Government needs to legislate for a “real right to flexible and hybrid working” in a bid to beat traffic congestion as motorways have turned into car parks with three-hour commutes for workers, the Dáil has heard.
Kildare South Labour TD Mark Wall also called on the Government to instruct Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) to establish an emergency response unit for the N7 and M7 and other motorways “experiencing massive traffic delays”.
Mr Wall said, “this is already in place on the M50”. It was not “a silver bullet, but it will allow for better responses to minor road traffic incidents and will help prevent traffic coming to a standstill in rush hour”.
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He also appealed for the launch of a new Operation FreeFlow, a traffic management initiative to minimise congestion in urban areas, particularly at peak times.
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Raising the issue during Dáil leaders’ questions, Mr Wall said, “the Government’s own code of practice on flexible working and hybrid working is not working. The call back to the office and the workplace is a problem highlighted by many, many commuters who have contacted me over recent days.”
He noted problems with the N7 and M7, which run from the outskirts of Naas to the outskirts of Limerick city.
Motorists are “leaving their family homes at 6am just to barely make it into work for 9am”. Thousands of people are spending their lives “stuck in daily traffic”.
“People are now missing critical medical appointments like chemotherapy because of these delays. Cancer patients are telling me that they are having to pull over to the side of the road because they are so unwell and can’t make their appointments,” said Mr Wall
Many people in rural Ireland “cannot get a public bus or train because there are too few options”, with “crammed” trains and buses that fail to turn up. People “have no choice but to use their cars to get to work”, he added.
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Mr Wall added that the TII needs to act. “Productivity is down and the mental health of commuters and those travelling into Dublin is affected every day. It’s simply not good enough.”
Tánaiste Simon Harris acknowledged that since 2019, traffic levels on the M50 have grown by at least 11 per cent, “which equates to about an extra 50,000 trips per day”.
He agreed with the “real life impacts” and the stress, along with the environmental impact on air quality.
“We intend, through our national development plan, to invest a huge amount in transport via upgrade to the road network” but also to make public transport work more effectively.
He said Minister of State Alan Dillon had launched a public consultation as part of a review of the legislation on the right to request remote working. More than 2,000 people had already made submissions, with roughly 1,600 from workers and 400 from employers. The Tánaiste called on people to contribute to the consultation before the December 9th deadline.
