I remind Members that Priority Questions involve a procedure that lasts six and a half minutes and I will stick to that strictly. There are 30 seconds for a Member to introduce a question and two minutes for the ministerial reply. There are four minutes overall for supplementary questions and replies, with a one-minute limit on each supplementary question and reply. If we allow it to run over, somebody may not get to ask their question.
Priority Questions
Road Safety
Imelda Munster
Question:33. Deputy Imelda Munster asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport his plans to address the issue of cars which have been written off in other jurisdictions being brought here, given the grave safety concerns for road users, especially with the lengthy delay in bringing forward legislation to deal with this matter; the measures he intends to take to deal with this problem; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22794/16]
What measures does the Minister intend to take, including interim measures, to deal with the problem of cars which have been written off in other jurisdictions but are being brought into Ireland, given the grave safety concerns for road users, especially with the lengthy delay in bringing forward legislation to deal with the matter?
On a point of order, has the first question lapsed?
No. If Deputy Troy comes in we will take the question. Is that agreed? Agreed.
The Road Safety Strategy 2013-20 includes a review of the existing legislation to control the re-introduction of written-off vehicles which are no longer suitable for use on public roads and to control the repair and re-use of vehicles written off for financial purposes. The Road Safety Authority, RSA, carried out a public consultation on the issue, following which draft provisions were developed for consideration. Due to the complexity of the issues involved, the Department, working together with the RSA, agreed that legislation could only be progressed following legal advice and careful examination of how robust and effective any measures would be. I am of the view that enabling legislation to provide for the regulation of written-off vehicles is an issue which requires action in the current Road Traffic Bill. This Bill has passed all Stages in the Seanad and is due to be introduced in the Dáil. The Deputy will be aware of the "Prime Time" programme which covered this issue in the past eight or nine weeks and which gave a fairly shocking exposure of what is going on in this area.
The Government agreed on 13 July with my proposal to legislate for the regulation of written-off vehicles by placing certain statutory obligations, accompanied by appropriate and proportionate sanctions, on both vehicle insurers and the importers of such vehicles. The statutory regime envisaged will build upon existing voluntary administrative arrangements in place between the Department and the insurance industry.
It should be noted that there is already relevant legislation in place in both road traffic and consumer protection law dealing with such vehicles. It is currently an offence to drive a dangerously defective vehicle in a public place under road traffic legislation, while under the Consumer Protection Act 2007 car dealers are obliged to give full disclosure of the history of a second-hand vehicle to potential buyers. Also, under the Sale of Goods and Supply of Services Act 1980, a vehicle being sold should be free from any defect which would render it a danger to the public.
The prosecution of alleged offences under consumer protection legislation relating to the sale of second-hand vehicles is a matter for the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, which is under the remit of the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation.
It was reported last week that 794 write-offs from Britain, a vast number, were imported into the State in June of this year alone. That equates to 10.7% of all cars imported, or 30 cars a day. It has increase from a figure of 530 in the same month in 2015.
The Road Traffic Bill 2014 intended to address that matter; however, the part of the Bill pertaining to write-offs was removed. The Minister stated that legal matters of concern had arisen, but when discussing the 2014 Bill the Minister's predecessor said that 40% of write-offs each year make their way back into service. I am sure the Minister will accept that this is a serious road safety issue. The term "write-off" refers to cars involved in crashes that are so seriously damaged that they either need major repairs done for them to be classed as roadworthy or should never appear back on the road. The Minister recognises that the legislation is badly needed, and I understand legal advice on this issue is pending, but what measures will he put in place in the interim? How long will it be before the Road Traffic Bill is brought back to the House? The Minister said-----
Thank you, Deputy. You will have an opportunity to come back in.
I thank the Deputy. She will see from my reply that I share her sense of urgency. This matter was not covered by the Road Traffic Bill when it was dealt with in the Seanad originally. The drafting and legal problems to which I referred and the complexities that were discovered in the solution pertaining to the Road Safety Authority were immediately addressed. The amendments are being drafted and they will be in the legislation when it comes before this House for Committee Stage very early in the autumn. It just missed the cut this time, partly because we wanted to put these two new amendments into the legislation.
The Deputy can expect this problem to be addressed with a sense of urgency very early in the next session, I hope, when we come back from the recess. We acknowledge that problem, and for much too long it has not been attacked, but I think the Deputy will find it is being addressed urgently now. The issues involved are complex but the Road Traffic Bill will contain penalties and sanctions and will put on a statutory basis something that has been voluntary to insurers in the past.
