Mattie McGrath blasts rising cost of motoring and transport failures
Mattie McGrath spoke in a debate on the cost of motoring, criticising rising motoring costs and what he called hypocrisy over carbon tax increases. He called for better bus and rail services, relief roads for towns, and urgent action on insurance, NCT and driving licence problems.
The TD criticised the way carbon tax was introduced with a 10-year annual increase and accused parties in the Dáil of supporting higher carbon tax. He put on record figures he cited for motoring levies - 4.1 billion in fuel taxes last year and 1.4 billion on car parking - and said these costs are driving up the price of getting to school, work and appointments.
He commended local bus services including the Town Mill town bus and a service from Dungavon that calls at Town Mill four times a day, praising drivers and users. He urged extensions of routes to Kilcheelan, Rovers, Clareham, the Old Bridge and Rahean Road, and said buses are refusing to stop at Kilmanaghan and Kilmancoma despite capacity and local need.
He described the insurance market as an "insurance rip-off" and said "the insurance companies have taken us all for a ride." He warned that investigations and schemes have not fixed the problem, and raised concerns about rising NCT and MRT costs and difficulties obtaining driving tests at LIS. He also recounted cases of people returning from the US who cannot regain driving licences.
He called for a major upgrade of the Limerick to Waterford rail line, more return journeys and better connectivity from CAIR, Tipperary Town, Clonmel, Carrick and Shure. He criticised closed or under-equipped stations such as Mel and others with no toilets or facilities for commuters, and said rural roads are in an appalling condition.
He urged inclusion of a Tipperary relief road in the National Development Plan, noting a previously selected route and recounting that a bypass was delivered in 2004 when he chaired the council. He said building a relief road would reduce fumes, noise and chronic congestion in Tipperary Town and called for better planning to prevent private companies from continuing to gouge motorists.
Cost of motoring and taxes
The TD criticised the way carbon tax was introduced with a 10-year annual increase and accused parties in the Dáil of supporting higher carbon tax. He put on record figures he cited for motoring levies - 4.1 billion in fuel taxes last year and 1.4 billion on car parking - and said these costs are driving up the price of getting to school, work and appointments.
Bus services praised but need extension
He commended local bus services including the Town Mill town bus and a service from Dungavon that calls at Town Mill four times a day, praising drivers and users. He urged extensions of routes to Kilcheelan, Rovers, Clareham, the Old Bridge and Rahean Road, and said buses are refusing to stop at Kilmanaghan and Kilmancoma despite capacity and local need.
Insurance, licences and vehicle costs
He described the insurance market as an "insurance rip-off" and said "the insurance companies have taken us all for a ride." He warned that investigations and schemes have not fixed the problem, and raised concerns about rising NCT and MRT costs and difficulties obtaining driving tests at LIS. He also recounted cases of people returning from the US who cannot regain driving licences.
Rail, stations and rural roads
He called for a major upgrade of the Limerick to Waterford rail line, more return journeys and better connectivity from CAIR, Tipperary Town, Clonmel, Carrick and Shure. He criticised closed or under-equipped stations such as Mel and others with no toilets or facilities for commuters, and said rural roads are in an appalling condition.
Local relief road and planning concerns
He urged inclusion of a Tipperary relief road in the National Development Plan, noting a previously selected route and recounting that a bypass was delivered in 2004 when he chaired the council. He said building a relief road would reduce fumes, noise and chronic congestion in Tipperary Town and called for better planning to prevent private companies from continuing to gouge motorists.
