Swords traffic and emergency access
Smith says roadworks and traffic changes in Swords are causing severe delays, including near fire and ambulance stations. Carroll MacNeill will check with the National Ambulance Service and raise the issue with the Transport Minister.
I am not in the habit of bringing up traffic on the floor of the Dáil, but such is the scale of the traffic chaos in my home town of Swords that I am having to do it for the second time in three months. I am glad the Minister for Health is here. Due to long-term road closures to facilitate works and huge traffic reorientation projects on the R132 dual carriageway, people's lives are being impacted. They are getting stuck in traffic for 45 minutes when it should have taken five. Right in the middle of this is a Dublin Fire Brigade station and a HSE ambulance station. I have received reports from workers at both those stations that their ability to respond quickly and effectively to emergency calls has been impacted by these road designs. I cannot go into the detail because I do not have the time, but the Minister for Health needs to investigate this because it is impacting the ability of ambulances to get to sick people.
Comment on this
Of course, I will follow up with the National Ambulance Service to see if it has had any specific issues. The Deputy will forgive me; I am not familiar with the road, which is on the other side of the city from me. I will, of course, flag this with the Minister for Transport, who is trying to put significant long-term investment into finding alternative transport solutions for that area.