Joe O'Toole (Independent)

I wish to share my time with Senator Pearse Doherty. I welcome the Minister of State and wish him well in his new portfolio and hope it goes well for him. It is a challenging role to play. I would like to say a few positive and negative things.

I support the positive moves mentioned by Senator Martin Brady. There is no doubt the extra trains are welcome, as are the new roads being built within deadlines. I also welcome the speed with which the approval was given recently for the Navan rail line as far as Dunboyne. That is a vindication of the new urgent infrastructural legislation.

Having discussed transport in the House in recent weeks, we should keep in mind that rail transport in Ireland is as good as rail transport anywhere in Europe, despite what many people think. Rail travel here is cheaper than in most countries in Europe. While rail travel may be cheaper in Spain and Italy, rail transport in Ireland is significantly cheaper than in the UK, France and most other European countries. Recently I checked out the cost of rail travel in the UK and found that to travel on a same-day return ticket from King's Cross to York or Northampton, more or less the same distance as from Heuston to Tralee, would cost me £200, whereas the return ticket for Tralee would have cost just €35. I would urge people to be aware of this when they promote privatisation. It does not work well in the United Kingdom.

I would like to inform the Minister of State of some of the faults with regard to our transport system. I drive into work each morning on the N2, but I would like to be able to leave my car at home. On the odd day I take the bus, it drops me outside the House or in Abbey Street and I am happy with that. The problem, however, is that I cannot rely on the bus, the reason being that not enough buses are available and they often get caught in traffic. I refer to the Bus Éireann service rather than Dublin Bus. The service is excellent when it works, but if it is not reliable, people cannot take the chance on it.

A more serious matter is that there are no park and ride facilities available on any of the main routes into Dublin city, which is disgraceful. There are no park and ride facilities where the N3 reaches Blanchardstown, the N2 reaches Finglas or the N1 reaches Swords. There is plenty of space available around the M50 where park and ride facilities could be easily provided, but that will not be done. Consequently, people park by the grace and favour of publicans in public house car parks for the day so that they can take the bus. This will continue until such a time as publicans start charging them and the system falls apart. Park and ride facilities are a simple solution so that people can park their cars and take the bus.

Let us consider areas outside Dublin where nothing is happening to improve transport facilities. Take for example the city of Limerick which is ideally located, structured and designed for a proper commuter service. A train line comes from directly north of the city, from Ennis, into the city. Another comes from the north-east, from Nenagh and another from the south-east, from Limerick Junction. There is also a train line from west of the city, from Tarbert, into the city. However, these lines do not work most of the time. The authorities reluctantly agreed to upgrade the Ennis line. Since that was done, usage quadrupled immediately, despite the fact there was no selling of the line or there were no intermediate stops. I welcome the commitment of the Government on finally getting movement on the western rail corridor.

Another project which would bring improvement in the area of transport would be to complete the outer ring road proposed by the former Taoiseach, Deputy Bertie Ahern. He was right about the improvement that would be brought by the completion of a ring road from Drogheda, to Slane, Navan, Naas and perhaps right around into Wicklow. This would not be a difficult project to complete as the roads and space are available.

We have not made adequate progress on transport. I support the Fine Gael amendment. Despite the fact the Government has done some good in the transport area, it is a bit early in the day for it to begin congratulating itself. There is a lot more to do.