To my mind that is the best way to change this whole paradigm. Rather than trying to facilitate more car traffic, we should try to reduce that and increase the alternative so that the system works for everyone, including those in cars. I am not anti the people who have to drive. In fact, the problem we have is the Deputy's solution would promote car traffic and would actually make it worse for everyone.

We need the money to pay for public transport and to keep reducing the costs but the Deputy wants everything free for everyone including for motorists. Having no one pay anything for anything would not work. We need to raise some revenue to provide the public services----

-----that a socialist solution would say is the right way to go.

Investing in public transport provides a social gain.

As Minister for Transport, I have responsibility for overall policy and Exchequer funding to TII as set out in the Roads Acts 1993 to 2015. The key element of TII’s funding structure for national roads is the provision of Exchequer grants by the Minister to both its current and capital expenditure as set out in section 24 of the Act. Capital expenditure grants are provided from my Department’s national development plan allocations and this year alone over €600 million has been allocated to TII for national roads. T…

The Deputy is right that there was change with this Government - a change towards prioritisation of public transport which has not been there in the past and towards supporting active travel with all the benefits that brings. However, there is still very significant spending on roads. We have spent approximately €5 billion and that expenditure will continue. We are investing in roads primarily for road safety but also for a whole range of other benefits, including improving the public realm which we discussed on th…

The change has not been negative because it has led to a dramatic increase in rural public transport, starting in Leitrim in the Deputy's constituency. That was the first county where we started providing these new rural bus services.

Part of that €100 billion series of projects was the massive expansion in rural bus transport services. I could go on about the whole list of different projects we all want to build.

No one wants to see delay and no one wants the higher costs that delay brings. I absolutely agree with the Deputy on that. However, we need to be honest and clear with people. The reason for delay in some projects is that we have a €100 billion ask and a €35 billion budget to spend. We cannot pretend to everyone that we will deliver all €100 billion when we only have seven years of this NDP remaining and only some €35 billion available. That is a mismatch that we cannot ignore and wish away and pretend it does not …

-----where we particularly allocate the engineering and other resources such as planning and other skills to make sure we speed up and deliver at as low a cost as possible, as many projects as possible, and that is my priority.

The Government is committed to improving public transport, as I have just said, both bus and rail, and is backing up that commitment with significant investments across the network. There are investment plans for the northern commuter line, serving both Drogheda and Dundalk, which should improve the experience of passengers in the coming years. These improvements include the introduction next year of 41 new InterCity railcar, ICR, units onto the fleet; the arrival of the new DART+ fleet and its likely entry into se…

Obviously, that is a totally unsatisfactory customer experience. No one wants someone standing on the train all the way to Dundalk and all the various inconveniences that the Deputy listed. We need to improve the services and that is why we purchased the new ICR units. That is why we are buying and about to introduce the new battery electric trains so that we have greater capacity. That is not just on the Drogheda to Dundalk line; it is every part of the country. The Deputy will have seen recent announcements only …

I will show the Deputy the improvement when we roll out the 41 new ICR units next year. I will show him the year after when we put in the new battery electric trains. I will go further. Next year we will also improve that line by building a charging station in Drogheda so that those battery electric trains can turn around and operate much quicker and at higher capacity. Improvements are on the way. I wish to make a point. This is not anti-motorist. It is not saying there is a switch in prioritisation. The truth is …

I agree.

As the Deputy said, there was a very useful debate initiated by his party on the A5 project in Northern Ireland earlier in the summer, which afforded all Members the chance to put forward their views on this important project. The importance of the A5 transport corridor is recognised in the national planning framework, NPF. The NPF's strategic outcome 2, enhanced regional accessibility, specifically calls for improved access to the north west and notes the importance of the A5 in that regard. That policy support ha…

The Deputy makes a valid point about the Executive and the assembly in the North. I do not think the project can progress without an Executive in place. Leaving the legality of the position to one side, in the absence of an Executive and an assembly, we do not even have counterparts at a political level to speak to about the projects. We need that. I recognise that connectivity to the north west is vital. The strategic rail review was important in that regard-----

-----because as well as the A5, it made a significant proposal for a rail spur from Portadown through Dungannon, Omagh, Strabane to Letterkenny, as well as to Derry. That would be a hugely significant and potentially beneficial project. Again, all these projects will be very expensive. I think the latest cost estimate by the Executive was £1.6 billion. We have committed £75 million to the project but that does not add up to £1.6 billion. The UK Government will have to make a key decision on the contribution from it…

I am very familiar with the road. I go up to Donegal and Derry a lot. We need an all-island approach to transport-----

-----in the same way that we need an all-island approach to the environment and so many different areas. There are budgetary issues here, however. All Deputies have a list as long as their arm of various projects that have to be funded. Road building in particular is increasingly expensive. We are seeing that in recent tenders. We often have to make hard choices. Those hard choices have to advance some projects over others. Despite some of the earlier conversations, there is not an endless tap of money. That requir…

I have responsibility for policy and overall funding of public transport in Ireland, including in relation to the rail network. The NTA has statutory responsibility for the planning and development of public transport infrastructure in the greater Dublin area. I am advised by the NTA of a range of works currently under way at Portmarnock which seem to address the issues raised by the Deputy. I understand these works will be completed by January 2024 and will provide, among other things: a new bus turning point with…