Joe O'Toole (Independent)

There are acres of space in Senator Morrissey's new constituency, where the Minister of State could also help him out by putting in a park and ride facility at the airport end.

There is the proposal, which also relates to Senator Morrissey's constituency, to extend the Metro to Swords, where one could provide a generous sized park and ride facility. Part of the problem with the airport is the result of cars going into it and that will be exacerbated next year when the port tunnel opens because all the trucks will go back up the M50. That will add to the difficulty.

We need what the Taoiseach suggested eight or nine months ago, an outer ring road. I also agree with him on this. Senator Morrissey also mentioned this. Why not just do it? It is clear that we need it. It is only a matter of where to route it, from Drogheda through Slane to Naas, or wherever. It is merely a matter of taking a look at the map. I could find four different places where it might go. There is plenty of land out there. One need only start buying it up and doing it. Why are we not moving on this? An outer ring road would take pressure off the M50 in a way that nothing else can, so that traffic travelling routes such as Cork to Belfast, Limerick to Belfast and Galway to Cork could turn off the Dublin road a long way outside the city. That is what we need to do.

There should be a park and ride facility at all of the main arteries into the city. There is none on the northside. There is none on the Blanchardstown road, there is none on the Navan Road, there is none on the Ashbourne Road and there is none on the airport road. Perhaps there is one in the Minister of State's constituency — I am not familiar with the coast road. I do not know of any park and ride facility on the Dublin northside.

How can it work? People manage through grace and favour. Many of the public houses on the northside will allow people park their cars there before flagging down a bus in the morning but that will not last much longer. It boils down to the fact that if there is a swift efficient service, people will use it. Such a service is not provided. Many of the problems are not as huge as we are making them out to be. Traffic priority in some places is the issue. Park and ride would be a significant issue, as would ensuring a bus service runs continually up until midnight.

The other issue involves the trains. I welcome this morning's proposal about Kildare. I spoke here in the presence of a Minister in a debate on the national development plan before it was published some seven years ago and we were told the Navan line would be open in no time. They have not even put a spade in the ground. These are the kinds of difficulties we need to look at. I would be delighted to be proven wrong on it but, as far as I know, there has been no work on it. I am sure Senator Wilson would be happy enough, in that we could then talk about extending it from Navan to Cavan. It all is there and it all can be done. There is no reason we cannot look at these matters.

I wholeheartedly agree with the points Senator Kitt made last Thursday, and other points made over the past week or so, about the need to put in place the western corridor. That relates to traffic outside of Dublin and hardly relates to the Clare Street Initiative. We do not know what the Clare Street Initiative is about. Perhaps the Minister of State might look upon me as a fourth class primary school child and explain in simple terms what it will do, who will do it, who will pay for it and how it will be done.