I thank the Senators who have contributed to the debate so far and I wish to advert to a number of points that have been made. Senators Ryan, Ridge and Keogh asked why all these measures were not taken before now. I am amused when I hear that question because everybody thinks these problems should be solved now. It would be wonderful if that was the case, but the difficulty that existed until relatively recently was that our economic development was so far behind and there was a huge lack of money. One could talk about plans, but there was no money to implement them.
We have tended to lose the run of ourselves over the past two or three years. Everybody appears to think that the type of economic performance over the past three or four years has existed since 1921. The answer to the question as to why measures were not taken is that money was not available at the time.
I agree with Senator Ryan to some extent regarding his assertion that we do not plan. We did not plan in the past and this is the reason for the current situation. The DTO's strategy from the mid-1990s and its projections are totally outdated now. Even if it had been possible to deliver everything it suggested in the mid-1990s, it would have been difficult to avoid most of the problems that currently exist. There is a need to plan. This was not done in the past and we are suffering now as a result.
We have an opportunity not to repeat the mistakes of the past. This is why I am pleased to have an opportunity to address the House on this particularly important issue. I am disappointed, but not surprised, at the terms of the Fine Gael motion. For some reason, they appear to think that the solution to Dublin's transport problem is to put our long-term transport planning on ice so that we can focus on short-term actions instead. This is precisely what was done in the past and what got us into the current situation.
According to Fine Gael, we should bring down a magical shutter on our time horizons at a point called "the short-term" and we will have the solutions to all our problems. If it was that simple, one must wonder why Fine Gael did not manage to address the problems when they were in Government. Did they even realise there was a traffic problem in Dublin before Deputy John Bruton got stuck in traffic? Their answer then was Operation Freeflow, a worthy initiative in its own right. It copied many of the suggestions published a month previously by Fianna Fáil for short-term solutions at that particularly difficult period.
However, it suffered from the same short-term frailties that are so evident in the motion before the House. I accept Senator Ryan's point that short-term measures are important. Some of the things he mentioned could be done with increased enforcement and a certain amount of co-operation. I have listened to the views expressed by the Dublin Chamber of Commerce and the city centre business organisations have produced many good documents and suggestions in relation to transport in Dublin and the various infrastructural needs that exist and which must be addressed urgently. They have lobbied strongly for them to be put in place and many of them are in the current plan or were in the previous plans.
I was horrified, however, to see that in one of their documents they talked about the necessity of the Government delivering over £4 billion in infrastructural investment "yesterday". Their contribution to all this was that in three years time they would consider ways and means of doing what Senator Ryan suggested, that is, convincing their members that there should be off-peak deliveries in their shops. They are very fine ideas and publications concerning the traffic problems in Dublin, but they could take a lead in that area and it might be helpful to all of us.
In talking about the Fine Gael motion, I wish to mention the short-term progress that Fine Gael is advocating. It seems to think that short-term progress has to be at the expense of our longer and medium-term planning. Since when, however, did our transport planning become split into two or three mutually exclusive time horizons? Such an approach could more accurately be termed short-sighted rather than short term. It is a fundamentally flawed approach to transport policy to talk in terms of freezing long-term planning and implementing short-term measures. If that is the best Fine Gael can come up with, it is just as well it is occupying the Opposition benches.
The Government's transport policy recognises the need to deliver in the short term but to do so against the background of a vision for where we are going in the medium and longer terms. Clearly, Fine Gael has no such vision and one certainly will not find it in the party's document entitled Getting Dublin Moving, which, rather than the White Paper it purports to be, is more like a piece of clingfilm, useful for holding many disjointed bits and pieces together but completely see-through. It is certainly nowhere near robust enough to provide a basis for catering for the projected 72% increase in the peak hour trip demand mentioned earlier by Senator Walsh, which will see close to half a million trips in the morning peak hour in 2016.
The Government's long-term vision for transportation in Dublin has its roots in the final report of the Dublin Transportation Initiative published in 1995 and endorsed since then by successive Governments. While economic circumstances have changed radically since 1995, the basic principle of sustainable transport, which is at the core of the DTI, remains as valid today and perhaps even more so. Of course, the vision needs to take account of our much changed economic situation and we have addressed this through the major review of the DTI strategy which has now been completed.
The DTO update document, which we published recently on foot of the review, has a number of key elements. These include a radical transformation in the quality and quantity of public transport services; strategic but limited improvements to the road network; improved traffic management and control measures; development of a demand management policy to reduce the growth in travel while maintaining economic progress and to encourage modal shifts in favour of public transport; and better integration of land use and transportation planning. The strategy also offers some preliminary advice, based on DTO experience since 1995, regarding future institutional arrangements for strategic land use and transportation planning and co-ordination in the greater Dublin area. That will be considered in the context of further related work which is being undertaken for submission to the Cabinet committee on infrastructure.
