Vol. 1043 No. 4
6. Deputy Duncan Smith asked the Minister for Transport what plans there are for improved bike security measures, turning points for buses, electric vehicle, EV, charging points, and car parking measures at Portmarnock train station; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42897/23]
Three weeks ago, construction work began at Portmarnock train station, which cut off the majority of car parking spaces and threw many people’s travel arrangements into disarray. What are the long-term plans for improved bike security measures, turning points for buses, EV charging points and long-term car park measures at Portmarnock train station?
I have responsibility for policy and overall funding of public transport in Ireland, including in relation to the rail network. The National Transport Authority, NTA, has statutory responsibility for the planning and development of public transport infrastructure in the greater Dublin area.
I am advised by the NTA of a range of works currently under way at Portmarnock which seem to address the issues raised by the Deputy. I understand these works will be completed by January 2024 and will provide, among other things, a new bus turning point with two bus stops; additional bike parking, increasing the current 40 uncovered bike parking spaces to 60 covered bike parking spaces; improved pedestrian and cycling access; a new set-down area at the station entrance; and upgrades to other existing infrastructure, including drainage, lighting, CCTV and landscaping. These improvements to the station complement the investment made last year through the provision of two new lifts at the station.
In the medium term, I am informed that Iarnród Éireann is planning further improvements to the car park itself, including the potential provision of EV charging points. These improvements will require planning permission and I understand a planning application will be made next year. I hope these improvements will collectively improve the passenger experience at the station. Last year’s rail census showed a strong bounce-back in passenger numbers using the station, even if they are not yet back at the levels of 2019.
More broadly, the area will benefit in the future from improvements to be introduced under BusConnects with a new L81 service, which will be a new service between Sutton and Dublin Airport, calling at Portmarnock station. The works under way at the station will facilitate the introduction of this new service, while Portmarnock will also benefit from DART+ in the coming years using the battery-electric trains to which I referred in response to earlier questions.
There are an awful lot of encouraging plans for Portmarnock train station but the situation is a bit chaotic at the moment. There are a couple of elements. Regarding BusConnects, for someone living in Portmarnock who wants to get a bus to the train station, it is almost handier to take the bus to Malahide than it is to go directly to Portmarnock station. The L81 service will not remedy that for many people who live in Portmarnock, given the planned route.
People living west of Portmarnock, particularly in the older and newer parts of Kinsealy, have to drive because there are no cycle lanes and in many areas there are no pathways. They reluctantly have had to drive to the train station for years, which is obviously not ideal. However, park-and-ride facilities are a feature of train stations almost everywhere outside of the major cities. What appears to be a temporary reduction in car park spaces is having a real impact.
The Minister mentioned that a planning application will be made next year. How many spaces will be included in that? Will it be a multi-storey car park solution?
It is my understanding that it is likely to be multi-storey. The Deputy is correct that as part of these improvements to the DART station, there is a temporary reduction in car park spaces, from approximately 270 to 170 spaces. There is a short-term reduction but, subject to planning permission, the current spaces are due to be replace with a more significant parking service.
Park-and-ride services have a role and are an important part of the various solutions. They may help to address some of the issues I mentioned on the approaches to the M50 where drivers cannot effectively get through because the roads are at full capacity. Park-and-ride facilities outside some of those locations may help to overcome that problem, particularly where we provide bus priority lanes in order to allow buses to get through quickly. I am not sure they are the ideal solution for a local area-----
Yes.
-----where people are taking 2 km or 3 km trips. That is not the sort of situation for which we are looking to provide a park-and-ride service. It is more for helping with long-term solutions. The solution in the case of Portmarnock has to come from the local authority. Fingal County Council is starting to step up by making sure there are proper footpaths and safe cycling access, so that we can start getting what is available in Dutch towns and cities where there are massive bike parking facilities beside railway stations.
I thank the Minister. He will get a chance to come back in.
Bikes and trains go well together.
I agree. Public transport, be it a local bus service or, ideally, cycling and active travel to get people to the train station, is the way to go. I do not like to see big park-and-ride facilities and I am certainly not promoting that in this case but the reality is that, on the Kinsealy side of Portmarnock especially, none of the Fingal County Council plans is going to provide safe levels of access, so a degree of car parking provision will always be needed at a train station like Portmarnock. That is not to say we want a large park-and-ride facility to be created. Those who live in Portmarnock want to get the bus and to be able to cycle safely to the train station. They are not able to do that at the moment and there is concern that with the plans that are coming forward, they probably will not be able to do that in the future as easily as they should. We must take a look at the future bus provision and improve the cycle network on what in many ways are old country roads which now have a large town built around them. There are a lot of positive initiatives going on and I hope we can improve the situation as the planning applications are made.
