Alex White (Labour)

I ask the Leader to invite the Minister for Transport to the House for a debate on the proposals of the consultation document he has published in respect of public transport and transport strategies. I am particularly interested in Dublin city but it is clearly a national question and a crisis that affects the entire country.

It is commendable that the consultation document appears to finally grasp the nettle in seriously encouraging alternatives to the car and private motor transport. The difficulty is that although the document is to be welcomed, it is a consultation document. We have reached the stage in our development where we have had a great deal of consultation. As welcome as this is, we have had plenty of it. What we now seek and what is required is action.

I saw a survey from my own area around Rathfarnham and Terenure recently which indicated that more than 90% of children in some primary schools are driven there. That is an extraordinary figure for children living in the suburbs. It is almost unheard of now for children to cycle to school and few walk there. This is the sort of challenge with which we are dealing and the Minister is right to put the subject out for discussion. I would like a debate in this House, where the Minister could indicate his opinion and the rest of us could put forward our proposals for concrete action to deal with this challenge, rather than simply having a further level of consultation.

One important aspect of this issue is the question of the metro and the Luas. For example, there is a major question mark over the capacity of the current Luas line to Sandyford at this stage, as trams are full at peak hours and throughout the day. There is significant pressure on the system. We need to think big in respect of public transport and the metro. We are building a metro to the airport and tunnelling in the city centre. Let us extend that to the Cherrywood line and have a proper system of heavy rail provision for public transport in the city. It is not enough for the Minister to say he will not provide extra buses for the city, as the Labour Party advocated in the last election because he is afraid they will sit idle in Parnell Square. Why are buses sitting idle in Parnell Square? Since I was a child I have noticed buses idle in Parnell Square. Why can that not be addressed? The Minister was commendably honest today in saying there had been a failure of policy in respect of the Government's climate strategy. That outbreak of frankness and honesty on his part is good. It is coupled with an equally honest and frank statement by the Deputy Leader of this House in recent days in which he made clear in public his concerns about events connected with the Taoiseach. What was wrong with Senator Boyle's comment that his party leadership had to disown it?