I know the Minister was hoping to have the Bill brought back to this House this week before the summer recess, but does he have any plans in the interim? There are thousands of these cars on the road. We are going into the summer season and there is no regulation or even a register for write-offs. Does the Minister have plans in the interim period to address that? Was there consultation of any sort or do we await the Bill? The Minister said he hoped the Bill would come before the House in the early autumn but, given the length of time we have been waiting, is he imposing a sense of urgency on the Bill? Is he pressing for it to be brought back to the House at the earliest possible opportunity? If not, we run the risk of deaths or serious accidents on our roads because of the increase in the volume of write-offs being imported into the State.
I ask the Deputy to accept my bona fides in this matter. The moment I discovered the urgency of this problem, which was due to what I saw on "Prime Time", I addressed it. I asked my Department to have legislation drafted and to hurry it up. That was done. It was not going to be ready at any stage by the end of July but it will be slotted into a Bill that is ready to come to the House in a short timeframe. That shows a sense of urgency for something that has been wallowing in the rafters for many years. With the agreement and the enthusiasm of the Government, I will insist that this Bill come before the House at an early stage after the recess.
We will go back now to Deputy Troy's question, No. 32, as agreed in the House. I know the Deputy was held up on other business.
Tourism Industry
Robert Troy
Question:32. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if his Department has a strategy in place for dealing with the consequences of Brexit for overseas tourism to Ireland; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22789/16]
I thank the House for facilitating me. This question arises out of the recent result of the British referendum on Brexit and its potential consequences in terms of the number of tourists visiting Ireland. What has the Minister done, in conjunction with his Department, to establish a comprehensive strategy to ensure there will not be a negative impact on our tourist numbers?
Great Britain has consistently been Ireland's most important source market for visits to Ireland, with just over 3.5 million visits in 2015. This represented 41% of our total overseas visits. CSO figures for the period January to May 2016 show further strong performance from this market, with growth in visit numbers of over 15.7% when compared with the same period of 2015.
Tourism Ireland, the agency responsible for marketing the island of Ireland as a visitor destination in overseas markets, has an extensive marketing programme in place for the second half of 2016 which is under way in 23 markets, including Great Britain. In the longer term, the programme for Government commits to implementing the policy objectives in the tourism policy statement, People, Place and Policy – Growing Tourism to 2025, and achieving the targets for Irish tourism contained therein. The UK vote does not change that.
While the Great Britain market contributed 41% of overseas visits in 2015, the share of overseas visitor revenue from British visitors is approximately 23%. There is a commitment in the tourism policy statement to prioritising tourism marketing efforts towards those markets providing higher revenue returns.
In the short term, there are no changes to how people can travel between Ireland and the UK, and the Government will be doing its utmost in future discussions to maintain the common travel area. In terms of the relative reduction in the value of sterling and the implications for the cost of a holiday here, this has similar implications for all eurozone countries, many of which compete with us for these tourists.
The Great Britain market will remain of significant importance to Irish tourism in the future, and I believe that Ireland's excellent tourism offering will ensure that we continue to perform strongly. Tourism Ireland is closely monitoring the situation and is due to meet with tourism industry representatives again later this week to plan ahead in this new market environment. In the longer term, we will work closely with other Departments and our agencies and respond to any changes as necessary. I remain confident, however, that our ambitious overall long-term targets for Irish tourism will be achieved.
The one point on which I agree with the Minister is that it is too early to predict the effects of Brexit on our country regarding the common travel area and other matters. However, we need a strategy to deal with that, and it appears from the Minister's reply that the Department does not have a strategy other than to plough on with the status quo. We are overly reliant on the UK market. The Minister stated that 41% of tourists who visited Ireland last year were from the UK and Northern Ireland. That figure increased by a further 15.7% in the first six months of this year. I acknowledge that we have great amenities and much to offer tourists coming here, but that in itself will not bring them here, and the budget for marketing our country was cut significantly in the past four years. Is there is a strategy in place to deal with this issue or does the Minister intend to simply continue with what has been done for the past number of years, which was to concentrate efforts on the UK, Europe and then the United States, to the detriment of other areas such as Asia, where there is huge potential?
Tourism Ireland decided to hold a review the moment the result of the Brexit referendum was known.