I will make one last point. It might be seen as tangential but I think it is central. There was a very important report two years ago, which I think was called Travelling in a Woman's Shoes, which was about safety and public transport for women or other users who may not feel safe at night. Some of the investment in Portmarnock DART Station has improved lighting, the public realm and the sense of safety and security and made the station more attractive. That is a really important part of the developments we need in our DART stations where sometimes late at night they can feel just a little bit isolated. Improving the station as well as providing the other transport connections is a part of what we need to do.
7. Deputy Marc Ó Cathasaigh asked the Minister for Transport his views on running a national communications campaign to address driving to, and engine idling at, school gates, to help improve education and awareness of the need for safe roads and clean air for children and to support the roll-out of the Green Schools Safe Routes to School programme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41927/23]
The Department is running a very successful campaign in Your Journey Counts. Has the Minister considered a similar campaign, one that focuses in particular on the dangers of engine idling outside schools and public buildings, and the dangers that are associated with being reliant on cars to get children to and from school, to complement the roll-out of the Green Schools and the Safe Routes to School programmes. The two can go hand in hand.
I thank the Deputy for raising this issue, which to my mind has two fundamental aspects. The first is education and awareness, as suggested by the Deputy, and the second is improvements on the ground around schools. I am glad that good progress has been made in regard to both aspects.
The Deputy will probably be aware of the Your Journey Counts campaign, which is a multi-platform integrated advertising campaign across TV, radio, print, out-of-home, digital and social advertising. While not directed solely at school journeys, this national campaign highlights the benefits of active and sustainable travel options related to reducing Ireland's transport emissions in line with climate action plan targets, as well as significant Government investment in these options. The campaign forms part of our wider public engagement and communications strategy, as referenced in both the action plan for the sustainable mobility policy and the climate action plan. This strategy will include a multifaceted approach, incorporating among other things, developing, implementing and evaluating a range of pilot public engagement initiatives and associated studies across a range of areas, including education. Highlighting issues relating to idling at school gates can certainly be looked at as part of this strategy.
In terms of improvements on the ground around schools, the Deputy has mentioned the Safe Routes to School programme. This programme is improving the school environment through interventions such as school zones, which aim to create a safe protected area outside the school gate where children are prioritised. They use identifiable design features, such as pencil-shaped bollards and colourful road markings to highlight the presence of the school and encourage traffic to slow down in the school zone area, prevent parking on footpaths and encourage drivers to make legal and safe drop-offs outside of the school zone area and thus reduce the potential for school-gate idling as referred to by the Deputy.
I also addressed this issue in a Topical Issue debate just last week, when I talked about the EPA report on air pollution and the impact that is having on public health, including excess mortality in our communities. Up to 1,400 people a year die as a result of air pollution. Although it is a very stark figure, it does not take account of the number of people who suffer adverse health impacts from air pollution. In the case of kids going to school, they are at the wrong height in terms of tailpipe emissions. I have skin in the game in that I bring my kids over and back to a school in Tramore. The most dangerous part of that journey is the last couple of hundred metres because that is where cars pull up and idle. We can see those physical dangers in terms of car movements, but what is less obvious and visible is the danger posed by tailpipe emissions coming from those cars. I do not think it is something on which we have adequate public awareness. A public awareness campaign could contribute to that.
As I stated, as part of the wider public engagement and communications strategy, we will be highlighting the issues the Deputy raised. They merit expansion, in particular the issues relating to idling at school gates. We must accelerate the infrastructure delivery of the Safe Routes to School programme as a preventative measure so that within 200 m of schools, as the Deputy mentioned, we can address the core safety issues that arise outside many schools by alleviating congestion and improving safety and air quality, while also addressing the clear public health concerns the Deputy outlined. We need to complement that with the wider campaign the Safe Routes to School programme involves. That is being ramped up by the Department and I appreciate Deputy Ó Cathasaigh's input in that regard.
