Dáil debates
Wednesday, 17 January 2018
Topical Issue Debate
Road Safety
1:40 pm
Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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I want to raise the issue of the urgent investment needed in the N11 in north Wicklow to alleviate serious and growing congestion, both in the morning and evening commutes. About a year ago, the N11 became a car park at about 7.30 a.m. It is now a car park near Kilmacanogue and some of the Bray junctions by about 6.45 a.m. It is a problem that is rapidly getting worse and thousands upon thousands of men and women, in the morning and in the evening, are stuck in this gridlock and are desperately looking for targeted investment in the N11 to alleviate the congestion. I have written to the Minister about this many times and I have requested several meetings with him, all of which have been refused, which is why I have had to bring it to the floor of the House. However, I have been working closely with some State agencies. In April last year, following requests, Transport Infrastructure Ireland, TII, completed a needs assessment of the route around north Wicklow and it concluded that there was a serious congestion problem. It helpfully identified targeted investment that was required. Some of it related to upgrading junctions and some related to a third lane being provided between junction 6, which is the central Bray exit, and junction 8. The report states: "Any further delay in investment in this section of the M11/N11 will lead to further increases in congestion along the corridor and indeed within the wider area; and will further constrain growth in the north and east of Wicklow and the Dún Laoghaire Rathdown area, as a result of reduced competitiveness and productivity."
In December, TII informed me that it is proceeding with procuring professional services to start putting documentation together for the design of the pieces of road it has identified to alleviate congestion. It also confirmed to me that no funding has been made available from the Department to proceed with the work. We have a major road network, the N11, the main artery for commuters from Wicklow to and from Dublin. We have a capacity study from the State which confirms that there is a serious and growing issue; a study from the State which identifies solutions to that issue; and a report from the State confirming that failure to invest will not only make it worse but will further harm economic development in the area, but unfortunately we have no funding. I raise the issue in light of a recent An Bord Pleanála ruling on a development for the old Fassaroe area for 3,000 houses, an active open space, hopefully a sports campus and community hub and many local jobs. An Bord Pleanála gave three reasons for refusing it. Two would be easily dealt with by any future development plan but the third, which can only be dealt with by this Government and the Minister, is that with the congestion, the capacity on the N11 simply does not exist to allow this to happen. In the middle of a housing crisis, we have a development ready to go which would provide approximately 3,000 houses, local jobs and a sports campus, but lack of investment in the N11 is probably the single biggest impediment to that. Given all that, does the Minister accept TII's findings that the congestion is serious and getting worse and that failure to invest is damaging Wicklow and will continue to damage Wicklow and parts of south Dublin? Does he accept that failure to invest is stopping the development of 3,000 new houses in Fassaroe and everything that goes with that? Will he commit to seeking further investment for the project to alleviate congestion on the N11? Will he commit to seeking the funding required for this upgrade in the forthcoming capital investment plan?
Shane Ross (Dublin Rathdown, Independent)
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I thank the Deputy for raising the matter of this road, which I suspect I am as familiar with as he is, and particularly the difficulty which he is encountering in representing it. I feel that what he is saying represents me as much as anybody else and maybe with more eloquence than I have done so far when I have made representations about this myself. As Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, I have responsibility for overall policy and funding for the national roads programme. The planning, design and implementation of individual national road projects is a matter for TII under the Roads Acts 1993 to 2015 in conjunction with the local authorities concerned. Within its capital budget, the assessment and prioritisation of individual projects is a matter in the first instance for TII in accordance with section 19 of the Roads Act.
The National Transport Authority has statutory responsibility for the implementation and development of public transport infrastructure in the greater Dublin area, including Wicklow. The NTA's transport strategy for the greater Dublin area for 2016 to 2035 provides a framework for the planning and delivery of transport infrastructure and services in the greater Dublin area over the next two decades, including development of improved public transport links for County Wicklow. Ireland has just under 100,000 km of road in its network and the maintenance and improvement of national, regional and local roads places a substantial burden on local authorities and on the Exchequer. There were very large reductions in Exchequer funding available for roads expenditure after the financial crisis because of the national financial position. For this reason, the focus has had to be on maintenance and renewal rather than major new improvements in recent years and I envisage that this emphasis on maintaining the assets we have will continue into the next capital plan period.