That was a review to discuss and decide how to target new and developing tourist markets. The terms of reference for this review are being finalised now. It must be remembered that the referendum was only a couple of weeks ago, and it would be crazy to have a knee-jerk reaction.
The new strategy will focus on marketing and on the training and upskilling required for those working in the tourism industry in the State in order to meet the needs of visitors from these markets. It is very important to acknowledge two big uncertainties at the moment - the unknowns that must be addressed. These are the issues of sterling and the common travel area, CTA. It is very important to Ireland that the CTA be defended, whatever the result of the Brexit negotiations. Sterling is an absolute imponderable and it would be impossible to suggest that we might know where that will be in six months, five years or six years. That would be foolish. The Deputy may be absolutely assured that Tourism Ireland reacted immediately in reviewing this policy and we will have a result on that fairly shortly.
The Deputy may have a quick final supplementary question.
I welcome the fact that there is a new strategy. That is important. Will the Minister clarify what consultation will be held with the various stakeholders, including the Irish Hotels Federation, Dublin Airport Authority, and the airlines on which we rely to bring tourists into the State? The Minister is correct that nobody knows what is going to happen with the CTA, possibly for two years. However, in the meantime we cannot just wait to see what will happen; we have to be actively targeting new markets such as the Asia-Pacific region. There is a real opportunity to attract more visitors from that area. Will the Minister, under the new strategy, make the necessary funding available to ensure Ireland can be marketed to these areas? Over the last three or four years there has been a cut of approximately 17% to the tourism marketing funding. Will that cut be reversed under the new strategy?
We are over the time that was allocated for this discussion. However, I will allow the Minister 30 seconds for a quick response.
Tourism Ireland and my Department are determined to get the message out that it is business as usual in the new situation. I am not suggesting that we should be complacent, but the Deputy should remember that it is not all bad news. We will obviously be looking for new markets but the exchange rate only affects our relationship in this way with Britain at the moment. Those British people who may decide not to come here are going to look at the Continent and find the exchange rate is exactly the same in Europe, where the euro is the common currency. The crisis in tourism may not be as bad as it sounds or as bad as we feared.
They are not coming here for the sun.
It must be remembered that although Great Britain accounts for 41% of the tourists who visit here, it only accounts for 23% of revenue spent here.
Transport Infrastructure Provision
Robert Troy
Question:34. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport his plans for dealing with increasing traffic congestion in Dublin city and on key arterial routes in the greater Dublin area. [22790/16]
Anybody who has travelled into the capital city in recent years will be somewhat perplexed about how congested the city has become. Over that period of time there has been a notable decrease in spending on public transport and public transport improvements by the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport, albeit by the current Minister's predecessors. Will the Minister indicate what plan he has in place to tackle the traffic congestion in the capital city?
This question is similar to one asked by Deputy Troy previously, but then I believe it was specific to the M50, which is only part of the traffic congestion problem. I am grateful to Deputy Troy for addressing the matter in a wider form.
Increasing capacity in our public transport system and improving the quality of public transport services is key to addressing congestion in the greater Dublin area. More than €200 million has been allocated for investment in public and sustainable transport infrastructure in the greater Dublin area in 2016 under the capital plan.
The capital investment works currently being undertaken by the National Transport Authority, NTA, in the greater Dublin area include the Luas cross city project, which is on schedule to open at the end of 2017; the Phoenix Park tunnel, which I expect to open for services later this year; the city centre re-signalling project; and investment in the bus fleet and bus priority measures. These will greatly enhance the capacity of the public transport system in the greater Dublin area when completed.
Additionally, funding is being allocated to a wide range of projects in the greater Dublin area aimed at developing sustainable transport modes such as cycling, walking and public transport. Investment is also being made in integration measures designed to encourage the use of public transport, such as real-time passenger information, the Leap card, the national journey planner and on-board Wi-Fi.
The NTA's transport strategy for the greater Dublin area for 2016 to 2035 sets out a comprehensive vision for public transport in the greater Dublin area over the next two decades. The NTA is now drawing up an integrated implementation plan to outline how it will go about delivering the strategy's objectives over the first six-year period within the strategy's overall 20-year horizon.
While investment in the public transport system is critical to addressing congestion, ultimately, a public transport response on its own cannot ensure that there is a sustainable match between transport demand and transport supply. Neither can traffic management measures or additional roads investment achieve this in isolation. Congestion can only be managed by combining all of these responses.
