political priority for everybody in this House and outside it. It is not as if there is no campaign in this regard. However, there is no understanding of the mental anguish, torment and desperation that women have to suffer, weekend after weekend, in this city and elsewhere. I would like the Taoiseach to respond to me by saying the Government will provide the approximately €3 million that is needed to sort out this problem and to put it aside. The unfortunate victims of sexual assault and rape should be able to go to units of this nature to clean themselves, or be cleaned, after the evidence that needs to be taken has been taken. Those who perpetrate these awful crimes should be subject to the process of the law and put behind bars.
Olivia Mitchell (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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There are no excuses.
Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)
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There are two issues. The first is what happened in the Rotunda Hospital the weekend before last and what led to this issue being highlighted, correctly, in the media.
Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)
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The facilities of the sexual assault treatment unit there were available, but there was no doctor. We are spending €14 billion on the health service. The facts relating to what happened are disputed. I am not responsible for rostering doctors, as I said. Given that the unit was on call, it should have been operational. The resources which are needed are provided in a number of units. What happened was not acceptable. The women in question should not have been treated in such a manner. Regardless of the various arguments — I have heard reports from both sides — it should not have happened. That is the point. It should not happen on any other weekend.
We also need to consider a second issue. There are four sexual assault treatment units, in Dublin, Cork, Waterford and Letterkenny. A request has been made for the provision of a further unit in Galway. The national reporting rate is nine per 100,000. I understand there is not a difficulty. In the west and north-west regions, the rates are 3.6 and 4.4 respectively and I am told that is well-catered for. There is a difficulty in Galway, where a new unit is being sought. It is obvious that there are issues relating to the administration of the unit in the Rotunda Hospital. The Minister for Finance is dealing with the request for additional resources. It may already have been dealt with in the Estimates for 2007, so the service can be extended throughout the country. Under the criteria which were set out, which were based on the sexual assault reporting rate per 100,000 people, the victims of sexual assault should be treated within three hours. That is what was set down and agreed. I understand that the request, with which I agree, will be delivered on in 2007.
Olivia Mitchell (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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Who will be accountable?
Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour)
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I am sure everyone in this House will join the tributes which were paid in the Northern Assembly to the civilian security personnel who managed to avoid an outrage in the Stormont premises. Does the Taoiseach agree that the drama outside Stormont diverted attention from the lack of progress that was made in the Chamber itself? The approach of the two Governments has been characterised by consistent slippage, unfortunately. I say that as someone who has consistently supported the Taoiseach and the British Prime Minister in terms of the St. Andrews Agreement.
We were told prior to the St. Andrews Agreement that if all parties did not unequivocally sign up to the Governments' requirements, plan B would immediately be put into effect for enhanced co-operation between the two Governments. They then went ahead and set up new deadlines during the St. Andrews process. Most of the deadlines have since been missed. The preparation for government committee was to meet on October 18, but did not do so. All parties were to consult, come back and give an unequivocal response to the agreement by 10 November. The responses of the DUP and Sinn Féin were half-hearted at best.
We were also assured that Sinn Féin was ready to sign up to policing and that an announcement would be made about holding an Ard-Fheis, but no such announcement has yet been made. On 18 October, the Taoiseach told the House: "We are also clear that in the event of failure to reach agreement on 24 November, we will proceed on the basis of the new British-Irish partnership arrangements to implement the agreement." That did not happen and, worse, the Secretary of State, Mr. Peter Hain announced — presumably with the Taoiseach's agreement — that he was prepared to water down the conditions further so that the parties were only required to indicate, as distinct from nominate, a First Minister and a Deputy First Minister.
Whatever about statements that have been made elsewhere, is it not the case that the only place we can get the necessary commitments is in the Chamber of the Assembly itself? Is the Taoiseach saying that he accepts that interviews given by Dr. Paisley outside the Chamber meet the requirements now posed by the two Governments? Does he accept the situation in which the Secretary of State apparently directed the speaker to accept whatever the party leaders were going to say? Dr. Paisley, normally a blunt speaker, neither indicated nor nominated, nor was nominated, for the position of First Minister. However, by what appeared to be a prior arrangement, and rescued in a ghoulish way by Mr. Michael Stone, the speaker of the Chamber said that she accepted it as an indication, as required by the Secretary of State.
