Vol. 457 No. 8
107 Mr. Sargent asked the Minister for the Environment the procedure which is to be followed for handing over responsibility for traffic in the Dublin area to a director of traffic attached to Dublin Corporation; the geographical area, the range of responsibilities and the powers to be granted under the new structure; and when the new system will be operational. [16548/95]
Over and above the specific DTI traffic management measures, I believe that more effective action on traffic management and enforcement, including parking restraint, is essential, particularly in Dublin city, if the DTI strategy is to be successfully implemented, and if its objective of shifting commuters from private cars to public transport is to be achieved. The existing arrangements under which a number of agencies have responsibility for individual aspects of traffic management and enforcement have clearly failed to adequately tackle congestion problems in Dublin and fundamental changes are necessary.
I announced, therefore, last August that the Government has decided there should be a Director of Traffic for Dublin who would take over responsibility from the Garda for the administration of the traffic warden and tow-away services, and for the fines-on-the-spot system, introduce wheelclamping, and have overall operational responsibility for traffic management in Dublin city. A special consultancy study is to be undertaken to define the organisational structures required to ensure that the director can fully and effectively discharge his/her functions and that the new unit within Dublin Corporation will have optimum operational capacity, functional independence, and self-financing capability. Arrangements for commissioning this study are now well advanced. When it is completed, firm decisions can be made on implementation matters generally, including the precise role and functions of the director vis-à-vis other officials and elected representatives.
It is intended that the director will function initially in relation to the administrative area of Dublin Corporation and I would expect an appointment to the new post to be made in the first half of 1996. Consideration can be given at a later stage to extending the mandate to areas in the adjoining counties, on the basis of agreements or agency arrangements between the authorities concerned.