Ultimately, urban mobility is inextricable from land use planning. In this regard, my Department is engaging closely in the development of the new national planning framework to ensure that the new framework will support greater integration of land use and transport planning throughout the country.
There seems to be a total absence of a comprehensive vision and strategic plan to cope with the future transport demand in the core Dublin area. The Minister has acknowledged the Luas cross city project and the Phoenix Park tunnel, but these projects are on a piecemeal basis. There is no clear strategy. The capital plan that was published last September is very unambitious with regard to what will be delivered. Meanwhile, we have the construction of cycle lanes. The number of cars coming into the city is decreasing and the reduction is not being compensated for by ensuring the provision of public car parks on the outer roads. Parking is still happening on side streets coming in to the city, which is a crazy situation. If we want to get people into the capital city and moving freely around by way of public transport, cycling or walking, where are they to leave their cars when they commute? The provision of public car parks on the outskirts of town should be examined and a comprehensive strategy should be planned regarding how to improve the number of bus and DART journeys. The DART underground has been shelved but we need to be looking and planning for the future and not on a piecemeal basis.
It is very easy for Deputy Troy to say that while sitting there with a blank chequebook. The restrictions are not in terms of strategy or vision; they are because of the shortage of money for many years, as the Deputy is aware. The strategy is quite clear and I would have thought it was very obvious. There is very definitely a strategy behind this, which is the strategy of taking cars off the road, not just because of congestion but because of emissions also.
With regard to some of Deputy Troy's comments, the DART underground project is not completely buried. There is a strategy for north Dublin, which is the metro north. There is a strategy to take cars off the road through the encouragement of cycling throughout Dublin and the State. There is a strategy with regard to the cross city Luas, which is bang on time and on target. As the Deputy is also aware, cycleways are increasing the numbers of people who cycle at an extremely satisfactory rate. It is wrong to say there is no strategy. It is a multifaceted approach - it is not an airy-fairy approach - within the restrictions that exist.
The Minister wants to get cars off the road, but it must be acknowledged that, as a nation, we rely predominantly on cars over public transport. If we want to get people and cars off the road we have to put in place an efficient, effective alternative, which is not currently available. Travel times for people who commute to Dublin have become progressively worse. We talk about replacing cars and taking them off the road but we do not have an effective, efficient alternative. We need the necessary plans, because not everybody is going to drop his or her car for a bicycle. Not everybody is going to drop his or her car for a bus that is not going to come on time or for a light rail network that is not in place at the moment.
I can understand what Deputy Troy is saying but I reject what he says about there being no strategy at all. Within the constraints there are some very heavy projects and commitments. Not all of them can be delivered immediately because of financial constraints, but there are some very imaginative projects that will be.
I do not know if the Deputy wants to scrap the metro north - maybe he wants to hurry it up - but he is going to have to tell me what he will pay for it with. It will come into existence at the earliest possible date. We have said consistently that if the growth rates improve, if the economy improves, if there is money in the Exchequer, one of the things the money will be spent on is to progress some of these projects. That is absolutely vital. They cannot be conjured out of thin air when the Exchequer does not have the resources. We are doing an enormous amount on the projects I have mentioned within the limited resources we have.
Road Tolls
Imelda Munster
Question:35. Deputy Imelda Munster asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport to consider a review of the toll charge imposed on the M1 at Drogheda and in particular the slip road tolls where persons have to pay a toll on entry and exit to the town and the detrimental effect it is having on local businesses, small hauliers and tourism and investment, in addition to adding to the congestion in an already congested town; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22795/16]
Will the Minister conduct a review of the toll charge imposed on the M1 in Drogheda and particularly the imposition of a toll on slip roads entering and exiting the town? Will he review the adverse effect this has on local business and tourism, townspeople and small hauliers, and the everyday practicality of getting from one side of the town to the other?
I thank the Deputy for her question. I am not familiar with the exact situation she is referring to, but I have learnt a fair amount about it in the past 24 hours and I am grateful to the Deputy for pointing the situation out.
As Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, I have responsibility for overall policy and funding of the national roads programme. The planning, design and operation of individual roads is a matter for Transport Infrastructure Ireland, TII, under the Roads Acts 1993 to 2015 in conjunction with the local authorities concerned. Furthermore, the statutory power to levy tolls on national roads, to make toll by-laws and to enter into agreements relating to tolls on national roads is vested in TII under Part V of the Roads Act 1993 as amended. The contractual arrangements relating to M1 tolls are, therefore, matters for TII. There is no provision under the legislation whereby I, as Minister, could review the toll charges on the M1.