Investment in this type of awareness campaign but also the physical infrastructure the Minister of State talks about is mission critical. It is not just an environmental or climate action policy; it is also a public health policy and a social justice policy. If we invest in infrastructure in this way, it is good for the kids. They get to walk or scoot to school. They arrive more awake and have cleaner air. It is good for the parents that they are not dropping the kids to the school gate. It is also good for our wider prosperity and eases congestion, which is to the good as well. We all know what happens to traffic levels when the schools are out; they reduce significantly. In Tramore, aside from the city-based traffic, a lot of the traffic is around the schools. Then there is the planet-wide dividend where we are doing things like reducing emissions but also improving air quality. We really have to go after this because it affects our smallest, most vulnerable group who are literally at the wrong height in terms of these tailpipe emissions.
Before the Minister of State responds, I call Deputy Leddin.
Thank you for allowing me to speak on this, a Leas-Cheann Comhairle. At the risk of straying into the Minister's other portfolio, given that we are talking about air quality, I will add to the points made by Deputy Ó Cathasaigh. I have a very strong concern that we do not have a true picture of the effect of traffic on air quality. The Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, published a very good report last week. It provides a macro view of air quality across the 116 stations in the country. In a response last week, the Minister of State, Deputy Ossian Smyth, noted that there were no further plans to roll out stations, so we really do not have the full picture of the effect of traffic on air quality. This is not just about awareness; it is about data and analysis as well. We need to do that analysis and get the full picture.
I thank both Deputies. The evidence is clear. An excessive number of trips to and around schools will have an impact on overall air quality. The science is clear on that. That is why we have to work with communities and partner with them to provide safe routes to schools. We must provide a safe alternative for families and children. If we look at the last 30 years, we are all aware of the data from the Central Statistics Office, CSO, showing that we had a very positive story to tell in the 1970s and the 1980s when it came to active travel and schools. I met the Safe Routes to School team and I know the Minister met it recently as well. We are seeing positive indications regarding the numbers of trips.
The infrastructure and the delivery of it will make a big impact on increasing the opportunities for active travel for children, but also on improving air quality around schools, both of which are issues the Deputy referenced.
On the wider issue with the EPA, access to data and the microanalysis of that, I will ask the officials in the Department to engage with the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications on it. I appreciate the Deputy raising it.
8. Deputy Marc Ó Cathasaigh asked the Minister for Transport his plans to enhance the impact of the work of smarter travel workplaces and campus programmes in relation to workplaces located in business parks on the outskirts of towns and cities where the planning and design of the parks have resulted in over-reliance on the private car; whether he has considered the provision of electric shuttles and bike share schemes to assist with modal shift in these locations; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41928/23]
This question relates to the smarter travel programme for workplaces and campuses. It is focused on how we get people around business parks, for example. They are very often out of town and are very expansive. Many of the companies based in these business parks want to lean in to facilitating public transport or active travel options, but I am not sure the infrastructure or the planning provision is quite there yet and so I wanted to ask the Minister about it.
The NTA's smarter travel programme is encouraging more sustainable travel to and from workplaces. That potential is one of the reasons the smarter travel mark was selected to form part of my Department’s sustainable mobility policy pathfinder programme. That programme is about selecting demonstration projects to show how we can transform our country and our transport system quickly. Using funding provided by my Department, the smarter travel mark was launched earlier this year and seeks to recognise and celebrate organisations that are committed to active and sustainable travel for their workforce, students and visitors. The mark has had 87 expressions of interest to date, and eight organisations have received either the gold, silver or bronze award, including, I am glad to say, the Department of Transport itself.
The wider smarter travel programme is a national voluntary behaviour change programme and supports workplaces and third-level institutions to develop and implement sustainable travel plans for staff and student bodies. Programme partners are invited to survey their staff and students about how they commute to work or campus. The survey report guides organisations on how they can best facilitate, encourage and promote an increase in active and sustainable commuting. More than 230 organisations across Ireland are partners in the smarter travel programme, with 69 having joined since January 2021. Partners include private and public sector organisations including local authorities, leading hospitals and third level universities. Some of the private sector organisations are located in business parks such as Raheen, Ringaskiddy and Eastpoint.
Importantly, we are also supporting these behavioural change initiatives through continued and increasing investment in active travel and public transport services and infrastructure across the country to help people make the switch.
