Seán Ryan
Ceist:6 Mr. S. Ryan asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the plans, if any, he has to ease traffic congestion for the Christmas period; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25159/98]
Other Questions. - Traffic Management.
I assume Deputy Ryan's question relates to the Dublin area.
Dr. Upton
Yes.
Plans to deal with traffic congestion in the Dublin area during the Christmas period were drawn up following consultations with the various agencies involved in traffic management in Dublin city, including the Garda traffic department, Dublin Castle, the Garda divisional officers for the Dublin area, the Department of the Environment and Local Government, the Department of Public Enterprise, the Dublin Transportation Office, Dublin Bus and the four local authorities concerned.
Operation Freeflow IV will operate from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday to Saturday, inclusive, from 4 December 1998 to 9 January 1999. The operation will be city-wide covering both the city centre and the outer suburbs, including 22 main traffic arteries into the city, with special attention being paid to urban villages. The key elements of this operation in so far as they affect the Garda are as follows: 206 extra gardaí, including 160 probationary gardaí, will be specifically allocated to enforce Operation Freeflow IV; at any time there will be 108 foot patrols; 43 motorcycle units will participate in the operation; Garda towing facilities will be directed at the main approaches to the city, including the outer suburbs; a total of 43 traffic wardens will be utilised by the gardaí throughout the city centre and suburbs; the Garda helicopter unit will be deployed to provide live visual and radio updates to ground traffic units which will help to deal with any serious problems and will enhance point duty management; and key routes in the city and suburbs will be targeted for priority attention and blockages, whether by car, other vehicle or, for example, building skips — that will be number one objective for the gardaí.
In addition, the following offences have been targeted for necessary action: box junctions violations; enforcement of the regulations concerning bus lanes and clearways and double-single yellow lines; continuation of tow truck activity and enforcement of loading bay regulations.
Operation freeflow will encompass high visibility patrolling by mobile Garda resources, particularly motor cycles and foot patrols. In addition, there will be rigid enforcement of the bus lane and clearway regulations in order to maintain the smooth flow of public transport. There is a system in place which allows for instant communication between the Garda Síochána, Dublin Corporation traffic control centre and the public utilities which will assist in co-ordinating Operation Freeflow. I am confident that these measures, with the co-operation of the public, will go a long way towards alleviating traffic congestion in the Dublin area over Christmas.
Dr. Upton
Will the Operation Freeflow initiative be accompanied by an advertisement campaign to point out to motorists the damage illegal parking does and the need to adhere to traffic regulations? Have any targets been set in relation to the time it will take this operation to ensure illegally parked cars, skips and so on will be removed? To what extent will the process extend to urban villages given the restrictions on the number of people employed in it? Will all urban villages be covered by the initiative at all times during the period?
Does the Minister agree that the decision to open bus lanes to motorists last Tuesday gave all the wrong signals and discriminated in an unfair way against bus users? Does he agree that it would have been desirable to hold the line last Tuesday when the importance of the bus service and bus lanes could have been highlighted so as to illustrate how effective they can be as a way to alleviate traffic chaos, in getting people in and out of the city and in increasing the extent to which buses are used as a mode of transport?
Special attention will be paid to urban villages. There are 206 additional personnel to deal with Operation Freeflow this Christmas, some 106 of whom are probationary gardaí but they will have the full powers of a Garda Síochána in the context of Operation Freeflow. It is obviously a problem for anyone commuting in Dublin. The increasing number of vehicles on the roads into the city is a major part of the problem. In those circumstances, as Deputy Upton will agree, the Garda Síochána operating Operation Freeflow have a difficult task. They will pay special attention to urban villages. In addition the co-operation of the public is of crucial importance. If the public does not co-operate the initiative cannot succeed.
In relation to advertising Operation Freeflow, the general public has a good idea of its existence. It is not the first occasion it has been operated and the Minister for the Environment and Local Government, Deputy Dempsey, presided over a very well attended press conference this week, and gave great detail in reply to all questions as did the members of the other agencies in attendance.
(Mayo): Will the Minister acknowledge that, even though Operation Freeflow is necessary and welcome, it is a classic example of a short-term solution? It is only a temporary measure and it is an admission of how pathetically inadequate is the public transport system and traffic management in Dublin. A long-term strategy to end the gridlock which exists all year round and intensifies at Christmas is needed.