I understand that TII entered into a 30-year contract in 2004 with the public private partnership company Celtic Roads Group to construct a bypass of Dundalk and operate and maintain this section of road together with 42 km of the existing motorway. As part of this contract the PPP company is entitled to charge tolls in line with the approved toll scheme. The approved toll scheme provides for tolls on the main motorway and the Donore interchange ramps. My understanding is that the Donore ramp toll plazas were installed to mitigate possible "rat running," with the adverse impacts that would have on local communities. In response to concerns expressed at the time about the possible impact on businesses in Drogheda, the approved toll scheme stipulates that where a vehicle exits the motorway, having paid a toll, and re-enters within three hours, no further charge is payable.
Is the Minister aware that Drogheda is the only town in Ireland to be tolled? There is a toll tax on entering and exiting the town. To say that it is having an adverse effect on local businesses, tourism, parents leaving their kids to school, small hauliers and day-to-day business about the town is no exaggeration. As an example of the ludicrous situation, a person who wants to go from Woodies, in the retail park on the north side of the town, to Argos, in the retail park on the south side, must pay that toll or be forced to drive through the centre of town. The slip road tolls were supposed to have been put in to avoid rat-running but they have had the opposite effect. They have added to the serious congestion in Drogheda and at times they have ground Drogheda to a halt. Will the Minister conduct a review? Will he arrange a meeting with TII? Will he state explicitly the adverse effects this is having on the town, which is the only town in Ireland to be subject to this toll, and agree that the negative effects are far-reaching? Why would an investor who compares Drogheda with another town, in view of the fact that there is a toll charge to enter or exit the town, put Drogheda above the other town?
I am impressed with what the Deputy says, but I think this may be a double-edged sword. As so often happens in this House, the Deputy is asking me to do things I am not empowered to do. I will meet the TII very shortly. I cannot remember the date; it is either in the next week or two or in August. If the Deputy gives me a briefing on this I will give it to the TII at that meeting. I am interested in what the Deputy says and will listen to what the TII has to say and go from there. I will put it directly to the people there who have the power to make decisions on something like this.
I thank the Minister for his response, but I cannot state clearly enough the adverse effect this is having on the town. The removal of these slip road tolls would not only give the town a boost but would encourage more business. It is a crazy situation and it is the only town in Ireland to be tolled. It is hard to see how that slip road toll is cost-effective, because it means that many people drive through the town, adding to the congestion, to avoid a couple of kilometres on the motorway when travelling from the north to the south of Drogheda. To be charged a toll to enter and exit a town would only compound congestion in Drogheda. Would the Minister invite a delegation from TII and come to Drogheda with it to witness the adverse effect on the town?
I am not going to invite a delegation to see the town at this stage, but, as I said, I will put the case the Deputy has made, see what the TII has to say about it, and inform the Deputy of the result, because I think that is important. If the tolls were simply to be removed from the interchange, it might be expected to create a diversion from the M1 at this junction, attracting other traffic that wishes to avoid the mainline toll. Reducing mainline traffic would reduce mainline toll revenue as well as eliminating the revenue currently being collected at the junction. Traffic through Drogheda town centre would be little changed, but traffic on local routes such as the R152 through Duleek and the R132 through Julianstown would be increased by thousands of vehicles a day.
Road Tolls
Brendan Ryan
Question:36. Deputy Brendan Ryan asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the status of the announcement by eFlow that it is withdrawing its tag service on toll booths at a number of toll booths, including at the M1 near Drogheda, the M7/M8 south of Portlaoise and the N25 at Waterford; if he is concerned that this may cause a significant increase in delays for motorists at toll bridges here; if he has been briefed by eFlow on its decision not to renew its contract with a company (details supplied), the operator of a number of Irish motorways; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22530/16]
I represent Dublin-Fingal, with which the Minister is familiar from the traffic report every morning, as many of my constituents who are not served by public transport or rail links converge on Whitehall and arteries into Dublin city centre from the M1. Our traffic planning is fragile and I would appreciate an update from the Minister on the announcement by eFlow that it is withdrawing its tag service from several tolling booths, including the M1 but also the M7/M8 and the N25.
I thank the Deputy for his question. As Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, I have responsibility for overall policy and funding for the national roads programme. The planning, design and operation of individual road projects is a matter for TII under the Roads Acts 1993 to 2015 in conjunction with the local authorities concerned.
