I am greatful for the opportunity of raising this matter, especially on behalf of those many commuters to and from Dublin city who have found that Dublin traffic has been allowed degenerate into an unprecedented state of chaos. Journeys that took only 20 minutes last year now take up to one hour. For months past commuters in the Dublin area have faced daily battles in the course of their journeys to and from work, spending less time with their families, leaving home earlier in the morning and returning later in the evening. Businesses' turnover has been badly affected by delays in their deliveries and their sales people having encountered additional difficulties because of traffic delays.
The recent surge in car sales has added to the volume of traffic on Dublin streets. The car scrappage scheme launched by the Minister for Finance some 18 months ago has also been acknowledged as a major contributor to these increased car sales. Under this scheme owners of ten-year-old cars were given a Government grant of £1,000 towards the cost of a new car. While the number of cars has not increased as a direct result of that scheme, it has played a major part in increasing the volume of traffic on the streets. It goes without saying that a brand new car, carrying a car loan of perhaps £10,000, will be driven more frequently than would any ten-year-old banger. The Minister for the Environment has conceded that the number of cars on Dublin streets has already reached the levels predicted for the year 2001.
The Government should have foreseen this inevitable consequence of its scrappage scheme and had practical, effective measures in places to counter the increased volume of traffic. No such plans were put in place. Only last weekend did the Government makes any comment on the matters when it transpired that the Taoiseach had experienced at first hand the capital's gridlocked streets, having been struck in a traffic jam for over one and a half hours earlier in the week. Following this he immediately ordered a traffic management plan. Had he come down to earth from his helicopter a little sooner he might have implemented a coherent, practical traffic management plan rather than engaging in this Knee-jerk reaction, called operation free-flow, involving taking in excess of 100 gardaí from regular duties.
It is somewhat ironic that a Government committed to tackling crime will draft in Garda assistance to cope with the capital's traffic crisis. What happens to operation Dóchas set up to counter drug-related crime? Where will that leave the Garda in their day to day crime-fighting duties? Will those gardaí be pulled from operation free-flow as soon as there is another criminal atrocity? What will be the position of Dublin commuters then?
Irish motorists pay £1.5 billion annually to the Exchequer comprised of VAT, vehicle registration tax and excise duty on petrol and deserve far better treatment from the Government than has been meted out to them to date. They have paid very dearly for the privilege of owning a car and, at the very least, should be guaranteed a more strategic approach to traffic management in the capital. Dublin motorists specifically require an end to gridlock which is achievable only if traffic regulations and parking restrictions are strictly enforced. That is not the case at present. As we are well aware, some drivers cause congestion by abandoning their vehicles illegally in the city centre, delivery trucks park in single lane traffic bringing the traffic behind them to a halt and buses cause delays.
Why could we not implement the system which operates very efficiently in some continental countries whereby passengers purchase their bus tickets in local shops? There should be no necessity for passengers to purchase tickets on boarding a bus. If the formers approach was adopted not alone would it speed up the passage of buses through the city but it would also reduce the risk of attacks on their drivers since they would carry no money on board.
Other measures, such as the rapid implementation of all the quality bus corridors promised by the Dublin Transportation Initiative, clearer signposting, lane markings and the greater development of parking areas outside the city centre would go a long way to smoothing Dublin's traffic flow. I will not even ask to what extent the construction of Luas will add to the gridlock. The answer is perfectly clear and does not bear thinking about. We have had sufficient Government Knee-jerk reactions. There must be an immediate comprehensive, practical plan developed for all Dublin motorists.