Will the Minister acknowledge that the park and ride scheme from the RDS to Whitehall from Monday to Saturday, 10 a.m. until 6 p.m. is designed for the urban shopper rather than the urban worker? To get to the bottom of an ongoing and worsening problem creating gridlock, an overall vision and plan is needed for the regulation of traffic in Dublin to ease the nightmare which driving in the city has become.
Deputy Higgins' question comes close to asking for Operation Freeflow all year round. It is the intention of the Minister for the Environment and Local Government to devise a long-term plan for traffic management and he is more than capable of answering these matters himself.
On the matters raised in relation to my Department and the responsibility of the Garda Síochána it is intended to introduce on-the-spot fines in 1999 for bus lane offences and the Garda will rigorously enforce them. Other proposals include fines for violations at box junctions. These issues are the responsibility of the Department of the Environment and Local Government although the question of enforcement is a matter for the traffic wardens and the Garda Síochána. The law in this respect will be rigorously enforced all year round.
The broader question of traffic management in Dublin relates to issues such as bus corridors, Luas and the future expansion of other modes of transport and clearly these matters do not fall within my remit. The 206 gardaí who will be working on Operation Freeflow this Christmas are dedicated to this cause. They will be augmented by the Garda helicopter which will be of considerable assistance during the morning and evening rush hours. The helicopter will identify trouble spots and assist the gardaí on the ground in clearing them.
On behalf of the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform and the Commissioner of the Garda Síochána, I earnestly request that the public co-operate with the initiative. It cannot succeed unless there is a high level of co-operation.
Dr. Upton
Does the Minister agree that an advertising campaign would be very effective in conjunction with this initiative? It could encourage people to pool cars or use public transport.
Would the Minister discuss with his colleague, Deputy O'Rourke, the possibility of grossly subsidising or even providing free transport on Dublin Bus during December as way of dealing with problems and as a useful experiment to see what the public's response would be to such an initiative?
The Minister would have no responsibility for free transport.
Dr. Upton
Would he discuss the matter with the Minister, Deputy O'Rourke?
I would not hesitate to discuss any constructive matter with Deputy O'Rourke but I have known Deputy Upton for a long time and I have no doubt he is more than capable of voicing his own concerns to Deputy O'Rourke without the necessity of an intermediary.
Dr. Upton
I have done that. I was hoping the Minster would act as a catalyst to bring about an effective response.
I will certainly raise the matter with the Minister. I cannot guarantee what the response will be.
In regard to an advertising campaign, the Minister, Deputy Dempsey held a successful press conference which was well attended by members of the media and well reported. An advertising campaign could not add much to the cause but I will mention it to that Minister within whose remit Operation Freeflow falls.
My Department is involved through the Garda Síochána and its enforcement of the initiative. This operation, however, goes beyond the enforcement issue into the wider context which Deputy Higgins mentioned earlier.
If the initiative for the Christmas period is successful, will it be introduced over the rest of the year? It is incredible that we could have a solution to traffic congestion at Christmas when it will be so much more severe. If we can do something over the Christmas period, we should be able to do far better for the rest of the year. After all, the frustration felt by the traveller every day is far greater than that felt by people on a Christmas shopping expedition.
While in Opposition, I stated on a number of occasions that there were not sufficient numbers of Garda Síochána in the force. That is why we moved to increase the number in the force to 12,000 members. When I took office there were 10,700 gardaí. Today there are more than 11,150 members and I hope that number will continue to climb. We hope to recruit 550 extra gardaí next year.
I make this point because availability of resources is extremely important in the context of establishing an operation similar to Operation Freeflow on a year round basis. It is not for the fun of it that we take 160 probationary gardaí from Templemore and put them on to the streets of Dublin. The reason we do that is that we do not have a sufficient number of gardaí to release from other very important work. The implementation of a freeflow operation would clearly hinge on the availability of resources. However, everyone recognises that the problem must be resolved. In that respect, it is the intention of the Garda Síochána to review Operation Freeflow at the earliest opportunity.
I can give the House astonishing figures on the number of fines and so on imposed throughout the year, which show there has been active enforcement. For example, in 1997 the Garda issued 70,171 on-the-spot fines for parking offences and traffic wardens issued 239,330 such fines, which compared with 272,641 fines in 1996. Enforcement will be maintained, as far as it is possible to do so, to ensure there is an adequate deterrent for those who breach the traffic laws. Let there be no doubt about it — people who indiscriminately breach the traffic laws, whether by parking illegally or other such manoeuvres, contribute seriously to gridlock.