Shane Ross (Dublin Rathdown, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I do not want to engage with the Senator about what was proper and what was not proper but a cost-benefit analysis was done. If the Senator goes to the MetroLink website, he will find a cost-benefit analysis. A preliminary business case analysis will be done shortly, which will be published on www.metrolink.ie. A final business case will be presented for Government approval before construction starts in 2021. Will all the platforms be dug up? I keep being asked detailed questions about matters that are not matters for me, but the answer to that question is that platforms will not be completely dug up. They will be changed and enhanced in ways that are necessary, but the idea that there will suddenly be a complete and utter change is not true. They will be adjusted accordingly.

Regarding the question about a cycle-friendly city, I probably ought to say a bit about cycling. I have said quite often - maybe not in this House but certainly in the other House - that we have been behind the curve in terms of cycling, not just in Dublin but throughout the country. We have spent a lot of money on greenways. A total of €53 million will be spent on them in the next four years. This is a way of promoting cycling. Greenways are used by a great number of cyclists. I regret the fact that at certain times there has been a fall in our expenditure on cycling, whatever the economic condition of the country was. However, we have committed fully in the national development plan to what is a big step change in cycling.The national development plan commits a €110 million spend on cycling, a trebling of capital spending over the next three to four years. That is an enormous commitment by the Government. It is an admission that we fell behind on this before. I believe that was the case with all Governments. However, we have now decided that cycling is absolutely necessary, not just to get the people from point A to point B, like Senator Horkan this morning, but for the health of the nation, as well as part of the drive to reduce carbon emissions. That decision has been taken and will be followed through. Senator McDowell is correct that in times past, including when he was in government, cycling was not promoted as much as it should have been or could have been. We have now decided it is necessary for the sake of congestion and health.

If I am asked for concrete evidence of this, I would revert to BusConnects and the radial routes. The proposal also has a commitment to 200 km of segregated cycling ways which will ensure whole new avenues open to cyclists which will contribute to more cyclists. These will be adjacent to all bus corridors. They will improve safety, health and the numbers of cyclists on the road. That commitment should be not taken lightly. It will cost money but will greatly benefit the cycling community and contribute to cycling safety.

Senator O'Mahony asked about the ring road around Galway. Within two or three weeks, I will be seeking the Government's approval for the Galway ring road project in order the county council can go ahead to seek planning consent from An Bord Pleanála.

The Government is absolutely committed to Knock airport. We realise its importance regionally, that it is vital for tourism and that it is the gateway to the west from overseas. The Senator need not have any worries on that score. The departure of the previous Taoiseach, although he was a great supporter of the airport, will not make any difference to the Government's solid commitment to the airport.

The western rail corridor is subject to review going ahead. Iarnród Éireann is doing a review which will be then examined by the Government.

Senator Warfield spoke about a blockage by the Taoiseach, when he was Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, of developments in the west. If there were blockages by the Taoiseach, they were done for economic reasons. I do not believe there was ever a bar put on any project by the Taoiseach because he is open to these projects. A stop or a delay may have been put on certain projects with the hope that when the economic crisis was over that they would be restored. Some of them have been revived as a result of that.

The Senator also talked about the need for cycling, which I have dealt with.

Senator Lawlor referred to the need for a timeframe. It may not have been in my speech but there is a timeframe in the NDP. I cannot promise the Senator anything about the railway line to Kildare because it is a matter for the National Transport Authority, NTA, CIÉ and Iarnród Éireann. He referred to the greenways which are an exciting project. Up to €53 million will be provided for them. The application for the greenways is already out. We opened it up last week and invited interested parties to make an application to be funded. We are expecting massive competition in that.