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Transcript
I do have a delight to be speaking this year tonight, the motion, the cost of motoring. But there's a fair job of hypocrisy inside it as well when we talk about carbon tax, because there was only a handful of us that opposed it when it came in here in a sneaky way for a 10-year annual increase without ever coming back here. And Sinn Féin wanted higher carbon tax, so that can never be forgotten. So, look, I want to have Cape Dolce is in town bus, in Bus Bolia, and TFI routes that are there, that are doing great work. Town Mill and Town Bus has been a major success, but as Deputy Healy said earlier, it needs to be extended, and I know it will, to Kilcheelan, to my Rovers, indeed, and to Clareham, and, of course, out to the Old Bridge and Rahean Road and parts of the town that is not servicing. And then we have the, on Bus O'Cunday, Port Lauderdale, excellent service freshman. It comes to Town Mill four times a day from Dungavon, and we're trying to get it to stop in Kilmanaghan, and at Kilmancoma, which are both in County Waterford, but it's refusing to stop there. There is space, certainly in Kilmanaghan, loads of space. Kilmancoma is just a big housing state on the outskirts of Town Mill in County Waterford, but, you know, it's forgotten about, the guys in Port Lauderdale, it's forgotten about, and, you know, they shop, and they go to school, and they do everything in Town Mill, so they need that connectivity. But it's a great service, I want to salute the drivers around it, everybody that is using it, are very, very happy, and it's an excellent service, so that's good, I want to say that as a start. Minister Dinh, the whole cost of insurance, an insurance rip-off, look, is a joke, and it's not been dealt with. The insurance companies have taken us all for a ride. You have different investigations, a different scheme, but worse and worse it gets. And then, Minister, the driving license issues is crazy as well. The way to get a driving test at LIS, although they haven't improved slightly lately, it's just not good enough. The cost of the NCT, then, and the cost of the MRTs are going up all the time. And the roads, simply, are in an appalling condition in rural Ireland. Find if the NCT is when you're on tarmac surface in the cities, but you could damage your care on the way into the NCT. I also want to say that congestion in the M50, and the costs there are staggering. And we put them on the record, 4.1 billion in taxes last year on fuel. That we need to go up May 2B, to school, to the doctor, to work, to go across my shin. 1.4 billion on car park, that's criminal, because it's not going back into motors to help out. The tall companies are taking us for a ride, but more increases are going up again, and they charge what they want. And the M50 is a car park. I came through one Sunday recently on the way to Monaghan, just stands in on a Sunday. I was very surprised, the bank holiday Sunday, just stands in, so we need better planning there. The rail service, certainly, from Limerick to Waterford, I use the train quite a bit to come to Dublin, a good service from CAIR, not enough of them, and not enough return journeys, but it's on to Limerick Junction and then to Dublin, and that line from Waterford to Limerick needs a major upgrade, and many, many more services with better connectivity. New routes have been announced, our half-hour train from Torres and Temple Moor. We need something like that in Limerick Junction, but you need connectivity from CAIR, from Tipperary Town, CAIR, Clonmel, and indeed Carrick and Shure. I did see planning commission this week, thankfully, for an upgrade from Mel, a railway station, I asked you to come in business if you were down some time ago in Tipperary, you hadn't time, but maybe you'll come again. But we need, the fact that this railway station is closed for commuters on the train or on buses. No toilets, no nothing. It's a shameful situation. People would expect after 12 or several hours on a bus that they would be able to use the facilities at the train station. Same in CAIR, same in Carick and Shure, and the same in Tipperary Town. That's not acceptable at this day and age. And also, as I said, Minister, the whole, the motorways, and, sorry, the M24 from Limerick to Waterford. Tipperary Town is as bad as the M50 times. Chronic parking and lorries going through a major route from Finesport to Rosslayer. We badly, we have to get into the National Development Plan that will have the footprint of that road built around Tipperary Relief Road. We did it in Cashflow. I was actually chair of the council, it was open in 2004. Why can't we do it now? Just build a road around Tipperary Town. The route is there, selected, and indeed, you know, notice the tweet, notice the getting ready. And why don't we do that in advance of the bigger project and leave the town of Tipperary for the people to live, work and play? It's unhealthy. The fumes, the noise, and the obvious delays with all the traffic bumper to bumper. So that needs to be done. Minister, I don't know, as I mentioned the tales already, this is a licence to spend money. And what kind of planning have we in departments when we signed up these agreements to allow them to be privately, continue to be privately gouging the mortars? The mortars are gouged every which way. NCT, road tax, insurance, Deputy Dennerhoi announced astounding figures there for Tipperary. There was 900 of a difference for Tipperary. I hope there's not more people claiming in Tipperary. I wouldn't think there is. We beat him this year in the holding. Maybe he's having a comeback on that one. We stopped him for the five in a row. But anyway, next year is another day. But no, we need to have a look at that. And I too have had people come back from America and they can't contribute to the economy here. They can't go to work, they can't go to mass, because they can't get a licence. Left here and worked all their life in America, had a licence to drive in New York, and got in those places, and they can't drive here. We need to get with it, the picture here, and get out department officials. And I think we're going to have to examine their working from home policies. Of course, all departments. Time is to start now or start it out, because a fellow driving a machine or working on the counter-council or any many other jobs can't work from home. We're going to have to be fair with people and pull our weight here. We're falling behind. We have Dennis O'Brien saying it. We have the Connorson Brothers saying it recently. We need to be ship-shaped here. We're not.