As the leader of a party that has consistently supported the commendable efforts of the Taoiseach, I would like to hear his views on where we stand now. There has been a record of consistent slippage since before the St. Andrews process started.
Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)
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I appreciate the support of the Deputy and all the leaders in the House for the Good Friday Agreement. I regret the actions of Michael Stone on Friday. There could have been a real disaster and I commend those involved.
What we agreed at St. Andrews was a significant breakthrough from the old view of the parties that they would not move towards setting up an executive. In April, Prime Minister Blair and I said that we would set 24 November as the date when we wanted to get the full Executive working in Northern Ireland. The parties were to start working with each other from that date. They eventually started working with each other in the summer and while we did not agree on everything in those summer talks, substantial progress was made.
As I reported to the House on the resumption of the Dáil, that progress led us to a position where we thought we could move the parties towards setting up the Executive again. I also made it clear at that stage that this would not happen by 24 November. I also made it clear that we would move to plan B if we had to do so, but that it was not the desired solution.
Last Friday, I said that I was not satisfied with what happened in the Assembly. It was not what Dr. Paisley said, but what he did not say. He has since clarified that. Deputy Rabbitte asked me if I was satisfied that Dr. Paisley has made it clear that he will be the party's nominee when the time comes next March and the answer is "Yes" provided the issue of policing is addressed. I accept that he has addressed that issue and he did so again yesterday in an interview on RTE. His party colleagues also made it clear to the Prime Minister, the Secretary of State and others. That issue is clear.
Sinn Féin must deal with policing and there are still some outstanding issues, especially those related to MI5. Those can hopefully be cleared and we are still working to resolve them. The programme for government committee, which should have started six weeks ago, started last week with a useful meeting and there was another useful meeting yesterday. It is now up and running. As Deputy Rabbitte knows well, dealing with Northern Ireland is always pull and tuck. People never work to the deadlines we want, but progress is always made along the way. We are now in a position where the DUP, Sinn Féin, the UUP and the SDLP will set up a working Executive based on the legislation that was passed last week. If they do not move on as agreed, particularly with issues related to devolution of policing, there is a power in the legislation to strike it down. I hope that will not be necessary.
I interpret last Friday's meeting in positive terms. Dr. Paisley believed that he had clarified the situation and I will not argue whether his silence clarified it. He clarified it shortly afterwards and I am satisfied and so are others that he has done so. It would have been better if he had clarified it in the Assembly. I welcome the fact that the nomination process has been taken. It is deemed to have been taken under the legislation and the Assembly, the British Government and the parties all accept that.
There are a few big hurdles ahead, especially involving policing. If policing is not dealt with before the Assembly and its transitionary form collapses, there would not be much point in having an election. It has to happen before that date in late January. The sooner it happens, the better. Bringing it to a late date will only create more tension and more dissent and difficulties within many parties.
In the meantime, the programme for government committee must deal with a substantive agenda. It should have been dealing with it since October, but hopefully it can deal with it now.
Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour)
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I welcome the Taoiseach's positive disposition, but it must be asked why parties have not adhered to successive deadlines. The Taoiseach stated in the House:
The Assembly is expected to meet to nominate the First and Deputy First Minister on 24 November. This has always been a key date for the Governments and it remains so. All going well, we will have a first Minister and Deputy First Minister for the first time in four years.
There is a view that there was more focus on the date than on content and that the threshold was constantly lowered along the way. The more the threshold was lowered, the less unequivocal were the statements from two of the parties involved. Even the requirement in the legislation calling for the nomination of First and Deputy First Minister was changed by the Secretary of State in the House of Commons to merely their indication. Even that was not subscribed to. Why should the parties keep deadlines? The quotation I gave was the same briefing I got in private and in public to the effect this was the date and there was no going beyond it. They were required to comply or else plan B would be put into effect. None of this was done. We still do not have an announcement on Sinn Féin's preparedness to sign up to policing. Whereas the Taoiseach has just said he accepts in this particular instance that media interviews are a substitute for an unequivocal commitment in the Chamber of the Assembly, which is somewhat unusual — I accept he is dealing with unusual circumstances — he enters the caveat that this was of course provided policing was subscribed to. We still do not have that, and neither has an announcement been tabled for an Ard-Fheis. It is immensely difficult to know where exactly we stand. As the leader of the SDLP said, it is about time Sinn Féin and the DUP synchronised their U-turns. Until that happens we cannot be sure where the St. Andrews process is going.
Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)
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I would love matters to be perfect, and Deputy Rabbitte's analysis is fair enough in that it is not all perfect. There are a number of major difficulties. The biggest one is that the DUP has taken the view it will not have face to face talks with Sinn Féin in the first place. If such talks did take place, it could resolve a lot very quickly, but it will not happen in the circumstances we desire. The next initiative is to move the Programme for Government Committee, which is useful. It is not perfect, and that is not normally what happens. Members on all sides of the House will appreciate the situation. Imagine a post-election scenario where it was decided there was going to be a coalition of whatever make-up and the two parties at the centre of it decided not to talk to each other. It would be unbelievable, but that is how matters stand.
Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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Only one party will not talk.
Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)
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I accept that, but that is the position. At least we have moved to the Programme for Government Committee. Dr. Paisley's intention is clear. Perhaps it was not quite clear on the day. I said it was not and in fairness to the good man, he clarified it three hours later. Policing has to be dealt with. Let us be frank: if policing is not resolved, Dr. Paisley and his party will be gone, as probably will many more, and then the resolution in the Act will have to be triggered.
On the other side, this period could be used to enable the Programme for Government Committee to get down to work and it seems determined to do that. Dr. Paisley will be the First Minister. The Deputy First Minister is Mr. Martin McGuinness and they are prepared to work with the agenda of the Programme for Government Committee. They will nominate their other Ministers on 14 March and take up duty before that. Within the arrangements the British Government has designed, much of the work of the parties that will form the Executive, will be recognised as being in transition, with people getting on with their work in the meantime, albeit not holding a full brief, as I would have wished. It is not perfect, but the 24 November deadline successfully triggered the St. Andrews Agreement, worked that into legislation and now, belatedly, the Programme for Government Committee is underway. There are many other hurdles along the way we will just have to overcome. However, the position is clearer than it was all year when we could not get them to meet in any format and did not know whether we would be able to deal with the two issues of policing and power sharing.
It is my estimation that the DUP has answered the question, even if outside rather than inside the Chamber. It is prepared to deal with power sharing. Sinn Féin then has to answer the question, if there can be a resolution of the MI5 issue, which we are working to achieve as best we can, I really believe the sooner that happens the better.
Joe Higgins (Dublin West, Socialist Party)
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Yesterday in the greater Dublin area, the Christmas 2006 Operation Freeflow began. Unfortunately for hard-pressed commuters, whether travelling on private or public transport, it was scarcely noticed this year. It was more a question of operation no-go, as usual. People neither arrived earlier to work nor home to their families. As an example, as usual this morning, it took 30 minutes to get from Mulhuddart to the Blanchardstown roundabout, a grand distance of one and a half miles.
Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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The Deputy must have been speeding.
Joe Higgins (Dublin West, Socialist Party)
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Most movements observed in that time related to the moving arms of trainee gardaí, frantically trying to push the traffic forward, but there was nowhere for it to go. Had the most famous stable in history been sited on the Blanchardstown roundabout, Mary and Joseph would have got quicker from Mulhuddart on their ass this morning than their unfortunate fellow travellers, all of 2,000 years later — and would have breathed fresh air all the way. Had they tried public transport this morning, they would have found as little room there as they did in the historic inn. In short it is a disaster, and what is true of Blanchardstown is true of the greater Dublin area. As my Independent colleagues tell me, it is being replicated right across the State in different ways.
Ministers, including the Taoiseach, are completely cosseted from this daily grind and do not appreciate that commuters are at breaking point, not because of the exceptional debacle we had last Wednesday on the N11, but because of the daily debacle they have to fight through.
The Taoiseach must not patronise the House with his usual response to the effect that this is the price of economic success. It is the price of 40 years of corruption of the planning system. Far more insidious than the bribes in brown envelopes to council minnows is the domination of Governments — particularly Fianna Fáil Governments — by the ethos of utterly selfish land developers and speculators. This includes people on the Taoiseach's watch over the last ten years to whom he has given carte blanche to put up tens of thousands of houses and apartments and walk away with obscene profits leaving new communities desperately struggling with an infrastructural void of horrific proportions.
Rory O'Hanlon (Cavan-Monaghan, Ceann Comhairle)
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The Deputy's time is concluded.
