Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire (Cork South Central, Sinn Fein)
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There has been a great deal of talk in recent years, particularly in the past 12 months, about the need for balanced regional development. One of the core areas in the better balancing of population will be Cork, particularly the Cork metropolitan area. I have tabled parliamentary questions before on this matter to the Minister, but I felt it was important to tease out the details with him in the Chamber.

The population growth targeted by Cork City Council and Cork County Council is substantial. A target of 850,000 for the county has been set, with a population of 500,000 in the metropolitan area by 2050. Significant road projects are planned for Cork such as the M28, the Dunkettle interchange upgrade and other similar important projects which need to be delivered. Even when these projects are delivered, however, with such a level of growth in population predicted, if we continue to rely to the extent we do on the car as the main mode of transport in and around Cork city, the roads mentioned will be full again in ten years.

What is needed is a real vision for Cork. No one in Cork expects immediate delivery of light rail or bus rapid transport schemes. What is clear, however, is that such projects take a substantial amount of time to deliver. We propose that the process begin now. The Minister and the Department should express clearly that they are, in principle, in favour of the development of light rail and bus rapid transit schemes in Cork in the interim. The process of planning these projects can then begin. While clearly they would be complex and expensive, they are absolutely essential as the population of the city and surrounding areas will increase enormously in the coming period. The road from Ballincollig to Carrigtwohill, along which the city is developing, is 30 km long. It requires servicing, but to ensure we intensify development within the area, there is a need for quality public transport. To unlock the potential of the enormous docklands area in the middle of the city, it needs to be linked. We do not need thousands of additional cars coming into the city centre from the docklands. We need to have as many of those people as possible coming in by public transport.

This development needs to be phased. In the interim, I would be in favour of the Minister looking at schemes such as a bus rapid transit system. Cork City Council has examined such models in Eindhoven in the Netherlands. In the longer run that is where we need to get to. Cork City Council included such proposals in its submission to the national planning framework process. Cork Chamber of Commerce has also emphasised the issue. Its chief executive, Mr. Conor Healy, recently stated:

What we need to ensure now is that we are planning, that there is early investment going in and that the Government is recognising the need for investment in transport infrastructure in Cork outside of the traditional modes. With the scale of Cork's growth and development, it needs a new form of public transport over the next number of years to ensure we are building properly for the future.

It is that recognition of the need identified that is required at this stage. The initial setting of plans and their development can then occur. I am anxious to hear the Minister's response. This is not just a need in Cork, as Green Party and Labour Party Deputies have also identified similar needs in other cities as part of investing in the shift nationally from the car to greater use of public transport.

Shane Ross (Dublin Rathdown, Independent)
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I thank the Deputy for giving me the opportunity to address this important issue in the House. I certainly do not give the impression that Dublin is the only place in which there is a chronic traffic problem and public transport need. That is not the case. I acknowledge and recognise the needs of Cork which should be addressed. They need to be and will be addressed, funds permitting. My top priority in the next few years is to increase rapidly investment in public transport in Dublin, Cork, Limerick, Waterford, Galway and other areas, while also increasing public transport services. Budget 2018 provided for an increase in the multi-annual capital investment in public transport, with a four-year capital envelope of €2.7 billion to 2021. It will enable us to enhance the capacity and quality of the public transport network across the cities to ensure that, as far as possible and practical, increased transport demand will be met by greener public transport.

The need for investment in public transport infrastructure and services in Cork city and the manner in which they will be provided in the coming years is being examined as part of a transport strategy being prepared for the Cork metropolitan area. The transport strategy will address all transport modes and its objective will be to provide a long-term strategic planning framework for the integrated development of transport infrastructure and services in the Cork metropolitan area in the next two decades or so. It will be used to inform transport investment levels and investment prioritisation in both the longer and shorter terms. It will be able to inform sustainable integrated land use and transport policy formulation at the strategic CMA level and the local level. The strategy which commenced in mid-2017 is being prepared for the National Transport Authority, in conjunction with Cork City Council and Cork County Council and Transport Infrastructure Ireland, TII. It is expected that a draft transport strategy will be published for public consultation by the end of February. It will include a range of proposed transport interventions across all modes of transport, with complementary measures, including transport demand management, intelligent transport systems and park and ride facilities. The strategy will be finalised in the light of the feedback received.

It is important to note that between 2014 and 2017 over €20 million was allocated to Cork City Council and Cork County Council under the regional cities programme which is managed on behalf of my Department by the NTA. Further funding of €130 million was provided in budget 2018 for the next four years for a sustainable urban transport programme, also to be managed by the NTA, which will build on investment to date to deliver improvements in public and sustainable transport infrastructure in the greater Dublin area and the regional cities of Cork, Galway, Limerick and Waterford. It includes traffic management, bus priority and other smarter travel projects. It will provide additional sustainable travel options to complement increased capacity and faster higher quality public transport services in the main cities. Funding is also provided for the NTA for accessibility programmes to improve access to public transport in the regional cities. In the case of the Cork City Council area, the investment has been focused on the implementation of the city centre movement strategy and several radially based strategic transport corridors, linking the city centre with the city's suburbs and county environs. In the case of the Cork metropolitan area, the sustainable urban transport programme will continue to be focused on the Douglas area, based on the recommendations of the Douglas land use and transportation study, DLUTS. The principal objectives of the study are to reduce congestion, improve local connectivity by sustainable transport modes and the performance of the many bus services operating through the area, complementing the transport investment made in the city centre and strategic corridors.

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire (Cork South Central, Sinn Fein)
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I take some positives from the Minister's response. The transport strategy is welcome and I look forward to examining it when it is published. I hope it will show the ambition required. I am aware of some of the items which have been funded, including the city centre movement strategy and the DLUTS. There are many good points in them, but most of them have to do with managing traffic. While that is welcome and will help to reduce congestion, I do not believe that, in and of itself, it will be central to ensuring a shift from the car.

A great deal of ambition has been shown by Cork City Council, Cork County Council and Cork Chamber of Commerce in planning for Cork as a significant European city and a sizable balance to Dublin. Those targets will not be reached by accident but through investment. It will ultimately require a serious, substantial effort in areas such as infrastructure, particularly in public transport, so that the density of the population in and around city centre areas in particular and through the area as a whole is intensified. This is crucial to ensure that we get that increase in population. The Minister has given the current Department position and the official answers. Much of that is welcome and positive but, while I am not expecting budgetary commitments or anything like that, I want to hear if the Minister agrees in principle that an investment of this kind for the delivery, in the medium term, of a light rail and bus rapid transit system in Cork is essential and that the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport is likely to support something like that in the medium to long term.

Shane Ross (Dublin Rathdown, Independent)
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I would like to answer the Deputy's question as directly as possible. It is desirable. The Deputy is looking for public transport solutions in Cork city which will include light rail and bus rapid transit. I will say unequivocally that they are not ruled out. I do not want to make commitments. The Deputy knows it is foolish to make commitments under the financial constraints with which we work. The National Transport Authority, NTA, has taken the lead in looking at this and the transport strategy. These solutions are certainly not ruled out and I would agree with the Deputy that such systems are desirable. He will be aware that the NTA has made it clear, as have I, that while BusConnects is starting in Dublin, the intention if it is successful is to expand it to other cities, which should include Cork. I would address exactly the same principles and have the same enthusiasm for any project which is successful or necessary in Dublin or in Cork, and such projects should be promoted. It is an indication of our goodwill for this that we and communities are putting so much money into BusConnects in Dublin with the intention of expanding it to other cities as soon as possible.