asked the Minister for Local Government whether his Department or the local authority have any plans for the introduction of multi-storey parking to help alleviate the growing traffic congestion in Dublin city; and, if not, why.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Multi-Storey Parking.
96.
Local authorities have power, under the provisions of the Road Traffic Acts, to erect, subject to my consent, multi-storey car parks for the purpose of relieving or preventing traffic congestion. There are no proposals before me from Dublin Corporation for my consent
Would the Minister agree that when I raised this matter in the House he said that this was a matter for a commercial undertaking? Would he consider, in view of the very high capital cost of such installations and the low initial income involved, that his Department should take some initiative with a view to having such multi-storey car parks erected to alleviate what is a very severe parking problem in the city at the moment?
I think the Deputy may be misquoting—at least I hope he is— what I said before. What I intended to say and what I am sure I said was that Dublin Corporation would consider favourably proposals from commercial concerns interested in erecting multi-storey car parks in the city.
Would the Minister not agree that this may not be an attractive proposition for commercial concerns because of the high initial capital cost and low rate of income and that it might be a matter to be provided by the public authority or possibly that the public authority might grant aid towards the initial capital cost of multi-storey car parks in this city?
There is a certain validity in what the Deputy is saying and it is a matter that is being considered.