Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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34. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport his plans for dealing with increasing traffic congestion in Dublin city and on key arterial routes in the greater Dublin area. [22790/16]

Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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Anybody who has travelled into the capital city in recent years will be somewhat perplexed about how congested the city has become. Over that period of time there has been a notable decrease in spending on public transport and public transport improvements by the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport, albeit by the current Minister's predecessors. Will the Minister indicate what plan he has in place to tackle the traffic congestion in the capital city?

Shane Ross (Dublin Rathdown, Independent)
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This question is similar to one asked by Deputy Troy previously, but then I believe it was specific to the M50, which is only part of the traffic congestion problem. I am grateful to Deputy Troy for addressing the matter in a wider form.

Increasing capacity in our public transport system and improving the quality of public transport services is key to addressing congestion in the greater Dublin area.  More than €200 million has been allocated for investment in public and sustainable transport infrastructure in the greater Dublin area in 2016 under the capital plan. The capital investment works currently being undertaken by the National Transport Authority, NTA, in the greater Dublin area include the Luas cross city project, which is on schedule to open at the end of 2017; the Phoenix Park tunnel, which I expect to open for services later this year; the city centre re-signalling project; and investment in the bus fleet and bus priority measures. These will greatly enhance the capacity of the public transport system in the greater Dublin area when completed.

Additionally, funding is being allocated to a wide range of projects in the greater Dublin area aimed at developing sustainable transport modes such as cycling, walking and public transport. Investment is also being made in integration measures designed to encourage the use of public transport, such as real-time passenger information, the Leap card, the national journey planner and on-board Wi-Fi.

The NTA's transport strategy for the greater Dublin area for 2016 to 2035 sets out a comprehensive vision for public transport in the greater Dublin area over the next two decades. The NTA is now drawing up an integrated implementation plan to outline how it will go about delivering the strategy's objectives over the first six-year period within the strategy's overall 20-year horizon.

While investment in the public transport system is critical to addressing congestion, ultimately, a public transport response on its own cannot ensure that there is a sustainable match between transport demand and transport supply. Neither can traffic management measures or additional roads investment achieve this in isolation. Congestion can only be managed by combining all of these responses. Ultimately, urban mobility is inextricable from land use planning. In this regard, my Department is engaging closely in the development of the new national planning framework to ensure that the new framework will support greater integration of land use and transport planning throughout the country.

Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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There seems to be a total absence of a comprehensive vision and strategic plan to cope with the future transport demand in the core Dublin area. The Minister has acknowledged the Luas cross city project and the Phoenix Park tunnel, but these projects are on a piecemeal basis. There is no clear strategy. The capital plan that was published last September is very unambitious with regard to what will be delivered. Meanwhile, we have the construction of cycle lanes. The number of cars coming into the city is decreasing and the reduction is not being compensated for by ensuring the provision of public car parks on the outer roads. Parking is still happening on side streets coming in to the city, which is a crazy situation. If we want to get people into the capital city and moving freely around by way of public transport, cycling or walking, where are they to leave their cars when they commute? The provision of public car parks on the outskirts of town should be examined and a comprehensive strategy should be planned regarding how to improve the number of bus and DART journeys. The DART underground has been shelved but we need to be looking and planning for the future and not on a piecemeal basis.

Shane Ross (Dublin Rathdown, Independent)
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It is very easy for Deputy Troy to say that while sitting there with a blank chequebook. The restrictions are not in terms of strategy or vision; they are because of the shortage of money for many years, as the Deputy is aware. The strategy is quite clear and I would have thought it was very obvious. There is very definitely a strategy behind this, which is the strategy of taking cars off the road, not just because of congestion but because of emissions also.

With regard to some of Deputy Troy's comments, the DART underground project is not completely buried. There is a strategy for north Dublin, which is the metro north. There is a strategy to take cars off the road through the encouragement of cycling throughout Dublin and the State. There is a strategy with regard to the cross city Luas, which is bang on time and on target. As the Deputy is also aware, cycleways are increasing the numbers of people who cycle at an extremely satisfactory rate. It is wrong to say there is no strategy. It is a multifaceted approach - it is not an airy-fairy approach - within the restrictions that exist.

Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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The Minister wants to get cars off the road, but it must be acknowledged that, as a nation, we rely predominantly on cars over public transport. If we want to get people and cars off the road we have to put in place an efficient, effective alternative, which is not currently available. Travel times for people who commute to Dublin have become progressively worse. We talk about replacing cars and taking them off the road but we do not have an effective, efficient alternative. We need the necessary plans, because not everybody is going to drop his or her car for a bicycle. Not everybody is going to drop his or her car for a bus that is not going to come on time or for a light rail network that is not in place at the moment.

Shane Ross (Dublin Rathdown, Independent)
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I can understand what Deputy Troy is saying but I reject what he says about there being no strategy at all. Within the constraints there are some very heavy projects and commitments. Not all of them can be delivered immediately because of financial constraints, but there are some very imaginative projects that will be.

I do not know if the Deputy wants to scrap the metro north - maybe he wants to hurry it up - but he is going to have to tell me what he will pay for it with. It will come into existence at the earliest possible date. We have said consistently that if the growth rates improve, if the economy improves, if there is money in the Exchequer, one of the things the money will be spent on is to progress some of these projects. That is absolutely vital. They cannot be conjured out of thin air when the Exchequer does not have the resources. We are doing an enormous amount on the projects I have mentioned within the limited resources we have.