“An act of national self-sabotage” - Government transport plan fails commuters and climate, say Greens

The Green Party has strongly criticised the transport spending plan announced by the government today (Wednesday November 26th), saying it delivers a stark message to commuters: expect more years stuck in traffic with no viable public transport alternatives.

By delaying shovel-ready projects like DART+ South West and Luas Finglas, the Party’s Transport Spokesperson, Councillor Feljin Jose, says the government is locking thousands of commuters into longer, more stressful daily journeys.

The Sectoral Investment Plan for Transport, announced today under the National Development Plan review, scraps the 2:1 ratio of spending in favour of public transport that had been set by the Green Party, nudging it instead towards near-parity with spending on roads.

“This plan marks a return to a decades-old pattern for Irish governments: roads first, public transport later - if ever,” Councillor Jose said. “The Green Party broke that pattern because we know how much people struggle with their daily commute. People who have no alternative are spending hours in traffic every day instead of spending that time at home, with their families.

“Pushing shovel-ready projects into the next decade offers no hope of a more efficient commute to those people. This government is giving people in new communities like Adamstown, Clonburis and Clondalkin no option but to get in their cars.

”Additionally, the stagnation of investment in active travel infrastructure, set to continue at €360m a year for the next five years, despite inflation, means local authorities will have to rethink their active travel plans and shelve key projects.

Green Party leader Roderic O’Gorman TD said: “The approach to transport spending that we’re seeing in this plan is classic for government parties that think only in electoral cycles: cut the ribbon on a road or a bypass somewhere for short term electoral gain, and keep kicking the big public transport projects down the road.

“It’s an act of national self-sabotage. There’s no vision for a system that could be better or more efficient, and no political will to take a big swing and invest in the kind of public transport that would change people’s lives” concluded Deputy O’Gorman. “Instead, Government is condemning people to years more gridlock.”