Furthermore, the statutory power to levy tolls on national roads, to make toll by-laws and to enter into agreements relating to tolls on national roads is vested in TII under Part V of the Roads Act 1993 as amended.
The contractual arrangements relating to tag interoperability are therefore entirely matters for TII and are commercially sensitive.
TII has briefed my department on the position and it is the case that, with effect from 31 August, eFlow tags will no longer be accepted at toll points on the M1 near Drogheda, the M7 and M8 near Portlaoise and the M25 Waterford bypass. I have been informed by TII that the toll collection agreements previously in place expired earlier this year and that while a new agreement has been concluded with other toll operators, unfortunately eFlow has not been able to reach an agreement with the company which would cover these three toll points. It is not, therefore, the case of eFlow withdrawing its tags.
I understand that eFlow is in the process of contacting all types of customers to advise them of the change and will provide assistance to customers who wish to switch to another tag provider. There is no cost associated with switching tag providers for customers, but all tag providers charge an account management fee.
As the Minister is aware, our motorway network is part of the vital transport infrastructure in our State and I commend the work of previous Governments to develop the network which improved interconnectivity throughout our country. I ask the Minister, notwithstanding the fact that his responsibilities may not cover this area, to intervene in this matter and work to bring about a resolution. The change is due to come into effect on 1 September, just as children go back to school and traffic returns to its busiest levels after the summer. There is time for the Minister to intercede and resolve the matter.
I refer to the M1, as it is the motorway with which I am most familiar. It links Dublin and Belfast, the two largest cities on the island. It bypasses and serves some of the largest towns in Ireland, such as Dundalk, Drogheda and Swords, as well as the fastest growing town in Ireland, Balbriggan. Any impact on traffic on the M1 has the potential to affect thousands of commuters in all of these towns, including those travelling on express bus services provided by Dublin Bus and other providers which use the Dublin Port tunnel.
The Minister has been given a lot of notice of the change. I accept his response, but if the matter is not resolved the situation could escalate or spread. A major benefit to our motorway network is the electronic payment mechanisms which are accepted and used. We do not want to inconvenience busy people who use our motorways on a regular basis and require them to pay at barriers or in shops.
There are many infrastructural needs in the country, but let us not go backwards. I ask the Minister to nip this issue in the bud and resolve or influence it in any way he can in order that commuters are not inconvenienced. I acknowledge the response of the Minister to a previous question, in which he stated that he will meet TII, and look forward to his positive intervention.
I will not intervene directly at this stage because it would not be appropriate. The affairs of a private company are involved and a Minister would be very reluctant to become involved, especially when, as far as I can see, this is a commercial dispute about charges.
As I said to Deputy Munster, when I meet TII I will raise the issue again. I will ask what it thinks, if anything, can be done about it because it has an arrangement with eFlow and, therefore, has some influence. I do not have the exact date, but as I said the meeting will take place in the next three or four weeks. We must remember that while customers will be inconvenienced, they have the option to switch or pay at the tolls.
I thank the Minister for his response. I speak as a representative of Dublin Fingal and a supporter of metro north. It is no surprise that there is a regular traffic snarl on a major artery into Dublin city that is not served by rail link. The Red Cow roundabout used to be the headline traffic disaster in Dublin until the Luas came along. The Navan Road was also a blackspot until commuter rail links improved.
We need metro north to be accelerated. The port tunnel is not a solution to the commuting deficit in north County Dublin. When a dispute which has the potential to impact on commuting times occurs, it has an extra impact. Can the Minister sort out this dispute and move on to the next project, namely, the delivery of metro north as soon as possible?
I am conscious that eFlow has approximately 300,000 tag account customers. I understand it has already notified customers of the change. As I said, it is currently implementing a communications plan to contact all customers, including those who use CRG toll roads by phone, e-mail, SMS and letter. It will also be running a broader communications plan in the national and local media and radio, print and digital media to communicate the upcoming changes and advise customers what to do.
While some communications activities have started, most will commence during early August. I hope that in the meantime the parties involved in this dispute will be able to come to an amicable agreement. It appears that many of the other companies involved in tagging have been able to come to an agreement and have not arrived at the same unhappy outcome. The Deputy can be assured that when I meet TII I will raise the issue and see whether it can do anything without directly intervening.
I want to note the co-operation of Deputies and the Minister. There has been a fair balance between everybody, which I appreciate because it ensures that everybody's question receives the appropriate time.