Joe Higgins (Dublin West, Socialist Party)
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Will the Taoiseach own up to the responsibility first of all, which would be a start? Operation Freeflow had an effect ten years ago. Today it is irrelevant. Before our people have a collective breakdown induced by gridlock, will the Taoiseach introduce emergency investment and measures in the immediate weeks and months ahead? Double the buses in the cities and the quality bus corridors. Double the trains on such lines as exist and rapidly increase the extra lines. Doing so in 2015 is no use. When buses and trains are flying past gridlocked cars and bringing people to their destinations in a third of the time, then we will know that we have begun to resolve this horrific situation. What hope can the Taoiseach offer hard-pressed people throughout the country who are mired in this infrastructural crisis?
Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)
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The Deputy has asked what can be done in the short term to cope with the enormous amount of additional traffic we have had in this city — about 800,000 more vehicles than we had some years ago.
The Government has approved funding of €30 million for the purchase by Dublin Bus of 100 additional buses. A large number of them will arrive in January, which is in the short term. There will be a further upgrading of the garage facilities at Broadstone, as well as the new station at the airport, both of which will affect the Deputy's constituency. Dublin Bus hopes to enter many of these buses into service by the end of January.
The bulk of this year's expenditure is earmarked for the delivery of quality bus corridors, which are designed to reduce travel time for passengers, improve bus performance and improve the quality of the public transport experience. Again, much of this has either already happened or is happening. There will also be the proposed Dublin Transport Authority procurement of approximately 100 buses from the private sector to provide services on new routes, many of which will serve the new estates of west Dublin. This is to be done by competitive tendering. While I do not have the date for this to hand, it is part of the initiative to facilitate the entry of private operators by awarding franchises to operate buses for 15% of services, which the Government negotiated with the trade unions.
The Dublin Bus fleet covers all of the areas mentioned by Deputy Joe Higgins and has been substantially increased and renewed in line with the commitments under the national development plan, thus reflecting the company's major role as the key transport operator. While there are longer-term initiatives, the Deputy did not ask me to go into them. I refer to projects such as metro west, the frequencies on the train line and the new stations in Dublin West, some of which will open shortly.
Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)
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Some of the stations, such as the one in Adamstown, will open in March. The number of trains on the route has already been extended this year and is due to be extended next year.
Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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No, they were extended last year. The Taoiseach is wrong.
Olivia Mitchell (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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Most are broken down anyway.
Rory O'Hanlon (Cavan-Monaghan, Ceann Comhairle)
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The Taoiseach, to answer Deputy Joe Higgins's question.
Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)
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Operation Freeflow helps at key junctions. The Deputy is correct to state it is not as successful as it was a decade ago because of the volume of traffic. This is particularly true in the Deputy's constituency because of the construction under way on the M50. The Deputy is aware the M50 work is being conducted at a flat out pace and is well ahead of schedule. However, while it takes place, there will be gridlock, particularly on wet days. One can see the traffic volume increases substantially on wet days.
Eamon Ryan (Dublin South, Green Party)
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Fianna Fáil was not planning for wet days.
Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)
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These are some of the things that will happen in the short term.
Joe Higgins (Dublin West, Socialist Party)
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What will happen on the M50 in a few weeks' time, when thousands of trucks will be jammed onto it from the port tunnel?
John GormleyJoe Higgins (Dublin West, Socialist Party)
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This area is already jam-packed for hours every day. What is to happen to the tens of thousands of commuters who must cross the M50 to travel to and from work and who will be caught in a further incredible log-jam? The Taoiseach still allows building to proceed without the infrastructure. I welcome the Adamstown initiative for the new community there. However areas such as Ongar and Tyrellstown, the fastest-growing communities in Europe, are left bereft. For the past two Mondays, with other public representatives, I have attended public meetings in those communities. On both occasions, they were obliged to travel for miles to get a venue because there is no community centre. It is true that one of them has a €40 million hotel across the road. The Taoiseach should know this because he opened it and is a friend of its developer. However, when the residents asked whether they could meet there, the reply was that they could but that it would cost them €600 for two hours. This is the extent of the Government's betrayal of new communities in terms of infrastructure. The position regarding schools——
Rory O'Hanlon (Cavan-Monaghan, Ceann Comhairle)
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The Deputy's time has concluded.
Joe Higgins (Dublin West, Socialist Party)
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—— is the same.
