Ivor Callely (Dublin North Central, Fianna Fail)

I appreciate the Senators' statements on the public transport facilities in Dublin and the future plans. Several issues were raised and I will try to respond quickly to some of them. I thank my friend and colleague, Senator Fitzgerald, for his contribution. He asked a relevant question about the planning and appeal process and in particular its costs. I cannot give a total figure for those costs. The appeal process delayed the Glen of the Downs project, and the additional costs, not of the appeal process but of the road project, were in excess of €40 million for a relatively small section of road fairly quickly completed. One recognises, as the Senator does, the right of an individual or a community to appeal should they feel threatened. However, in light of the Senators' comments my officials and I will reconsider this matter to see if there is another mechanism that might assist us to roll out these projects without undue delay, while acknowledging people's right to appeal.

I am delighted we are having this debate. I congratulate my colleague, the Taoiseach, on his foresight in appointing a Minister of State in the Department of Transport with particular responsibility for Dublin and some of the other regions and cities where there are congestion problems. I do not say that because I happen to be a beneficiary of that decision in so far as I received the appointment. I say it because of the need to address some of the issues raised tonight. I am particularly pleased also as a "Dub" to be in the Department of Transport dealing with transport issues in Dublin.

There has been an unprecedented level of expenditure and investment in public transport in the past few years. I concur with Senator Morrissey's remarks on Dublin Bus. He mentioned the infrastructure bottlenecks and I will try to address some of these pinch points where there are serious problems. He said in effect we are either for public transport or private motorists. I differ from him on that point.

Senator Ormonde described the difficulty she had coming into the city to collect a large parcel for which she needed her car. I am trying to achieve the appropriate mix and get it right. We must accommodate the private motorists and ensure that they feel they are being accommodated. We must also give the commuters or the people coming to work the opportunity to decide which suits them best, their private cars or public transport. To do this we need to roll out several projects.

Our rail, bus and road networks need to be fully integrated and we must address issues concerning the quality bus corridors which proved successful early on. There are difficulties regarding bunching of buses and their flow. I have met all the operators in the greater Dublin area in the past few weeks since my appointment, including the quality bus network project office, to address some of the issues that will ensure the continuing momentum of the success of the network. Some new innovative measures may be needed.

Integrated ticketing, in particular a smart card system, is very important. This will enable passengers to hop on or off whatever part of the public transport network they are using and perhaps collect their cars in the park and ride facility. It will not even be necessary to fumble for the smart card because it will work from one's pocket. This will be a great system and I am anxious to roll it out very rapidly.

There is some work to be done on the policy associated with park and ride and who is responsible for the development and who will fund it. There is a mix of people involved in it now, including the local authority and the service provider, depending on who has the landbanks.

The smart card is part of the new intelligence systems available in cars. One no longer uses a key to open the door, the system will detect the card and disarm and unlock automatically. The same applies to intelligent transport systems. If we take an innovative approach to many of the issues raised by the Senators, whether traffic jams, vehicle heights or other problems, and think outside the box about what can be introduced to deal with congestion issues we can solve each of those problems.

The metro and the linking of the Luas lines are on the table and will progress to a satisfactory conclusion. I look forward to working with the House to address several of the issues raised in the best interests of the citizens and the economy of Dublin city.