The Government has shown total incompetence in coming to terms with the problems of traffic congestion in Dublin. At morning and evening rush hour there is gridlock in various parts of my constituency of Dublin South, which seriously undermines people's quality of life. The gridlock stretches from Firhouse, Knocklyon, Rathfarnham, across the constituency to Mount Merrion, Stillorgan and Clonskeagh. In the area of Dundrum village there is gridlock not only at rush hour but throughout the day, frequently extending to Saturdays and Sundays. Instead of tackling the problem, the Government has remarkably, in its ten months of office, contributed to its worsening. Indecisive Ministers incapable of making decisions have put on hold vital traffic management proposals which would alleviate the plight of many of my constituents who live in Ballinteer, Sandyford, Balally, Churchtown, Mount Merrion, Clonskeagh and the Dundrum area.
Since taking office the Minister for the Environment and Local Government has had on his desk the report of the departmental inspector arising from the public inquiry concerning the construction of the Dundrum by-pass and the Ballinteer road-Wyckham by-pass improvement schemes. The Minister has to date failed to make a decision to sanction the schemes, neither has he allocated the funding to enable the necessary works to be undertaken. To resolve the local traffic gridlock it is essential the Minister sanctions these schemes without further delay.
The Minister for the Environment and Local Government has publicly displayed his contempt of the people who live in the area, refusing by letter dated 23 April 1998 to agree to a joint meeting with all the TDs who represent the Dublin South constituency, together with Dundrum Chamber of Commerce. The failure of the three Government Ministers in the constituency to ensure such a meeting takes place is, in my experience in this House, unprecedented. Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown Council is awaiting the Minister's sanction to proceed with these essential roadworks. It has been put in limbo and prevented from providing the new road schemes so badly required in the area.
On the issue of Luas the Government has displayed contemptible incompetence. The public judicial inquiry should have commenced at the beginning of July 1997 and completed by the end of that month. It has been put on hold for more than ten months. More than £200,000 of taxpayers' money has been spent on a review of the Luas project to consider the underground option. The conclusion of the consultants appointed by Government to examine this issue, published today, confirms the strategy of the previous Government. Today's study acknowledges that the surface option is the most appropriate and cost effective in meeting the transport needs of the city and providing capacity to meet long-term passenger demands. It is essential for Dublin South constituency and to alleviate the problems of Sandyford, Balally, Dundrum, Clonskeagh, Churchtown and Mount Merrion that the Luas proposal is sanctioned.
The report published today confirms that the cost of the underground option, even if it were feasible, would be a minimum of £500 million, which would render it impossible for the project to come on-stream before the year 2005. We stand today at risk of losing crucial European Union moneys for the construction of Luas. The consultants' report facilitates the Government in getting the project back on track, yet today the Government postponed making a decision on this issue. The Minister for Public Enterprise was left politically naked this afternoon at a press conference called in advance of the Cabinet meeting to explain to journalists the decisive indecisiveness of her colleagues.
It is time for the Government to do a public U-turn on Luas, to admit the underground option is no longer feasible and get the project speedily back on the rails. It is time for the Minister for the Environment and Local Government to sanction construction of the Dundrum by-pass and the Wyckham by-pass as well as the new road alignments on the Ballinteer Road. Until such time as these decisions are made, traffic difficulties in that part of south Dublin will continue to worsen until eventually traffic grinds to a complete halt.