Can the Taoiseach, in concrete and realistic terms, tell Members and the hard-pressed working people in such areas, who pay their taxes and who commute and struggle to work, what will be changed substantially by the Government's action within the next six months? What will change to make life somewhat more comfortable for them, to waste less time on gridlocked roads and consequently to have a better quality of life? What precisely has the Taoiseach to say to them in this regard?
Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)
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Deputy Joe Higgins has ignored what I told him about the additional buses. In recent years, he has asked in particular that the Government should try to deal with this issue. Almost 1,000 new buses have been brought into service by Dublin Bus. It is an——
Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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There has been no increase.
Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)
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Almost 1,000 new buses——
Damien English (Meath, Fine Gael)
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How many of them were scrapped?
Rory O'Hanlon (Cavan-Monaghan, Ceann Comhairle)
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The Taoiseach, without interruption.
Eamon Ryan (Dublin South, Green Party)
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Bus passenger numbers are falling.
Rory O'Hanlon (Cavan-Monaghan, Ceann Comhairle)
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This is Deputy Joe Higgins's question. He is entitled to hear the Taoiseach's answer. Deputy Eamon Ryan is not the leader of Deputy Higgins's party and I ask him to allow Deputy Higgins to hear the answer.
Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)
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Almost 1,000 buses have been brought in by Dublin Bus.
Olivia Mitchell (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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It only has 1,000 buses.
Rory O'Hanlon (Cavan-Monaghan, Ceann Comhairle)
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The Taoiseach, without interruptions.
Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)
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Deputy Higgins asked me specifically what the Government was going to do. I am trying to answer him.
Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)
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Almost 1,000 new buses have been brought into operation in the past few years.
Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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Members would like to see them some day.
Rory O'Hanlon (Cavan-Monaghan, Ceann Comhairle)
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This is Deputy Higgins's question. I ask Deputy Burton to be silent and to allow the Taoiseach to give the answer.
Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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I am stunned by the Taoiseach's answer.
Damien English (Meath, Fine Gael)
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It is a misleading statement.
Rory O'Hanlon (Cavan-Monaghan, Ceann Comhairle)
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Deputy Burton is aware she is not entitled to interrupt on Leaders' Questions. If she wants to interrupt, she knows what to do, namely, to leave the House.
Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)
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There will be a further 100 buses brought in by the end of January and this, along with——
Emmet Stagg (Kildare North, Labour)
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A total of 200 buses were promised four years ago.
Rory O'Hanlon (Cavan-Monaghan, Ceann Comhairle)
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I ask Deputies to allow Deputy Joe Higgins to hear the answer to his question. Members of larger parties in this House appear to be able to stay quiet when their own leaders are speaking. They allow their own leaders to hear the answers to the questions. Deputy Joe Higgins is entitled to exactly the same courtesy as every other leader.
Emmet Stagg (Kildare North, Labour)
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Deputy Joe Higgins will not object to good objections.
Rory O'Hanlon (Cavan-Monaghan, Ceann Comhairle)
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Deputy Joe Higgins, to hear the answer.
Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)
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I was trying to get silence for Deputy Higgins. It is unfair that everyone interrupts on his question. I will try to move quickly in order that other Members will not keep interrupting. There will be 100 new buses by the end of January.
Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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That is the third time the Taoiseach said that.
Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)
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As for the bus corridors, Dublin Bus and CIE continue to increase the number of corridors. The port tunnel will open and while it will put more traffic onto the M50, it will remove dramatically thousands of vehicles from the streets that use them for rat runs at present.
Joe Costello (Dublin Central, Labour)
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There will be no cars in the port tunnel.
Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)
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Members should never forget that one reason for the port tunnel was to remove five-axle trucks from the streets and residential estates. They were trampling through residential areas and through where the hard-pressed working people were buying houses.
Olivia Mitchell (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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They cannot get to work.
Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)
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Thankfully, they both go to work and live in houses.
Eamon Ryan (Dublin South, Green Party)
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In counties Carlow and Wexford and in Athlone.
Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)
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As for the ongoing work, almost €1 billion is being spent on the M50, which is hugely important to Deputy Higgins's constituency. This work is well under way. As the Deputy is aware, the project will be in three phases and I outlined what is entailed to Deputy Rabbitte two weeks ago. If one considers initiatives such as the tunnel, which will open in a month's time, the 100 buses, the work on the corridors and the efforts of the Garda in part of the Deputy's constituency, I hope that in the short term — in a month or two — they will go some way towards alleviating the problem.