The Deputy makes a good point. There is real concern. I read recently one of the real concerns of many people on climate change is they do not really know what to do. Our people want to take action on climate but they are sightly uncertain about what is the best thing to do. Our job is to make it easier for people to do the right thing about some of the issues we have discussed here today, by regulation, by setting standards, and by investing and making the better alternative cheaper. What does not help is when one…

As Minister for Transport, I have responsibility for overall policy and securing Exchequer funding for the national roads programme. Under the Roads Acts 1993 to 2015, and in line with the national development plan, the planning, design and construction of individual national roads is a matter for TII in conjunction with the local authorities concerned. The proposed bypass scheme to the west of Ardee is 4.5 km in length from Mandistown crossroads on the N52 west of Ardee, just inside the Meath county boundary, to G…

I mean no disrespect to the Deputy or the residents of Ardee. He is correct, but I wanted to read out the Department's official response so that the full assessment is clear. I will now read the remaining part of that response which, I hope, will give him some of the detailed information he seeks. I will further engage with him in the detail of it. In January 2018, Louth County Council provided the preliminary overall plan for the scheme to public representatives and to members of the public. Concerns were raised r…

I thank the Deputy. BusConnects is a transformative plan to improve and expand bus services in all of our major cities. The programme is initially being rolled out in Dublin, followed by Galway and Cork, and then Limerick and Waterford. Traffic congestion currently costs Dublin city approximately €350 million per annum and this figure is forecast to rise to approximately €2 billion per annum by 2033. It is essential that we tackle that. It is a key part of the Government’s policy to improve public transport service…

I am very aware. There was a deputation outside my offices on, I think, 20 August. I was away, unfortunately, but I understand the Deputy was in attendance with the 100 plus drivers from Dublin Bus. My understanding is that Dublin Bus drivers have been outside of a pay agreement dating back to 2018-19 and that this agreement, which was on working conditions and pay, was rejected by, I understand, 98% of the drivers balloted. My understanding from soundings from Dublin Bus, the unions and employees is that there are…

I will give the key next steps. We will first have the review of the national development plan, which will come out later this month. That will renew our commitment to the BusConnects projects, not just in Dublin but in the other regional cities as well. Very shortly, I hope, we will then go to Government with a business case for the project. It is a significant investment of several billion euro, which will take some time to implement fully. It is critical we act fast. We are seeing with Covid that car traffic is …

The following information is the most up-to-date information available to me on TII's delivery of projects on the N71: regarding the Innishannon bypass, the route feasibility study was previously commenced but was suspended. As this scheme is not included in the current NDP, I have been advised by TII that the project remains suspended at this point in time. On the Bantry bypass, a feasibility study on possible options was completed previously by Cork County Council. This scheme is being progressed in two phases by…

I share the Deputy's concern about the long time our planning system takes. We are all agreed on that and the need for that to be assessed and changed. There was an additional €4 million in grant allocations this year to the N71 route for various improvements. There was a further €325,000 allocated to Cork County Council under the specific improvement grant programme to progress the road realignment at Ilen Bridge on the R586. On the €4 million, I understand the Deputy's desire to see those bypasses be progressed. …

What I presented to the Deputy is the best, latest information I have from TII. I have every intention of trying to deliver and improve the bypass options in west Cork. On the reality of where we are with funding, the Deputy says €4 million is nothing. We are spending €1.2 billion to €1.3 billion per year just to maintain our roads. Thus of the €2.5 billion or so this year, roughly half is going to maintain the existing road network, which is important. If we did not do that the Deputy would rightly be telling me t…

I am very conscious of time and want to provide the key information to the Deputy. I will set out the details of very specific schemes to support active travel, particularly for our student population, which is the key consideration in the question. My Department funds the delivery of CycleRight training through Cycling Ireland which delivers cycling training to school children around the country and equips them with the skills to cycle safely. In partnership with the Department of Education we also launched the Sa…

