Dáil debates

Wednesday, 11 May 2022

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate

Traffic Management

9:22 am

Photo of Holly CairnsHolly Cairns (Cork South West, Social Democrats)
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Drimoleague is a vibrant village in west Cork with a very active community. However, the speed and scale of traffic going through the village is a major safety concern. Its location on one of the main roads in west Cork means it has considerable through traffic. Residents are especially concerned about the safety of children, older residents and people with disabilities, as well as the overall quality of life. Unfortunately, this issue is found in villages across Cork South-West, from Belgooly to Kealkill. I have raised the matter with the Minister for Transport before. There is a pressing need for measures to change driver behaviour in villages and towns.

I am raising Drimoleague specifically because local campaigners are highlighting the need for immediate interventions to prevent injury or death. They are taking a proactive approach with the development of well-researched plans for improving the safety and appearance of the area. Their report has identified issues around speeding, poor footpath quality, lack of accessibility features and inadequate road conditions. A survey of 50 households in and around the village revealed the scale of the issues involved. Almost three quarters of people were aware of incidents involving vulnerable people that resulted in an injury or potential injury as a result of speeding traffic or poor conditions on the roads and footpaths.

Based on this work and thorough discussion, these campaigners are proposing traffic calming measures in line with the Department of Transport's traffic management guidelines to prevent injuries or worse. The plan includes additional zebra crossings, especially for schoolchildren, an enforced 30 km/h speed limit, a roundabout at a dangerous junction and a complete overhaul of the road markings, which are essentially non-existent in most of the village. It is a very strong and clear proposal that highlights the immediate needs and passion of the community.

It is a pity the Minister for Transport, Deputy Eamon Ryan, is not here as I would like to have given him a copy of it, although it should not be necessary. There is a strong desire in the community to work with the council and the Department to resolve these issues.

This group has also placed a strong emphasis on accessibility. Its survey identified a portion of the local population with a disability or access needs, including older people, wheelchair users and people with visual impairments. Poor quality footpaths and road surfaces impact on their capacity to leave the house, socialise and participate in the community. Better quality infrastructure will help improve active transport measures. For example, the school is on one side of the village but most of the newer housing is on the other side of it. Students want to be able to walk to school but they need safe infrastructure to be able to do that.

Last year, as part of a consultation I did with primary schools in my area for the county development plan, the main priority identified by the young people was the capacity to travel safely to school, either walking or cycling. More broadly, these safety concerns and poor infrastructure are impacting on quality of life in the village. When it affects children being allowed out or people with reduced mobility going to the post office, it starts to threaten the economic viability of local services, including the pharmacy and shops.

This is a case where a clear need has been identified by a local community and it has developed the required solutions. It has a plan and a passion to improve Drimoleague. It is also eager to work with Cork County Council and the Department to implement this plan. What assurances can the Minister of State give the people of Drimoleague that the Department of Transport will work with them and the council on these issues? What will the Department do to ensure it is fulfilling its obligations? The approach whereby communities have to go above and beyond to get the bare minimum has to stop.

9:32 am

Photo of Seán FlemingSeán Fleming (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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I thank Deputy Cairns for the opportunity to address this matter in the House. I am speaking on behalf of the Minister for Transport, Deputy Eamon Ryan, and the Minister of State, Deputy Naughton, who is also in the Department of Transport.

It is important to note the Government is funding active travel at an unprecedented scale. It has allocated €460 million per annum to support infrastructure that makes walking and cycling safer and more attractive for journeys to work and school and for all types of journeys all over the country. Much of this work will lead, as a by-product, to the calming of motorised traffic. Narrowing roads, installing cycle tracks, whether fully or partially segregated, contra-flow cycling routes and one-way systems for vehicular traffic can all play a part in slowing down traffic, thus making it safer for those walking, wheeling and cycling in our cities, towns and villages. As part of that funding, we are also specifically supporting the safe routes to schools programme, which was opened to all schools to apply to for funding. Unfortunately, it seems no application was made by the school in Drimoleague for this funding support. There is a special scheme for schools regarding safe routes to schools and it appears the school did not submit an application to the Department under that scheme.

Funding is generally not the issue it was in previous years given the level of funding we are making available. Through the National Transport Authority, funding of more than €20 million was allocated to Cork County Council earlier this year. This shows the commitment of the Government to supporting active travel in County Cork. I understand from the National Transport Authority that an application was made by Cork County Council to support works in Drimoleague but given the sheer volume of applications for funding made by Cork County Council, it was determined the work would be progressed in the future rather than in the first phase of projects in this calendar year. An exceptionally high number of applications were received from Cork and these need to be assessed with a view to having a clear line of projects in place for the coming year. I further understand a number of projects completed in Drimoleague in recent times were funded through various schemes, including CLÁR and the National Transport Authority.