The Capital Plan - Building on Recovery for 2016-2021 and the capital plan review allocations mark a significant step forward to restoring funding to the levels needed to maintain the road network in a steady state condition and allow for some investment in road improvement schemes. The allocations and planned projects for the first years of the proposed ten year capital investment plan will align with the existing capital plan as supplemented as part of the capital plan review.
As regards the M11-N11, as the Deputy said, a strategic study of this road corridor from its junction with the M50 to junction 14 at Cullenmore was undertaken by TII, working closely with Wicklow County Council, Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council and the NTA. This study provides an overview of the measures to enhance capacity on this section of road which could be implemented on a phased basis.
The additional funding being provided following the capital plan review will facilitate the start of work related to the findings of the corridor study. In this context, I understand that it is the intention of Tll to add this scheme to the pipeline of schemes at planning stage. In this regard, I can confirm that TII is appointing consultants to start work on the scheme appraisal and business case as required in the public spending code and the Department's capital appraisal framework. In conjunction with this, a safety scheme to provide a parallel service road to the southbound lane in Kilmacanogue is being developed and it is hoped that this project will proceed to construction, subject to planning approval, in late 2018. I hope the Deputy will regard those two measures as progress.
As regards the timing for the implementation of measures identified in the M11-N11 corridor study, following ten years of retrenchment there are many potential projects across the country in respect of national, regional and local roads. The scope for progressing new road improvement projects will depend on the capital funding allocated to my Department under the proposed ten-year capital investment plan. Given the many competing demands, the appraisal and prioritisation of projects in line with the requirements of the public spending code and my Department's capital appraisal framework will be key to assessing which suitable major and minor national road projects can be advanced and the timeframe for implementation. I will certainly keep in mind the Deputy's representations and, indeed, my own self-interest when I am making those considerations. That last remark is frivolous just in case it is taken up the wrong way.
1:50 pm
Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Minister for his response, which he made in good faith. Most of the answer is Civil Service boilerplate text. It essentially says that future investments will be considered in line with the future investment strategy at some point in the future. I acknowledge that minor work is being done to the southbound route at Kilmacanogue, which is useful. However, much of the early morning congestion occurs around the village in the northbound route. There is nothing in the reply that says there will be relief of the existing congestion. It will get worse. I appreciate there are demands for capital investment in roads all over the country but the N11 is an extreme case. Anecdotally, every morning, given every road that could be reported on in the country by AA Roadwatch, early congestion on the N11 features. Most roads are not car parks by 6.45 a.m. On top of that, there is a lack of public transport. There is over-capacity on Irish Rail heading north in the morning. The chief executive officer of the company told me that this will worsen over the coming years because no new rolling stock will be available. Most of County Wicklow is not well served by buses and, therefore, the only available option for many workers from the county is to use the N11. Will the Minister request from his Department or the relevant State agency a comparative analysis to identify where the congestion is worst in the list of competing demands, which I accept? Which roads are the first to become congested in the morning? If the N11 is on the list, I ask that priority be given this year to the design and implementation of the works identified by TII for the road. North Wicklow has been identified as a high growth area. The development in Fassaroe will provide 3,000 houses in the middle of a housing crisis. The biggest impediment to that is lack of investment in the N11. Will the Minister factor that in? Perhaps he will write back to me or we can meet to see if that can help expedite investment to alleviate the ongoing congestion.
Shane Ross (Dublin Rathdown, Independent)
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I may disappoint the Deputy in some ways. I take his point about Fassaroe and the 3,000 houses, which is important. He will, however, have to understand that the competing demands are overwhelming sometimes and it is difficult. I cannot just come to the House and say, "Yes, you are going jump the queue". This morning, I met a delegation from Meath, which raised similar problems. This is a country-wide issue and does not only affect Dublin. I understand the case the Deputy has made. The TII has acknowledged the problems he has identified in its report and it has addressed them but the problem is funding and priority. It is something that we will undoubtedly address in the future. The order in which projects is decided will be subject to the appraisal required under the public spending code. My Department examines the cost and urgency of projects on a regular basis and it will decide in co-operation with the NTA, stakeholders and myself which are the priorities. I take the points the Deputy has made. Five phases are planned for the N11-M11. The first phase is being addressed and if he wishes, I will meet him and discuss that with him. I apologise if I have not replied to requests for meetings with him. Of course, I will meet him. That must be some hitch in the system. I am happy to do that and I hope he will acknowledge that we will regard this as a problem which is a matter of urgency but along with many other problems which are matters of similar urgency on our roads.