Tom Morrissey (Progressive Democrats)

I welcome the Minister of State at the Department of Transport, Deputy Callely, and I look forward to having good working relations with him and the Minister for Transport, Deputy Cullen.

The Minister stated earlier that public transport in Dublin faces a number of challenges. That is certainly the case. I am a fan of Dublin Bus and of public transport in general. There has been a great deal of discussion about Luas but people had better realise that even if the system operates at five minute headways on the Tallaght red line, it will only carry a mere 2,000 people between Heuston and Connolly stations at peak hours. There are currently 132 buses on the quays each morning, the routes of which run parallel to the transport corridor for the Luas for 100 yards. These vehicles carry many more passengers than the Luas. Operated by Dublin Bus, private operators and Bus Éireann, all of these buses converge at that point having travelled along Conyngham Road from the west and are obliged to fight for every inch of road space on the quays. The bus lane on the quays is called a QBC but it is not a QBC.

Dublin Bus has invested in 1,200 buses under the national development plan. The company is on record as stating that it would have 200 buses over and above the number it would require if the problem of congestion on our streets was resolved. It costs €50 million to buy 200 buses. I attended a lunch recently at which it was stated that the Small Firms Association estimates that congestion is costing businesses €1 billion. The real figure in that regard is anybody's guess. How long can this be allowed to continue?

We must give serious consideration to the position of Dublin Bus and the way people are transported. We should call QBCs what they really are, namely, bus lanes. There are possibly one or two QBCs but, as Senator Norris stated, they run, like Luas and the DART, mainly on the southside. I have in my possession the QBC monitoring data for November 2003 which was supplied to the steering committee. It refers, on every line, to the Stillorgan QBC and states that if one wants further information, one can obtain it on request. I am not surprised that it is not published and only available on request. When one reads the figures relating to the Blanchardstown QBC, one realises that the name is a misnomer. Blanchardstown as the worst performing QBC. According to the figures, one will get to Bachelor's Walk from Blanchardstown if one travels by car and not by bus. This is despite the fact that capacity on the Blanchardstown route has increased by 50 or 60 buses since 1997. However, the population of that area has increased very significantly. The average speed of a bus travelling on the route at the River Road is 13.92 kph.The position is worse out towards Clonee andin the estates of Clonsilla, Laurel Lodge andCastleknock where the termini are to be found.

It has taken a great deal of time to put QBCs in place but these are not monitored by the police. A QBC was put in place on my estate last December and it is a disgrace to see how it is flaunted each morning. Buses are actually blocked from moving along it. Before the advent of the QBC, they had a better chance of making progress. The Garda does not monitor the QBCs.

I am seeking a more realistic consideration of the infrastructural deficits in our QBC network. As politicians, we will be obliged to take difficult decisions about QBCs in our areas and direct that bottlenecks should be removed in order that buses can travel their routes. We are either in favour of public transport or in favour of private motorists.

In terms of Irish Rail, I am of the view that there is a solution for the north side of Dublin and, as a knock-on effect, for inter-city services also. Last Saturday, my party adopted the Irish Rail commuter plan which is currently on the Minister's desk. I believe it is the only party to do so. It was presented to the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Transport by Joe Maher of Irish Rail last February. Why are we not running with this plan, which has undergone its feasibility study through the DTO model? It takes two years from the day it is bought to the day it is delivered for a carriage to go into service. Commuters expect that one can buy a carriage off the shelf. It is not as easy as that. Decisions taken now will not relieve the situation for two or three years. We must be realistic.

The Irish Rail plan, which will increase the number of commuters from the current figure of 22,000 to 122,000, must be implemented. The advantages of the plan are simple. There is a rail line from Maynooth to Dublin which runs parallel to the N3 and which is grossly under-utilised. There is also a line which runs in from Kildare parallel to the N7. The latter is blocked each day with cars at the Red Cow roundabout. If there was a proper rail system running into the city from Newbridge, Kildare, the Dunboyne-Clonee area, Drogheda and Arklow, congestion on our roads would be relieved. The Luas has proved one thing, namely, if there is a reliable and frequent service, customers will flock to it. As stated earlier, however, even if the Luas were to operate at five minute headways, its impact would not be as great as that offered by the alternatives.

People have asked for a cultural change on the part of motorists. In that context there should be a cultural change within Departments. I recently submitted an Adjournment debate matter on the extension of the travel saver ticket which is tax-efficient for both employer and employee. I received a reply from the Department of Finance which beggars belief. It stated that if it was further extended to allow employees buy tickets directly themselves, it would suggest the introduction of some sort of direct tax relief for all. It further stated that the extension of the scheme in this way would have serious cost implications for the Exchequer. I believe that is incorrect. If the employee was buying the ticket directly, there would be no employer or side component, which is the case when the employer buys the ticket. The reply further states that it would also place a significant administrative burden on local offices of the Revenue Commissioners who must process the relief for employees. Such an attitude must change. People are being encouraged to leave their cars and use buses and are not allowed tax relief because of cost implications for the Revenue Commissioners. What are the current cost implications of traffic congestion? I ask the Minister of State to examine this matter in the context of the forthcoming budget.

The Minister has been poorly advised on the matter of the Dublin Port tunnel.