Active travel funding is not the only funding available to address the issues identified in Drimoleague. There is also the safety improvement scheme. It must be remembered the improvement and maintenance of regional and local roads are the statutory responsibility of each local authority in accordance with the provisions of the Roads Act 1993. Works on these roads are funded from local authorities' own resources supplemented by State road grants. The initial selection and prioritisation of works to be funded are also a matter for the local authority.

Local authorities can apply under the Department's regional and local road grant programme for funding for safety works. Applications for funding of lower cost improvement works under the Department's safety improvement scheme are invited in order of priority on an annual basis for consideration for funding in the subsequent year. In submitting projects for consideration, local authorities are required to set out the collision history of the works site and outline how the proposed project would reduce accidents or address a hazard. Individual projects costing in excess of €200,000 are outside the scope of this scheme and fall to be considered under the specific improvement grant scheme. To date, I understand no application under the safety improvement grant scheme has been received from Cork County Council for works in Drimoleague.

Essentially, I have announced four or five, or perhaps five or six, different streams of funding available across Departments. Under some of those headings, applications have not been submitted to date. There is an opportunity, especially for the school, to submit an application to the local authority, but no application has been received by the Department at this stage.

Photo of Holly CairnsHolly Cairns (Cork South West, Social Democrats)
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I thank the Minister of State for his reply. I am raising this matter because of the urgency involved. As I said, dedicated locals in Drimoleague have highlighted the issues and now the council and the Department of Transport need to act to prevent injuries or fatalities and improve the quality of life in the village.

I thank the Minister of State for recommending the safety improvement scheme. I know Cork County Council has applied for other funding streams but we will ask the school to submit an application under that scheme. However, the larger problem is the manner in which important safety issues like this are resolved. Communities are directed towards particular schemes all the time rather than being assured of very basic infrastructure. Good quality footpaths and roads should be the minimum communities can expect. Residents and businesses pay their taxes, including property tax, specifically for these services. Too often, communities essentially need to compete for funding and apply to all these different schemes. The Minister of State mentioned six such schemes. When funding is awarded under a scheme every Deputy and Senator tries to claim credit for securing it.

Last year, I raised the issue of vehicles speeding through Kealkill village, which has no road markings or crossings for schoolchildren. It is only thanks to a particular scheme that those problems will now be addressed. Relying on communities to lobby for funding from these schemes is not a sustainable way to ensure road safety or equal opportunities for villages to access funding. These are bare minimum and basic safety measures.

The role of the Department of Transport is key here, as it sets the standards. There must also be more effective enforcement processes. Ultimately, people pay their property tax and expect the bare minimum. The Minister of State referred to funding that Drimoleague has secured. That was for a tiny extension of a footpath, which is not something we should have great fanfare about. The community deserves so much more than that, as do all communities.

Photo of Seán FlemingSeán Fleming (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Deputy for her contribution to this discussion. Safety is at the heart of what we seek to achieve with our investment in transport. It behoves all road users to concentrate, consider all other road users, slow down and be observant. In the wider context of road safety, this is set out in the Government’s fifth road safety strategy, the implementation of which the Road Safety Authority has overall responsibility. On 15 December 2021, the Government and the Road Safety Authority launched Ireland’s road safety strategy for 2021 to 2030, along with the associated action plan for the first phase running from 2021 to 2024. The programme for Government makes a commitment to introduce an ambitious road safety strategy targeting the vision zero principle. We will introduce a road safety strategy focused on reducing death and injuries of vulnerable road users, pedestrians and cyclists.

The conversation I have had with the Deputy this morning was instructive. Most counties have found there is such a variety of schemes in place that dealing with them is a full-time job for a number of people in local authorities. We are only speaking about roads, for which there are six schemes. That same can apply to housing and playgrounds. I often think there needs to be more joining-up with respect to these schemes. A council could apply for funding under four schemes but there may be another scheme under which it did not submit an application. I would ask the local authorities to make sure any time anything is put in under any particular aspect that those concerned are made aware of the full range of schemes that could contribute to what is required and to submit applications under all of them. As we will all be aware, some schemes are allocated good funding while with respect to other schemes funding is not applied for under them. Due to the number of schemes in place, there is a need for good co-ordination in applying for funds under these schemes.