I might come back the Deputy in the later part of the question, but I make the point that while we need to work out what we do in business parks, such as Raheen Business Park down in Limerick - I believe Regeneron is a massive employer there - it is not just about travel within the parks. We need to work out how to get people to them sustainably and that will help them become sustainable campuses internally. The likes of the upgraded Limerick rail line and the opening of the Shannon-Foynes line will give us an opportunity to put a station in the middle of the business park. That would really transform it.
I am sure Deputy Leddin will adequately speak about Limerick. I will focus on a Waterford example, specifically the IDA Business Park there. There are a number of bus routes that drop people off at the Cork Road and the quality of the service is pretty good. However, if a person is headed to the premises of Sun Life, which is a massive employer, or Teva or Bausch + Lomb, or to Waterford and Wexford Education and Training Board to do a retrofitting course, you could be 1.5 km away when you alight at the bus stop at Woodlawn Grove. That is a 19-minute walk, more or less. If it is a rainy or wintery day it makes it difficult to make that decision, when one could drive straight to the door. There is a real potential here, especially in business parks of this type. They are crying out to burnish their green credentials, and not in a greenwashing way, as they are looking to seriously reduce what would probably be a scope 3 emission. They want to get their employees to the workplace in a sustainable way. The business parks are big enough and we should look at this to see what solutions could be there.
The Deputy is absolutely right. Another example, one the Leas-Cheann Comhairle may be more familiar with, is at Parkmore in Galway. There we have some of the worst traffic gridlock, which is not serving anyone's interests. There have been some very detailed surveys to think fundamentally about how we can change the way people get to the business park, but also how they travel within it. The Deputy is right that innovative solutions are going to be key.
I cannot help noticing a connection with the Deputy's previous question. There is another example that is very local to him, but which is relevant and important. He mentioned schools in Tramore. I had the great pleasure of being there recently and visiting Ardscoil na Mara. It is a fantastic school doing brilliant work and was only recently built, but it was designed around the car and for everyone to drive to it. As the Deputy said, we have got this incredible congestion problem outside the school with air pollution and an unhealthy transport system that does not serve our kids' purposes. We need to look not just at business parks but at how we are building our schools, where we are building them and how we design. That needs to change because they are being built as if they are business parks, that is, with roads around them as if everyone is going to drive to school.
We are over time. I ask for co-operation with the time because other Deputies are waiting to get in as well.
The Minister might be interested in looking back on the discussion I had at the education committee this week. We had the forward planning unit of the Department of Education in and I raised the example of Ardscoil na Mara. It is a pretty hostile environment for pedestrians and cyclists. It is set up for vehicular traffic. There is a role for the Minister's Department and the NTA to sit down with the Department of Education and make better planning decisions about how we situate our schools and how we use them as sustainable transport nodes within our local communities.
Returning to the business parks, there are solutions here. We cannot expect a bus route to divert through a business park and spend 40 minutes ferrying people around to the different places. We could look at things like shared mobility solutions. I can see e-scooters within business parks working. We could look at an electric shuttle bus within a business park, perhaps funded or co-funded by the different businesses there. I can seek that working. We should be looking at these as solutions.
I absolutely agree. One of the benefits of our smarter travel programme, with which the business parks at Raheen, Ringaskiddy and Eastpoint are involved, could be the businesses collectively coming together to provide a common transport service within the business park. That might be a really good part of how that smarter travel mark is judged so we really reward the organisations and business parks that start to put the sustainability of the park centre stage.
9. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Transport the extent to which it might be possible to ensure the availability of extra carriages to meet commuter demands affecting the towns of Kilcock, Maynooth, Leixlip, Confey and Celbridge, Hazelhatch, Sallins and Newbridge; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43077/23]
This question relates to the extent to which the existing commuter rail services can be improved by way of adding extra carriages in order to ensure that greater and effective methods are used to bring more passengers to their destinations in a quick and efficient way.
I thank the Deputy for the question. As he is aware, the Government continues to invest heavily in improving our rail network. This includes initiatives such as the DART+ programme and the previous Government's approval of the purchase of an additional 41 InterCity railcars, or ICRs. Looking ahead, the DART+ programme will extend and enhance the current DART system and services west to Maynooth and Celbridge-Hazelhatch. The DART+ fleet project will introduce electric and battery electric units to the DART network over time and may allow for the introduction of DART services in County Kildare in advance of the electrification of lines. More immediately, while the existing Iarnród Éireann operational fleet is already fully deployed on scheduled services, delivery of the additional 41 ICRs commenced late last year and I am pleased to confirm Iarnród Éireann took delivery of the final batch of these earlier this year. Once fully commissioned, these will serve to enhance customer capacity right across the rail network.