While the strategy is obviously an integrated one, I would like to single out for special attention its proposals in relation to public transport, given the crucial role which it will play in meeting the travel demands of the future. The public transport elements of the strategy aim to cater for approximately 300,000 trips in the morning peak hour through an integrated public transport network, compared to just 70,000 today. There are a number of key elements, including a much expanded bus network, comprising an integrated mesh of radial and orbital services and a substantial increase in passenger carrying capacity – that is a priority as part of the short-term measures to switch passengers to public transport; improvements to the DART-suburban rail network, including improved passenger carrying capacity on the existing network and the development of more tracks on existing alignments and new rail lines, including an underground interconnector linking Heuston Station with East Wall junction via Pearse Street and docklands; an extension of the Luas on-street light rail network; a higher capacity segregated light rail network or metro; and a package of measures designed to improve the integration and attractiveness of the public transport network, including park and ride facilities, integrated fares and ticketing, quality interchange facilities and improved passenger information.
The total estimated capital cost of the strategy is £14.2 billion. Its implementation is expected to result in a high quality public transport service being available to most people within ten minutes walking distance of where they live; increase the share of the market accounted for by public transport from 35% to 65%; reduce congestion; improve accessibility; and result in significant environmental gains, including reductions in energy use and emissions. Obviously, that also would have a beneficial effect on the citizens of Dublin and surrounding areas.
My aim is to emphasise that the Government is conscious of the need to plan ahead for the short, medium and long terms. That does not mean that everything is to be done in the future, however. Many steps and actions have been taken or are in the pipeline, guided by the DTO's short-term action plan published in 1998 and the Dublin transportation blueprint published last year.
I take this opportunity to put these achievements on the record of the House, looking first at the bus service. The fleet has been significantly increased. In 1997, the year we came to office, it stood at just over 900. By the end of this year it will have increased to 1,100. As well as these additional buses, a significant bus replacement is also under way. The quality bus corridors are coming on stream, four are operational, a fifth is expected to start up next month, the physical work on three others are expected to be finished by the end of the year and the remaining four are expected to be complete or substantially complete by mid-2001.
In addition, a consultation document setting out proposals for a new regulatory regime for public transport has been published by my colleague, the Minister for Public Enterprise, Deputy O'Rourke. The rail service in Dublin has also been considerably improved since we came into Government. The DART fleet has been increased from 80 to 106 carriages, initial services have commenced on the Greystones and Malahide extensions and a further 12 carriages are scheduled to come on-stream in 2002. Some 27 diesel railcars have been delivered and are in operation and 60 more have been ordered. The Maynooth line upgrade is on target for completion by the end of this year, with improved services commencing early next year. Some 20 railcars for use on the Maynooth line have been delivered.
Major progress has been made on Luas which is adhering to the timetable laid down by Government. The Tallaght-Abbey Street line has started and is scheduled for completion at the end of 2002, with services commencing early in 2003. Preliminary clearance work has started on the Sandyford to St. Stephen's Green line, construction of which is to be completed in early 2003. The Lower Abbey Street to Store Street section of the Abbey Street to Connolly Station line has been approved and the inspector's report on the public inquiry into the Store Street to Connolly Station section is awaited. A consultancy group has been appointed to design and conduct a competition to select an operator for these lines and the operator is expected to be in place by autumn next year.
While park and ride is an important element of the overall public transport strategy, its role seems to have escaped the previous Government's attention. It fell to this Government to introduce tax incentives to encourage park and ride facilities. We have also provided £2 million directed specifically at the Dublin area and we have made significant progress. By the end of this year, 2000 park and ride spaces will have been provided. Furthermore, the removal of benefit-in-kind from public transport passes provided by employers for their employees should encourage greater usage of public transport.
There are a number of major roads projects which are critical to managing Dublin's transport. The southern cross section of the C-ring is well advanced and is expected to be completed early next year. In addition, the South Eastern Motorway, the last leg of the C-ring, is due to commence in early 2001, as is work on the Dublin port tunnel. Part of the Northern Motorway, linking the airport to the Balbriggan bypass, has already commenced and the second phase will get under way in 2001. These major improvements are vital for improved road capacity and they will substantially complete the major road network around the city area.
We have also taken a number of short-term measures designed to reduce congestion. These include the construction of free-flow slips at the N4, N7 and Ballymount interchanges on the M50. In addition, access to Dublin airport will be improved as a result of a co-operative, cost sharing effort between the NRA and Aer Rianta involving the construction of free-flow slips at the airport roundabout which should be completed shortly. Funding is also being provided for new roads associated with traffic management measures, including the Coombe by-pass and the North King Street project.
Improved traffic management also has an important role to play. The Director of Traffic appointed for Dublin city has brought a greater concentration and efficiency to traffic administration and has implemented a strong enforcement policy. Progress is also being made on making the city more cyclist friendly. Some 140 kilometres of cycleways will be in place by the end of this year.