On that last point, the Deputy will be aware of the High Court's decision this summer with regard to Strand Road in Sandymount. I will not go into the specific details of that case but there is real concern that the judgment might have a chilling effect on the delivery of our Safe Routes to School infrastructure, our BusConnects infrastructure and other active travel infrastructure, as well as on our decarbonisation plans which require innovative and quick traffic management schemes. To address concerns about any p…

I expect the review to be concluded very shortly. I have not had a chance to see it yet but I understand a draft version is very close to being presented by the NTA. The first thing will be the NDP review. As I said on radio the other day, and am happy to repeat here today, I expect some €35 billion in our overall capital allocation for the next decade. A lot of the projects we need to deliver we have to think about in a 2040 context, such is the scale of the investment we need to make. I refer here to DART+, Metro…

There has been a substantial increase in funding for Local Link services since 2016, going from €12.2 million in 2016 to over €28 million in 2021, comprising rural transport programme, RTP, current and capital funding, Covid-related funding and PSO funding for rural regular services. The additional funding since 2016 has enabled the introduction of 85 new rural regular service routes, as well as improvements to demand responsive transport, DRT, services and the piloting of evening and night-time services in certain…

The Deputy makes a valid point. I have met with local representatives for the area and had a series of discussions with my own officials to try to address the concerns. I have told them we need to look again at the very specific issue of Portiuncula Hospital and ensure that, as we change the overall route alignment, we maintain critical connectivity to those types of facilities. The NTA is charged with working with the local operators, Bus Éireann and others to ensure we address some of the concerns that have been …

The Deputy makes a good point. We are looking at a new strategy, connecting Ireland, which looks at developing rural bus transport systems. Critically, we want to achieve an efficiency where we can connect the transport needs to health facilities into that system and look at various solutions and options. We will have to be creative and connect our health and transport needs with our general public transport needs. Portiuncula could be one example of that as we make the amendments we need to make.

I propose to take Questions Nos. 70 and 86 together. Transport Infrastructure Ireland, TII, tells me it has recently approved funding to Cork County Council for a surfacing contract at Coolcower on the N22. TII understands a contractor has been appointed by the local authority and that the works will be completed this year. A previously proposed N22 Macroom to Ballincollig-Ovens major improvement scheme remains suspended due to funding constraints within the current national development plan, NDP, and no further wo…

On the Macroom-Ballyvouney bypass, €280 million is not a small investment. It is a huge, significant investment. We have to make sure we get the best return from that. In Ballyvourney and the town of Macroom, we have to work on the public realm and get as much traffic as possible out of the centre of town and create what has already happened in other towns in west Cork such as Clonakilty, Skibbereen, Bandon or Bantry where real life has been brought back to their centres and they are vibrant towns. That town, more …

I will conclude by asking the Deputy to cast his eyes even further east. One of his colleagues, Deputy James O'Connor, from the eastern side of Cork, is rightly making the case that towns and villages such as Castlemartyr are currently suffering what Macroom is suffering with through traffic throttling urban and village life. We must think about where is our first priority. I know that section of road very well from Ballincollig. Deputy Moynihan is correct. There tends to be a lot of high-speed traffic. Not only ar…

I thank the Deputy for asking the question and I will take the opportunity to again thank all Dublin Bus employees for continuing to provide an exemplary service throughout the Covid-19 pandemic. I must clarify, as I did earlier to Deputy O'Rourke, that industrial relations issues in Dublin Bus, as is the case for all public transport operators, are a matter for the company, its employees and trade union groups. While my Department receives regular updates from Dublin Bus on industrial relations issues, neither I n…

I very much recognise the vote. I will support the process to hopefully get a resolution to it. Our labour relations processes have, to my mind, served us well. Our trade unions do a very good job for the workers in the process. I trust the company, the management, the unions on behalf of the employees and the customers of Dublin Bus to be able to resolve this. I do not believe what the Deputy said about the threat of privatisation. There is not a threat of privatisation. As I have said, I am a huge supporter of Du…