John Lahart (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Deputy Ross, for being here. I appreciate it. I flagged this issue of traffic in College Green as far back as the summer of 2017, and previously, in the context of a directly-elected mayor of the city, that the role of director of transport for Dublin would be a function that would form part of a directly-elected mayor's office. We have discovered, subsequently, with the introduction of the Luas cross city, which I wholeheartedly welcome and which is a considerable asset to the city, that the College Green area is a significant pinch point in relation to traffic.

The introduction of Luas cross city has seen it become a victim of its own success but the Minister will have to agree that it is also a victim of horrendously poor forward planning. As an ordinary citizen, as a layman, I have been able to see the kind of challenges that the city would face pending the introduction of the Luas cross city and there does not seem to have been any significant forward planning, in terms of modelling to understand the kind of numbers that Luas cross city would take up and in terms of its impact on bus users, car drivers, cyclists and pedestrians. I wonder how come this was not envisaged because it has left a glaring gap. What has happened is that all the authorities within the city, the National Transportation Authority, NTA, Dublin Bus along with Luas cross city, and Dublin City Council, are now reacting, as is always the case in this country, in particular, in regard to Dublin, and are trying to plan their way out of what has become a chaotic and congested city and suburbs.

Last year my Private Members' motion calling for a Dublin city traffic advisory council was passed unanimously by the Dáil but there has been no movement on this. That was guaranteed to give every stakeholder in Dublin an input into traffic management and the design of traffic solutions in Dublin.

The city clearly needs, and this College Green issue has highlighted it, a director of transport and an office of director of traffic to set out plans and to help address congestion from the suburbs, for example, from my own constituency, Ballycullen, Knocklyon and Scholarstown, right into the city and the College Green area. The absence of a directly-elected mayor feeds into that, in spite of the fact the former Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government, the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Deputy Coveney, promised that the city, if Dublin so decided in a plebiscite, would get to directly-elected mayor to coincide with the local elections due in 2019.

Clearly, as far as Dubliners are concerned, there is no vision for traffic management in the county or in the city. There is no vision for how trams, buses, cars, commercial vehicles, cyclists and pedestrians are to share the public space that we all, in various shapes and forms, use and absolutely no plan for and no input from those with disabilities or special needs.

The College Green area involves specific challenges. Three hundred buses an hour at peak time, or 3,000 buses a day, use College Green. The NTA and Dublin Bus announced certain changes to 17 routes, redirecting them around by either Westland Row or Tara Street, and that the NTA will give additional priority to buses on Tara Street, and I cautiously welcome that.

We will have to wait and see what the ultimate impact will be on the west of the city, but what will we do with the quays? For example, some mornings it takes 40 minutes to get from Heuston Station to O'Connell Street and it is quicker for those who use the bus to get off at O'Connell Street and walk rather than to wait for the bus to bring them to Dawson Street. There is a huge problem crying out there.

There are pedestrians facing significant delays crossing at major traffic pinch points. While there may be some offering as a solution, I, as Dublin spokesperson for Fianna Fáil, have highlighted this issue going back a year.

This is also in anticipation of when longer the Luas trams come into operation. As the Minister well knows, those longer Luas trams, while they will bring a welcome increase in capacity as the existing trams accommodate 320 passengers and the longer trams will accommodate 380, will cause significant pinch points at O'Connell Bridge and in other areas. I do not see any plans to anticipate what might address the problems that will be caused by the additional length of the Luas cross city.

Shane Ross (Dublin Rathdown, Independent)
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I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. I fully acknowledge the problems which Deputy Lahart has put is finger on and I am grateful to him for doing this. It is right that he should do so. In acknowledging it, the Deputy also pointed out the considerable success of the Luas cross city and the fact that it is in enormous demand.

As well as that, the Deputy said something which I thought was significant when he was talking about the number of buses that have been put on to try to remedy some of the problems and the changes that have to be made because of Luas cross city. The Deputy stated that we will have to await the impact of them to see whether they are successful or not. He is right. We will. When we introduce very significant changes, as we have done on the Luas cross city and with other major changes, there are always some impacts which one cannot completely anticipate, in terms of pedestrians' habits in terms of their familiarisation and how they will behave when changes such as this are introduced, and one cannot except to have a massive benefit of the sort that Luas cross city and the additional 10 million journeys a year that will be taken as a result provides, without it having teething problems, and those are being addressed.

One never achieves absolute perfection when one introduces reform. We will not achieve absolute perfection when we introduce a major benefit to the city, to public transport and to the travelling public here. I admit readily that the problems which the Deputy has pointed out are there but let me say this. As they emerge, they are being addressed.

