James Larkin Road works and DART disruption
Deputy Brabazon complains that slow Uisce Éireann roadworks and bank holiday rail maintenance combined with the half marathon caused major transport chaos on the northside. The Tánaiste says Uisce Éireann should take Oireachtas concerns seriously and acknowledges frustration over the pace of works.
I raised with the Tánaiste a few weeks ago the issue of the Irish Water works on James Larkin Road.
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Those works continue at a snail's pace. I will raise today, in the context of the bank holiday weekend just gone, that DART services were suspended for maintenance works. At the same time, we also had the Dublin City Half Marathon take place in which 13,000 athletes were running. This caused transport chaos, particularly across the northside. I witnessed up to 30 people standing at several bus stops when the buses were caught up in traffic, we had no DARTs and the roads were chock-a-block. There was no alternative way for people to get around. I ask that something be done in relation to long bank holiday weekend works on the DART. The DART is absolutely necessary on those particular weekends.
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I thank Deputy Brabazon. I am a bit frustrated to hear they have not made progress more speedily on those Uisce Éireann works. I really appeal to Uisce Éireann, when Members of the Oireachtas, Government or Opposition, raise issues in this House to please take them seriously. Please, just take them seriously. Uisce Éireann is a State body and TDs raise issues here in good faith. When they raise them on the floor of the national Parliament, if Deputies could receive a comprehensive and meaningful response I would appreciate that.
In regard to DART works more generally, it is a statement of the obvious that upgrade works and the likes cause a level of inconvenience. I accept and acknowledge that. I know that traditionally Iarnród Éireann has chosen bank holiday weekends to undertake projects of significant scale because the extra weekend day allows it to achieve more progress more efficiently, rather than doing it over multiple weekends or inconveniencing weekday passengers and people who are going to work. Iarnród Éireann tells me it is standard international railway practice for bank holiday weekends to be used for works. I will ask the National Transport Agency, NTA, to work closely with Iarnród Éireann and Dublin Bus to see if any measures could be put in place to help mitigate that, including maybe increased capacity on bus routes. I will follow up with the Minister for Transport on that.