Pat Gallagher (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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The following motion was moved by Deputy John Lahart on Tuesday, 20 February 2017:

That Dáil Éireann:

notes:— the increased investment in the Luas;

— the introduction of Luas Cross City;

— the extra carriages to meet demands on the Luas;

— the large number of suburbs, towns and villages in the Dublin region that do not have Luas, Dublin Area Rapid Transit, DART, or dedicated public transport corridors;

— the recent national planning framework and national development plan which contains very long-term measures in public transport infrastructure;

— that Dublin is the fifteenth most congested city in the world;

— the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport’s analysis of the cost of congestion is now about €350 million per annum in terms of lost productivity and time;

— that, by 2033, this could reach €2 billion; and

— that cyclists, pedestrians, commercial traffic, private motorists and public transport users are all suffering as a consequence of city and suburban congestion; condemns:— the lack of forward planning to allow for the introduction of Luas Cross City;

— the latest traffic chaos in Dublin city centre and surrounding routes as a result of the above;

— the delays on the M50 at peak times, which is impacting negatively on commuters' quality of life;

— the backlogs of traffic on College Green and overall traffic in Dublin city centre, in particular the impact of the extra carriages;

— the lack of bus connections and adequate public transport corridors in large suburban areas in Dublin;

— the unnecessary bottlenecks caused on the quays due to lack of proper planning for the Luas extension;

— the negative impact on people’s lives this traffic chaos is causing;

— the delays it is having on buses bringing thousands to work on a daily basis;

— the lack of investment in extra buses to meet public demands;

— the lack of park and ride facilities on DART and Luas lines; and

— the complete lack of investment in park and rides for buses; andcalls for:— short to medium-term policy changes to get routes into and in Dublin moving again;

— the improvement of all public service routes into and in Dublin to increase usage;

— an increase to the number of feeder buses to the Luas and DART;

— an increase to the number of buses at peak times;

— quality bus corridors and bicycle routes to be increased;

— more buses to be supplied to access Dublin city centre and decrease the use of cars;

— more investment to supply more park and rides earlier on bus routes on the N11, N3, N7 and N4;

— the electrification of the Maynooth and M3 Parkway commuter service line;

— proper demographic planning to deliver efficient and independent public transport infrastructure into and in Dublin city centre;

— immediate investment to increase carpark facilities at train stations;

— the introduction of incentives for utilising park and rides further out on bus and rail routes; and

— the usage of the River Liffey to assist with inner city bottlenecks as is done in other European cities.

Pat Gallagher (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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I must now deal with a postponed division relating to amendment No. 1 to the motion regarding Dublin traffic on Tuesday, 20 February 2017. On the question that the amendment to the motion be agreed to, a division was claimed and in accordance with Standing Order 70(2), that division must be taken now.