The NTA has advised that there are plans to utilise the 41 new ICRs to extend the length of multiple train sets operating on the current rail network and passengers can expect to see longer trains in operation from quarter 1 of next year, once the commissioning phase for the new carriages is complete. As part of ongoing work by the NTA and Iarnród Éireann with regard to the deployment of the ICRs, consideration is being given to providing new and additional carriages where passenger demand, available carriages and suitable infrastructure support such provision. Decisions on this will be made over the coming months.
I am sure the Deputy will agree these new carriages and the redeployment of existing carriages will greatly assist the NTA and Iarnród Éireann in addressing the issue of growing demand across the rail network.
I thank the Minister for his reply. Might particular consideration be given to convenience for the commuter? That is a major consideration. I am referring to the length of time in which a number of passengers can be taken from point A to point B.
I also ask the Minister to consider the extent to which passengers boarding trains in the furthest region of the commute in the morning find that there is standing room only after only three or four stations. This can be dealt with in the short term by way of extra carriages.
I agree with the Deputy that this is the easiest, quickest and best available solution to us, helped by the fact that the carriages will be ready to go within a number of months. Iarnród Éireann will have to assess where the real bottlenecks lie. Deputy Durkan is suggesting there is a regular pattern of overcrowding in Kildare, which I can well imagine, as well as on the northern line, which was mentioned earlier. These are two areas of difficulty. In Dublin there are real problems with housing and lots of young people are now commuting to college, as well as people going to work. We need to make sure we have a sufficient number of carriages in place. Those 41 new inter-city rail cars will be coming on stream within months. They are here already but we just need to get them commissioned. They will make a significant enhancement to the capacity, particularly on those networks where people are standing on trains. That is not tolerable. We have to increase capacity and make sure the quality of the service meets people's expectations.
I thank the Minister for his reply. I also ask that there be a better level of co-ordination and co-operation between the road and rail services in order to ensure that commuters are transported from point A to point B in the most efficient and effective manner. I ask the Minister to be conscious of the need to ensure that passengers arrive on time. It should not be necessary for people to get up at 5 a.m. or 6 a.m. in order to get to a destination when their journey should only take one quarter of the time. In that regard, I ask for better management of the services available, whether they be road or rail. The services need to be co-ordinated in an effective and efficient manner to allow people to get to their destination in a shorter timeframe, which can be done. We must try to eliminate instances of trains stopping on the line, which results in all of the passengers not getting to work on time. We must reduce the levels of conflagration caused by multitudes of traffic converging on the roads at a particular point, to which the Minister referred earlier.
Again, I agree with the Deputy. In terms of making sure that people get to their destination on time, the new carriages are key but the other key project, particularly for Deputy Durkan's constituents, is DART+, which cannot come quick enough. That project is very ambitious and involves a tripling of the carrying capacity of the DART network, an expansion of that network and a switch to battery-electric trains, as well as the existing electric system that the DART runs on. That is currently in planning and, like a lot of our transport projects, we have been waiting a long time for a decision on it. However, I expect a lot of these projects to start to come out of the planning process in the coming months. We are going to start to see An Bord Pleanála issuing judgments. Some may be delayed, some may not get full planning permission and some may be subject to further judicial review, but the scale of transport projects that we have coming is beyond compare in the history of the State. The scale of investment we need to make is also beyond compare but it is the right investment because it is the only way we can guarantee the fast, regular and reliable journey times that Deputy Durkan's constituents rightly demand.
10. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Transport for an update on the N4 upgrade; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43166/23]
I ask the Minister for an update on the N4 Mulllingar to Roosky scheme. Back in 2010, the preferred route corridor was published, after three years of work was done and €4 million was spent. The scheme was suspended at that stage and recommenced back in 2018. I would appreciate it if the Minister could give me an update on it today.
As Minister for Transport, I have responsibility for overall policy and Exchequer funding in relation to the national roads programme. Once funding arrangements have been put in place with Transport Infrastructure Ireland, TII, under the Roads Acts 1993 to 2015, and in line with the national development plan, the planning, design, improvement and upgrading of individual national roads is a matter for TII, in conjunction with the local authorities concerned. TII ultimately delivers the national roads programme in line with Project Ireland 2040, the NPF and the NDP.
