Public transport is vital for families and communities. A decent, reliable and sustainable transport system connects people with each other, work, education and recreation. The Minister will know that Fingal east faces systematic and long-standing deficits in public transport. The lack of infrastructure is now constraining economic growth and worsening climate outcomes and residential development. This has led to a dependency on car use. The OECD concluded that Ireland's transport system is structurally designed to accommodate cars. This is down to consecutive governments not prioritising public transport. Some 76% of people rely on cars. It is one of the highest rates in the EU. This has been the story in Fingal east for many years - huge residential developments with no proper infrastructure, schools, healthcare or transport and no building of communities. Some 58% of short journeys are still made by car. This is a major issue in our area where transport is not factored into planning. There are huge housing developments with no reliable or accessible transport so estates in the Minister's constituency in Knocksedan and Kinsealy are left without footpaths much less public transport. This has to be central to any future developments in Fingal east. When I first moved to Swords the MetroLink was soon to follow. It was a selling point for me in buying my home but 35 years later, almost €500 million being spent and basically nothing has happened. It is yet another staggering failure of public spending oversight by Government. The current works on the R132 to facilitate delivery of MetroLink have caused chaos with traffic coming in and out of Swords at a standstill. It is having a huge impact on commuters. Carers are finding it impossible to get to vulnerable clients, all caused by the works on the R132 and other mismanaged works being done at the same time. There is no management in place. We need MetroLink and I support MetroLink but it has to be delivered in a planned, connected and cost-effective way. The Minister recently promised that MetroLink would not become a children's hospital mark 2, yet €103 million has been spent in the first few months of this year alone with predicted costs skyrocketing from €2.5 billion to €15.8 billion, all out of the public purse. We need a radical shift in transport policy. We need proper planning for transport to meet the needs of our growing population. I welcome the Bill and I hope it addresses the issues I have raised.

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