Page 134 of the programme for Government refers to the completion of the Luas cross-city line and states "[a] decent public transport system is essential to the everyday lives of so many citizens". That is undoubtedly true, but, with the opening of the new cross-city Luas line, the green line has gone overnight from being a very reliable to an unpredictable and unreliable commuter service for many of my constituents in Dublin-Rathdown. What short and long-term measures will the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport take to tackle capacity issues, erratic scheduling and the issue of delayed trams which are frustrating commuters daily. The Minister referenced these issues in the House last month as "teething problems" but the problems grow day by day. When will the Minister's infancy period end? The problems seem to be avoidable and signal, as usual, a lack of proper planning and joined-up thinking in the expansion of the green line, which is to be warmly welcomed. I realise the full roll-out of trams with greater capacity is to happen soon, but it will not fix all of the issues with the Luas.

The Luas cross-city project was completed on time and under budget. It is a programme for Government commitment that has been fully honoured. It connects the existing Luas lines, as well as the Luas lines to the Maynooth line at Broombridge, thereby providing lots of travelling options for lots of people. There are evident problems with new signalling equipment, the size of the trams and so on. In the short term there will be changes in signalling, as well as the rerouting of buses and taxis, to ensure Luas trams will pass through College Green more efficiently. Carriages are being lengthened and new ones are on the way and due to arrive in the next few weeks. Given the demand for the new line, it is evident that it will need to be upgraded to metro standard south of Stephen's Green in the medium to longer term.