The Government has earmarked €5.1 billion for capital spending on new national roads projects from 2021 to 2030 as part of the NDP. As the greater portion of this funding becomes available in the second half of the decade, this meant that there was a constraint on the funding available for new projects this year. Approximately €491 million of Exchequer capital funds have been provided for national roads through TII to local authorities in 2023. These allocations were announced by the Department of Transport and TII on 16 February 2023.
Having regard to the funding constraint I outlined, it was not possible to provide an allocation to all new national road projects in the NDP for 2023. However, the majority of projects have been allocated funding, including the N4 Mullingar to Longford scheme. With regard to this project, a draft emerging preferred transport corridor has been determined and work is ongoing on finalising the preferred route. It is expected that this process will be complete in the current year. I have allocated funding of €200,000 to Westmeath County Council in 2023 to complete this phase. As with all national roads projects included in the NDP, the delivery programme for the project will be kept under review for 2024. This will include consideration of all developments in relation to the project.
This route is committed to as part of the NDP. It is a named route, so we need to see it progress. The Minister spoke about the €200,000 that was allocated this year to finalise phase 2, which is the route selection phase, but unfortunately new rules published by the Department in June of this year providing that a transport appraisal framework must be concluded mean that the €200,000 does not go far enough. Unfortunately, this is happening at a time when we are hearing reports of a €200 million underspend on roads projects for the first six months of the year in the Department. We need additional moneys to complete phase 2 and ensure that route selection can be concluded this year. We will then need new moneys in budget 2024 to ensure that this route, which was suspended in 2011, can move to phase 3.
I am absolutely committed and we will continue to keep projects under review. We want to deliver, build and develop all projects in the NDP. If there is not sufficient funding to allow this project to get through route selection, we will make sure more is provided. A similar question was asked earlier on the allocation of resources. We have a challenge in that we have some €100 billion worth of projects already in planning, not including a number of projects such as the widening of the rail track north of Dublin and a whole range of other projects. The A5 was mentioned earlier in the context of additional funding. All of these projects are costing additional billions and we are also seeing inflation across a whole range of road and public transport projects. This means that all of the projects in the NDP cannot be delivered within an immediate timeframe, that is, this decade. TII and the Department must make sure that we keep as many projects as possible progressing in an orderly fashion. We will do that but it would be a false promise to pretend that everything can be built, given that the funding available is three times lower than what the overall need may be.
I thank the Minister for his commitment that if additional funding is needed to conclude route selection this year, it will be forthcoming. That is very welcome. I accept that all roads cannot be built at the one time, but this road requires €3 million to allow it to move to the next stage. It needs to move to the next stage because it is an extremely busy road and it is essential for balanced regional development in the west and north west from a connectivity perspective. Only today, we heard an item on radio about road safety and a report from the TII which predicts that if this road is not upgraded, we will see seven fatalities and 11 injuries. TII has a statutory obligation to ensure that our national roads are safe for all users. A sum of €3 million will enable this project to move to the next stage. I do not believe the Minister is unable to find €3 million to move this project on and to give certainty to the farmers and other people living along the road, who urgently need it.
I absolutely agree with Deputy Troy that road safety has to be our first priority.
It is everyone's first priority. Particularly as public representatives, and also in our own private lives, we have all seen the tragedy that road deaths and serious injuries bring. We have to design our transport system, first and foremost, to make sure that we reduce that. I will meet the board of TII. I met them last year and I will be meeting them at the next board meeting. One of the key questions I will be putting to them is what role they can play in helping us reduce that, particularly given the increased fatalities and injuries that we have seen in recent years. That requires a combination of measures. Yes, it is about designing and building new roads, but it is also about changing design on existing roads, changing speed limits and patterns of behaviour. There is a whole range of different initiatives we need to take to improve road safety.
I want to make one other point to give confidence to the public, the Deputy and others. The Deputy mentioned that there was a significant underspend in the roads programme or spending on roads. I do not think that will be the case at the end of the year. We have an agency which is very good at building roads and has significant engineering capability. We will spend our budget fully. The problem we have is that that budget cannot meet all the needs.
11. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Transport if he is satisfied with discussions between the NTA and other agencies and a private developer in relation to privately developed transport infrastructure (details supplied). [43050/23]
This question relates to the discussions that have taken place between the public and private authorities in relation to the utilisation and cross-utilisation of the various services in order to bring about an improvement and convenience to the users.