Of course, what Deputy Lahart calls the victim of its own success, Luas cross city, has, in fact, attracted an enormous number of people and the remedy for that, as the Deputy rightly pointed out, is that additional trams will be purchased, trams will be lengthened and we will see if that suffices to resolve the problem of over capacity. The problems of success are the problems we are talking about here and those problems are being and will be addressed seriously. However, the benefits of its success are more substantial. We will respond to both of these particular features of what has happened because of the introduction of the Luas.

The new line has placed an increased demand on the capacity of the College Green area, as the Deputy has pointed out, to cater for the volume of vehicles seeking to travel through this area and I am aware of the congestion issues which have been causing delays to some commuters during peak periods. The introduction of a completely new tram service in to Dublin city centre obviously requires a period of bedding in while all road users get familiar with, and adjust to, the new trams travelling on the central streets. We are not denying the problems the Deputy has pointed out. We are saying we are addressing them but that they are the problems of success.

Car drivers, bus drivers, taxi drivers, cyclists and pedestrians all have to acclimatise to the new street environment and the new traffic layouts. Teething difficulties are to be expected while that familiarisation process takes place.

As the Deputy may be aware, there is a proposal currently under consideration by An Bord Pleanála for a civic plaza at College Green to help relieve traffic congestion in the area. In the interim, the National Transport Authority has undertaken consultations with Dublin Bus and Dublin City Council on measures that could be undertaken to facilitate the more effective movement of traffic through College Green in advance of the determination by An Bord Pleanála of the College Green plaza proposals.

The NTA announced this afternoon the outcome of these consultations which involves a number of changes to Dublin Bus routes in the College Green-College Street area.

7 o’clock

The purpose of these changes is to reduce the number of buses passing through these streets and enable the more effective operation of this area. Therefore, from next week a number of Dublin Bus routes which currently travel through College Street and Westmoreland Street will instead be rerouted via Tara Street and Burgh Quay. None of the stop locations on these routes will change, so bus passengers will be unaffected. Also from next week, a number of limited stop services, known as X services, will be assigned to alternatives routes and removed from the College Green area. Some other routes will be assigned to other alignments. Details of the exact rerouting will be provided at the relevant bus stops and on the Transport for Ireland and Dublin Bus websites. The combined impact of the above two changes will reduce the number of Dublin Bus vehicles travelling through College Green by approximately 20%. This reduced volume will enable the traffic signalling system and junctions in this area to operate more effectively.

I am informed by the NTA that it is intended to monitor the above changes after their implementation to confirm they achieve the intended outcome. Following this review, should a further reduction in the number of vehicles travelling through this area become necessary, a number of other measures will be considered for implementation. I am confident that these initiatives will go a long way towards alleviating the congestion issues at College Green.

John Lahart (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Minister for his reply. He talks about the benefits of the success of the Luas cross city. Those benefits do not spread out to constituents of mine in Ballycullen, Scholarstown and Knocklyon because we are sandwiched between the red and green lines. That is a matter for another day but it is of significant and equal urgency. The Minister said the relevant authorities "are reacting". That is exactly what the Government is doing. It reacts and addresses the problems as they arise.

I am just a Joe Soap, an ordinary citizen. When the longer Luas trams are introduced, they will cross O'Connell Bridge every three minutes. Because they must clear the bridge, since they are longer than it, as the Minister knows, it will take between 55 seconds and 90 seconds for the Luas to cross O'Connell Bridge. If it takes a full 90 seconds to cross the bridge. That leaves one and a half minutes for all the traffic on both sides of the quays - including buses, which will have priority along with bicycles - to make its movements either across O'Connell Bridge or down the other side of the quays. That is even before private cars get to move. I therefore predict - I wish it were not so - that well in advance of 31 March, when longer Luas cross city trams are introduced, there will be chaos along the Dublin quays. This chaos is stretching right back and having a consequential impact on traffic coming from the suburbs north, south and west. Therefore, that the Minister says the authorities "are reacting" once problems arise is the very kernel of the issue.

One need not be a rocket scientist to have predicted that the success of Luas cross city, which I absolutely acknowledge, would have significant knock-on effects on pedestrians, cyclists, motorists, car users and buses. This simply does not seem to have been anticipated by the people who make plans for this city. This is before we even mention the chronic traffic congestion and gridlock building up on the M50, in the suburbs and in places such as I mentioned because of a chronic shortage of bus services in some cases, as in Ballycullen, Scholarstown, Knocklyon and other such areas. The situation cries out for forward planning, which is why I mention the Dublin transport advisory council. Given the fact that the Minister's Government has stated it will be six years before we get to consider a directly elected mayor, a director of traffic for Dublin, both city and the county, is very seriously and badly needed.

