I was elected for the first time in 2019 as a councillor in Dublin West in the election after the Minister. In preparation for tonight, I looked back over some of my leaflets on transport and infrastructure from that year. One referenced €1.5 billion that was ring-fenced for BusConnects that would cut journey times by 40%. Another referenced a €2 billion investment in rail to electrify and upgrade the Maynooth line to a DART service in line with the national priority to double frequency and triple capacity by 2027. Both highlighted Project Ireland 2040 and the national development plan of 2018 and how the funding had been secured and they were major infrastructural wins at the time. I talked about having the vision, the plan and the budget to finally deliver an integrated transport system for Dublin West, and it was right. The Government did have the vision, the plan and the budget. However, what my leaflet and the Government of the day both failed to appreciate were the barriers and blockages that would then emerge. BusConnects has been stuck in a legal challenge since 2024. DART+ West got planning in 2024 but two judicial reviews delayed progress. They have since been reviewed and work is to begin in late 2026-2027. Seven years on from my first political leaflet, therefore, our major transport projects have not been delivered. I am frustrated, commuters are frustrated and communities are frustrated. I know the Minister, too, is frustrated. The only acceptable response to frustration is meaningful action. That infrastructural deficit is not due to money and it is not due to a lack of strategic planning but to slow and unreliable delivery systems. We have to act to remove the systemic blockages delaying infrastructure delivery across housing, energy utilities and transport. We have to act to tackle delays due to slow and unpredictable legal and planning frameworks. We have to speed things up. We have to meet the needs of the nation from building homes to hospitals and rail lines to power lines. We have to secure Ireland's competitiveness by addressing Ireland's infrastructural deficits. These are national imperatives. For every Member of this House, they are also local imperatives. Last year, over 1,300 new homes were delivered in Dublin West, but too many residents are left waiting on infrastructure. I want BusConnects delivered. Journey times in Dublin West will only reduce if speed increases for the buses. That will only happen with the construction of a core bus corridor. Right now, it can take up to two and a half hours on the 39A for a student who lives in Ongar to get to UCD. The number 38 bus departing the city at peak times travels an average of 12.5 km/h. A professional walker might match or even beat many of our primary commuter routes. I want DART+ West delivered and more capacity in the meantime. I want 2,500 homes in the new area of Dunsink, Dublin 15, delivered by 2029. It is not under the category of critical infrastructure, but I want the Royal Canal greenway delivered. It also featured in my 2019 leaflet and has been submitted to An Coimisiún Pleanála this year. I also want to see an astro pitch in Martin Savage Park. Going forward, I want to see projects such as a new train station at Porterstown to support the new area of Kellystown, beside Clonsilla, which was also in my 2019 leaflet. I also want the proposed Blanchardstown and Tyrrelstown Luas lines envisaged under Luas 2050, the Glasnevin MetroLink station connecting DART+ West to the wider network and the expansion of grid capacity supporting businesses in the Dublin enterprise zone. All of this depends on our ability to deliver infrastructure at pace and at scale. That is why I support this Bill.

Sentiment score: 0.05