I understand that the Deputy is referring to both antisocial behaviour and accessibility issues at Clongriffin DART station. As he is aware, Clongriffin station has suffered vandalism where the station's glass facades, on the elevation over the tracks, were shattered on a number of occasions. To address this a project has commenced by Iarnród Éireann, focused on reconstructing the facades. This project, which is being funded by the NTA, will remove the shattered glass panels and replace them with newly constructed block or stone walls and architecturally designed stainless steel panels. The glazed automatic doors will also be replaced. At a cost of roughly €1.3 million, works have already started and are due to be finished by the end of the year. I am pleased that this will allow the station to be fit for function, in what is an expanding residential DART location. Passengers will also benefit from upgraded station conditions and presentation, increasing security.
The current access from the Baldoyle side of the station consists of a stairwell and lift to the elevation over the tracks. I understand that there have been complaints about its condition. As a result, discussions are taking place between Iarnród Éireann and Richmond Homes Limited, which is currently responsible for the assets, in relation to their improvement and transfer to Iarnród Éireann. I hope that this issue can be finalised in the near future and the asset quality improved. I am also pleased to note that improved access to the station from the Baldoyle side is planned as part of the nearby development roll-out, which should further enhance the station. Overall, I am satisfied that these steps should provide for a notable improvement to the quality and accessibility of Clongriffin station in the near future.
I have a supplementary question. What is the Minister's opinion on the extent of the progress at this stage? Is it adequate to meet the obvious requirements? I ask him to comment on the utilisation of those areas that are in private ownership which could be utilised in co-operation with the public need to avail of every possible opportunity to improve the facilities at the station.
Earlier I was asked a question about Portmarnock DART station, which was very similar in this regard. I will say the same thing I said to Deputy Duncan Smith in responding earlier. There is a significant proposal in place. There is a 400-car car park that was closed during Covid and has not reopened, as I understand it. There are potential developments, including the development of an underground car park that is owned by a developer. I believe that one of the real benefits of transport-led development and development close to public transport stations is that you improve efficiencies very close to a good public transport location. The likes of Clongriffin DART station and other train and bus stations around the country offer real potential for development close to the stations. I hope that can be seen and delivered in Clongriffin quite quickly. As I said earlier in relation to Portmarnock DART station, the quality of the station is important. It must be a really attractive public realm in order that it becomes a very attractive place both to live and to travel to and from.
I ask the Minister to comment on the extent to which discussions are taking place, or have taken place, between the public and private sector actors, with a view to creating shorter journey times for commuters. The quicker a traveller gets from point A to point B at a station will hugely determine at what time that traveller gets to his or her workplace, as the case may be.
To conclude, I will repeat the response to the question I answered earlier regarding DART+, DART stations in the Kildare region and, similarly, the rest of the DART network. The quicker we deliver DART+, including increased capacity, better trains, and new DART trains, the better. The existing DART trains have served us well, but they are 40 years old, coming to the end of their natural life and very expensive to maintain. Part of the DART+ programme is about replacing the fleet and cascading old trains out. I think that will be delivered quite quickly in the next two years. That will be seen as a major step up in the service the Deputy is looking for.
We do not have time for the next full question. I know Deputy Donnelly's colleague wanted to come in on it, but there is very little time left. It is up to the Deputies.
12. Deputy Paul Donnelly asked the Minister for Transport if he will ensure that the promised bus routes and improved services for students attending TU Blanchardstown in Dublin 15 will be initiated before the promised 2025 deadline. [42831/23]
I ask the Minister to ensure that the promised bus routes and improved service for students attending TU Blanchardstown in Dublin 15 will be initiated before the promised 2025 deadline, as they are desperately needed now.
If I could just come in on a similar issue.
You cannot come in just now, Deputy.
I want to reassure the Deputy that the Government is strongly committed to providing all citizens, including students, reliable and realistic public transport options. To assist with the cost of public transport travel, under budget 2023 I secured funding for the continuation of both the 20% average public service obligation, PSO, fare reduction and the young adult card scheme, which provides eligible third level students with a 50% reduction on PSO and participating commercial bus services. These fare initiatives make a real difference to those using our public transport system. Further, the roll-out of projects like BusConnects, Connecting Ireland, and new town services are among the improvements we are making to achieve our ambitious goals for the sector. In addition, we are in the process of implementing a major redesign of the bus network in Dublin, which aims to provide a modernised service that is fully integrated with other public transport, including Luas and rail.
