John Ellis (Fianna Fail)

I cannot understand why the Senator has not given credit for the new rail cars provided for the Dublin-Sligo line, which serves much of County Westmeath and which has now probably one of the best services other than that from Dublin to Cork. Credit should be given for that.

When we examine Transport 21 as a whole it is important for people to realise what was our starting point. We must increasingly invest in public rail, roads and other public services in respect of transport if we are to improve what we have. We have all seen enormous improvements put in place over the past number of years.

I wish to refer to a number of aspects that concern my part of the country before dealing with Luas and metro and the other matters that affect all who come into Dublin. There has been enormous investment in the roads infrastructure. We have seen projects delivered on time and now coming in under budget. The NRA is to be complimented for the way in which it has upped its game in recent times in comparison with the early operation of some of its projects. We now see projects delivered as they should be and credit is due to Mr. Fred Barry and the team around him in the NRA. They are delivering well ahead of time on many projects, for instance on the M4. I saw one project local to me, the by-pass of Dromod and Rooskey, which was delivered recently ten months ahead of time and under budget. These are the benefits coming from some of our road projects.

The project that most people have dealings with is probably the M50. While this might not be progressing as quickly as everyone would wish there are now definite times concerning completion. We will also have barrier-free tolling by the second half of this year. These are very important issues for people.

We must also look to the future concerning the road infrastructure as a whole. The proposals of last week for an outer relief road for Dublin, stretching from either Drogheda or Dundalk down to a point south of Naas point up what must be done if we are to have efficient road transport for the haulage industry. By doing such we would make a double contribution. We would save with regard to time spent on these routes and emissions would also be reduced.

We are in a country where it is more important to load goods onto a truck than to use rail. Anybody who knows about using rail for heavy goods will understand that bar a minimum journey of 600 miles, it is inefficient. This might be sad to state but it is inefficient because of the costs of hauling to a station, loading and unloading. This is why so many of our goods are transported by road. It will always be the position in this country.

The Luas has been a tremendous success and the proposed extensions are to be welcomed. In doing this, I hope we will not have the same problems with regard to its construction as we did previously. Parts of the city remained dug up for far longer periods than was necessary. The RPA will no doubt take this into consideration because it was raised by many Members of both Houses. We do not want to see it happening again. We understand St. Stephen's Green will become a building site for a while and we must accept this. However, I hope proper arrangements will be made to allow traffic to move freely on other routes rather than having to go around the green during the construction. When complete, the joining up of all the rail services in the city will be of enormous benefit to commuters. It will mean somebody can go to a park and ride facility on the outskirts of the city and know they can get from A to B without having to walk for two miles or change from rail to bus.

We have seen enormous improvements in bus services and the quality of the bus fleet. This is welcome and will make a major contribution to the provision of services. I note from the Minister of State's speech the increase in the number of buses provided this year. If we continue at this level we will encourage people to get out of their cars and use public transport provided it is efficient and that we will not end up with people jammed into buses with standing room only. Thank God this seems to have disappeared. Bus Éireann is to be complimented on how well it runs the intercity services. They are run efficiently and on time, which is important to people who use them.

Major investment has been made in rail services with the provision of welded rail and the improvement of rolling stock. No line has seen more of this than the one which goes from my neck of the woods to Dublin, namely, the Dublin to Sligo line. The improvement in this line is justified by the extra services provided and the increase in passengers using it and everybody welcomes this. It has increased by approximately 15% to 20% over the past 12 months.

Senator McFadden mentioned joining up western rail services with those from Dublin. The western rail corridor, as proposed, will make a major contribution to providing a national rail service. At present, if one wants to travel by rail to Limerick, one must first go to Dublin and then change train. Once the western rail corridor is completed, it will mean one can travel from Sligo to Limerick or Cork.

Any morning or evening in any station in the city one can see that the number commuters who have switched from car or bus to rail is phenomenal. If one passes Heuston Station or Connolly Station when a train comes in one will see the number of people using the services. Many people arrive into Connolly and then take the Luas to Heuston Station and around the city. However, it will never be efficient until the metro is in place——