Frances Fitzgerald (Fine Gael)

I welcome the opportunity to speak on this Bill. I represent an area where traffic gridlock and lack of transport infrastructure has serious consequences for commuters every day, whether people are stuck in gridlock in Lucan village, held up on the M50 motorway, or there is no space available on the new trains arriving at Adamstown station. Transport gridlock is a serious issue for the people of Dublin Mid-West, as I am sure the Minister, Deputy Dempsey, is aware.

The Bill should have been published and in place a long time ago and it is disappointing to see it appearing at a time of increased economic pressures. Many people will feel the transport issues which bedevil the capital city and surrounding areas are matters that should have been dealt with when more money was available, our finances were in better shape and the investment could have been made more easily. It would have been good to have had a Dublin transport authority to examine what was happening in the Dublin area before now.

I welcome the Bill and the thinking behind it. Much work has been done to bring it before the Houses. I agree with Senator Donohoe that it is a shame the Bill is being rushed because of the changed circumstances and the formation of a new Government. We would have welcomed more time to consider amendments rather than having to bring them in next week.

It is a welcome development to have an authority that will co-ordinate transport in the Dublin area. Everyone in the House knows that competition, rivalry and jealousies have bedevilled the development of transport in Dublin. This has led to a lack of co-ordination between the responsible bodies, whether it is the bus services linking with Luas or the lack of co-ordination between other bodies. There has not been the sort of co-ordination necessary to develop effective services for commuters in Dublin. The hope is that this new authority will be in a position to co-ordinate the transport needs of the capital city and I hope this will be possible. Much will depend on the relationships that are developed and the power this authority has over the different bodies. I ask the Minister, Deputy Dempsey, to address this issue and to explain how he sees this working in practice.

There has been a lack of co-ordination and communication between the relevant bodies in the transport sector in Dublin, leading to a very poor service for the commuter. It has led to bus lanes with no buses for long periods, which I saw in my area, and delays in development plans. Given the economic success we have had over the past ten years, what has been created in Dublin in terms of transport has been disappointing. A co-ordinating body is necessary to deal effectively with the transport needs of the capital city.

Will the Minister explain how Transport 21 will be integrated into the work of the new authority? I note the authority will be asked to create a new strategy and outline plans for transport in Dublin. I have concerns about the timeframe for this and I ask the Minister to state what timeframe he sees for the production of these reports from the new authority. The nightmare scenario would be the production of more reports rather than their implementation. Will the Minister reassure the House on the implementation role of the authority? I assume it will have the power, influence and financial resources to carry out its role, which has not happened to date with the various bodies responsible for transport in Dublin. Will the Minister address the implementation of plans, co-ordination of the transport service providers and the financial power that he expects this authority to have to carry out its function?

The Minister pays much attention to the link between transport and planning in this Bill and the power in the legislation to ensure there is a link between transport needs and planning development in a given area.

The link between transport needs and the planning of developments in a given area has been a significant issue but there does not seem to have been any integrated approach taken to development and to transport needs. Large numbers of people have been completely inconvenienced and their daily lives have been made a misery by the lack of integration between the development plans of commuter areas by county councils and the lack of transport. The Bill pays attention to this issue and I wish to hear the Minister's views on how this will work. The Minister referred to the authority having the power to buy land, to order local authorities to integrate transport. I would like information about the mechanisms to make this happen as this could make a real difference.

If a new bridge is needed across the River Liffey how will the new transport authority ensure it is built? What will be the relationship between the transport authority, Dublin City Council and the other councils that might have an interest in this? Will the authority be relying on a good relationship with the county councils or will it be able to implement such a decision?

This Bill is long overdue. Co-ordination between the various transport bodies is essential. I regret the Minister is not bringing forward the legislation on competition in bus transport. I ask him to give the House an indication of when he plans to introduce such legislation.