Shane Ross (Dublin Rathdown, Independent)
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I will not be repetitive but I will tell the Deputy that we acknowledge the problems he pointed out. What we dispute is the way he lays out the facts. He talks with great alacrity about predictions of chaos. "Chaos" is the word he used. That is great drama.

John Lahart (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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It is not drama. It is factual.

Shane Ross (Dublin Rathdown, Independent)
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The Deputy's definition of chaos and mine may differ. He then throws in the kitchen sink. We get from the subject of this Topical Issue matter-----

John Lahart (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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It is connected.

Shane Ross (Dublin Rathdown, Independent)
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-----which is to discuss College Green, to his own constituency, which he cannot leave out, and which is quite a long way from College Green-----

John Lahart (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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It is connected.

Shane Ross (Dublin Rathdown, Independent)
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-----and then to the M50 and everywhere else. I do not blame him for doing this. It is his job.

John Lahart (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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It is all connected.

Shane Ross (Dublin Rathdown, Independent)
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His job is to bring services into his constituency. However, we are talking about the congestion at College Green. Then he says there is no vision. I do not know what he means by that. Part of the vision is the Luas cross city. It is not a bad vision and it is also a reality. I do not know whether the Deputy has heard of BusConnects. Perhaps he has not.

John Lahart (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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I have.

Shane Ross (Dublin Rathdown, Independent)
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Some €790 million is promised for BusConnects-----

John Lahart (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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When?

Shane Ross (Dublin Rathdown, Independent)
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-----in the coming four years. That is a huge amount of money. That is part-----

John Lahart (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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Tell that to the people in Ballycullen.

Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Ceann Comhairle)
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Deputy, please.

Shane Ross (Dublin Rathdown, Independent)
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Deputy Lahart said there is no vision. The vision is there. The Deputy should tell it to the people of Ballycullen because BusConnects will happen.

John Lahart (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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When?

Shane Ross (Dublin Rathdown, Independent)
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The money is committed-----

John Lahart (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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When?

Shane Ross (Dublin Rathdown, Independent)
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-----and the project has started. There is a cycling budget. Is the Deputy aware of that?

John Lahart (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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I am very aware of it.

Shane Ross (Dublin Rathdown, Independent)
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Cycling infrastructure has been enormously improved and enhanced.

John Lahart (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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Where?

Shane Ross (Dublin Rathdown, Independent)
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Some €110 million is promised for cycling in the coming three or four years.

John Lahart (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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In the coming-----

Shane Ross (Dublin Rathdown, Independent)
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That is a huge amount of money and a huge commitment.

John Lahart (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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A huge commitment?

Shane Ross (Dublin Rathdown, Independent)
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That is part of the vision, but I do not-----

Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Ceann Comhairle)
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I ask Deputy Lahart to show a little respect.

Shane Ross (Dublin Rathdown, Independent)
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Perhaps the Deputy could stop interrupting every sentence. Perhaps he could leave me two sentences-----

John Lahart (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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I will.

Shane Ross (Dublin Rathdown, Independent)
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-----for every one he interrupts. Would that be all right?

John Lahart (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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I apologise, a Cheann Comhairle.

Shane Ross (Dublin Rathdown, Independent)
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Elsewhere, has Deputy Lahart heard of metro north?

John Lahart (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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I have.

Shane Ross (Dublin Rathdown, Independent)
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That is part of the vision. It is a big vision. It is a vision of over €2 billion and it is a commitment. Has the Deputy heard that we will introduce a DART expansion programme?

John Lahart (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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When?

Shane Ross (Dublin Rathdown, Independent)
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That is part of the vision. These things will not come tomorrow morning-----

John Lahart (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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They certainly will not.

Shane Ross (Dublin Rathdown, Independent)
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-----but visions do not come immediately. That is part of the vision, and another part of the vision is already there in the Luas cross city. When part of the vision is actually implemented, the first thing I will hear the Deputy come back and say is that there is something else happening that I did not anticipate and that it is all a complete mess. It is not. It is co-ordinated, it is integrated and it will work.

Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Ceann Comhairle)
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That concludes the debate on that matter.

John Lahart (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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It is clearly not co-ordinated.

Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Ceann Comhairle)
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Deputy, please.

John Lahart (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Ceann Comhairle.

Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Ceann Comhairle)
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It is great to see Deputy Lahart's enthusiasm for these topics. Deputy Clare Daly wishes to discuss the outsourcing of work and the loss of jobs at Aer Lingus.