The Senator also asked if the sports capital programme will continue every year. That would be our ambition. We would like to see it happen every year. It is a phenomenal programme which fulfils one of the key pillars of our sports policy, namely, that there should be participation. We have had phenomenal success recently with sporting achievements which has to be acknowledged day after day. It is great for national morale and we are all immensely proud of it. We must not forget the fact that 95% of those people who indulge in sport will not reach that extraordinary pinnacle which we have seen from Irish sport in recent weeks. However, they are equally important, if not more so. The great virtue of the sports capital programme on a whole is it filters everywhere. It filters to people who are not athletic stars but will benefit enormously from it. It is a community grant which is beneficial to both small and large communities. It makes a significant contribution to social and health well-being but its primary purpose is not to contribute to winning gold medals at the Olympics. That is another day's work.

Senator Kevin Humphreys devoted much time cycling. He looked for a commitment to a 10% investment in it. I will not give such a commitment but €110 million is trebling the investment we had before. That is an enormous commitment which we will keep. It is a massive step change and an acknowledgement that those who have been advocating for cycling for so long were ahead of the curve. We are doing something that others were not prepared to champion for various reasons. We are committed and we have taken on board the real benefits as advocated by the cycling lobby. We will continue to do that.

I take the Senator's point about consultation on BusConnects. I do not accept it. It has made an extraordinary effort to reach out to all those with difficulties with it. I will be urging them to continue that consultation on a serious level to ensure communities in the Senator's area have every opportunity, even after the next version of the plan, to come back on it.This dialogue must end in a consensus, in agreement and in the vast majority of people being happy with the number of routes open to them and the access they have to the places which are important to them.

Senator Humphreys talked about MetroLink and an evidence-based decision. I do not anticipate any decision made on MetroLink not being evidence-based. My understanding is that the real reason for the provision of the metro is that the whole of Dublin will need greater capacity in its means of transport and in transporting people in and out of the city. This means being speedier, being larger and being able to provide a service which the Luas cannot provide in terms of speed and numbers. This is the whole purpose of MetroLink, with routes with which the Senator will be fully familiar. I do not think this will be done without evidence-based decisions, but one need only see the extraordinary rise in population in the Senator's area, in my area and further afield to know that the demands on transport will continue for decades to come. We will look for increased capacity on an ongoing basis.

I will pass on what Senator Humphreys said about Dublin Airport to the DAA. I think what he says is anecdotal, but there are real capacity issues at Dublin Airport constantly. He says it is perhaps looking at being the wrong kind of airport, that it is looking at connectivity rather than where people are going in and out, etc. I think the main problem with Dublin Airport is that it is so successful and, as Senator Byrne said, I think, or certainly implied, so big in comparison with Shannon and Cork that it makes the traffic very lopsided in terms of people going in and out of the country. This is a problem for Dublin Airport and for Shannon and Cork. It is a problem for Shannon and Cork because they do not have enough customers and it is a problem for Dublin Airport because it has too many. The Senator has put his finger on it. That is very difficult.

The Senator said Dublin Airport looks on itself as a hub. It is an interesting debate. I am not sure what the answer is, but sure, perhaps passengers are suffering because the airport sees itself as just transporting people across the Atlantic. It may have to consider that. There are various ways out of the capacity problems in Dublin Airport. We have just got a capacity review, which is just being finalised and which will make some serious suggestions. It will comment on the benefits or otherwise of a third terminal, which could help the capacity problems, and will also probably make suggestions as to whether or not that should be an independent third terminal. The review will certainly outline the benefits and downsides of that and we will have to make a decision on it shortly.

The ports are absolutely vital in the context of Brexit, and the main emphasis in this regard is on Dublin and Rosslare. Preparations are being made - I must be careful - for all scenarios involving the ports, for no deal and for a central case. I have seen some of the preparations and I am very impressed with what is in line, but we should not underestimate the scale of what might happen in Dublin Port or Rosslare. Large amounts of space would have to be made available in various situations, which would mean that both Dublin Port and Rosslare would have to find space. I am absolutely confident, however, that Ireland is pretty well in a leadership position in preparing for Brexit in terms of the ports. We are doing virtually everything that is necessary, particularly in respect of the two principal ports.