In the Blanchardstown area specifically, new local routes, the L61 and the L62, will serve TU Dublin Blanchardstown directly. Both services will accommodate students by operating seven days per week, from early morning until late at night. These new services are due to be implemented in 2025 as part of the introduction of the BusConnects B spine, and a transformation of the entire local network around Blanchardstown. Before that, in 2024, the intention is to upgrade the 139 Naas-Maynooth to TU Dublin Blanchardstown bus service to operate hourly, seven days a week. It is important to note that the rate of delivering the overall BusConnects programme is dependent on funding and the availability of key staff, including drivers. However, I firmly believe that with continued investment in public transport services, we will build a more efficient and attractive network for all transport users.
The Minister spoke earlier about the M50 being at capacity. The M3 is also at capacity. However, as the NTA has stated, it will be at least 2025 before this improved bus service is in place from Mulhuddart to the Tyrrelstown, Corduff, Hollywoodrath and Hollystown areas and for TU Dublin Blanchardstown. Between 3,000 to 4,000 students attend the TU. The 38 bus does not go into the college campus in the evenings and the mornings, leaving students with a 40-minute walk. The service frequency is at best every 30 minutes, but on many occasions it is much longer. The routes do not come into the campus. The biggest of the new estates in Dublin 15 are in that area, where there are hundreds of new houses and thousands are being proposed. The interesting thing is that the selling point for all of these developments is an improved bus and public transport system. It does not exist at the moment. It does not exist for the people attending TU Dublin Blanchardstown, for those in Corduff, Mulhuddart, Tyrrelstown, Hollywoodrath and Hollystown. I listened to the Minister's response. I think it is really important that we start moving on this as soon as possible.
I absolutely agree. The Government approved the draft of the new upgraded planning Bill earlier in the week. At the press conference, I was asked if I was supportive. I said I was and I was asked why. One of the reasons is that I can see as Minister for Transport how long it takes us to get projects from conception to being built. The Deputy is right. I would prefer if all those improvements to bus services were here this year but they are likely to be next year and the year after. That is because it takes us roughly ten years to get a bus lane from conception to completion. That is too long for a whole variety of reasons, including insufficient resources, particularly maybe insufficient resources in our planning system, but also because these things are politically difficult. Prioritisation of space so the bus system works quickly is not easy. It takes a lot of political courage.
On the earlier discussion, TU Dublin Blanchardstown is located on the same campus as the IDA business and technology park on the Blanchardstown Road. I would come back to what we were saying earlier about improving the bus services there, working with the IDA to help the campus itself and transport within it. That is another development we should look at, further to the discussions we had with Deputy Ó Cathasaigh earlier. We are absolutely committed to providing a better bus service in Dublin. We can look as well at other options and the likes of the N3, N4 or N11 to improve the bus corridors so that poor Deputy Kenny, in the event of an accident, is not stuck in traffic. He might be able to get the bus up from Leitrim and have a guaranteed arrival time.
For 8 o'clock in the morning.
Yes. That is the sort of ambition we need for improving public transport.
I cannot even get a train.
More than anything else, it requires the reallocation of road space, which requires brave decisions at local councillor level in particular. I expect An Bord Pleanála to start issuing the planning permissions for BusConnects in the coming weeks. Then we have to deliver. We have to collectively deliver in local authorities as well as in central government.
Time is up. We have to conclude Question Time and move on to questions to the Minister for Finance. The Minister might just take one supplementary question from Deputy Daly.
On that topic, I raise a bus route, the 272 from Ballybunnion through Listowel into Tralee. Could the Minister look at that as a matter of urgency? There are workers and students being left behind every morning bar Friday for the last number of weeks. I ask the Minister to look at extra capacity or maybe an extra bus on that route.
Is that one of our new Local Link Connecting Ireland bus services? Does the route have five services a day or three services a day?
It is five.
I would make the point that across the country, this investment in rural public transport is taking off like a rocket. Young people in particular are availing of those services. I will look at that because it is a success. It started in Kerry with the first one around the Dingle Peninsula. There was a twentyfold increase in passenger numbers. Irish people are dying to get to use public transport. What I hope is that when we start to see new services filling up, that gives us the case to go further. It requires money and political commitment but the Deputy will see no lack of that from this Government.
I thank the Minister. We will now move on to questions for the Minister for Finance.
