bosco
05-05-2007, 11:34 AM
[quote]
Try Public Transport ?
. . . . it’s getting better !
[quote]
No, that’s not a sardonic punchline from Fine Gael’s latest campaign; It is in fact the tag line from the website of PD senator, chairman and transport spokesman Tom Morrissey. I happened upon a radio discussion featuring senator Morrissey on Newstalk’s lunchtime program last October 19th, regarding the announcement of a new route selection for the Metro in Dublin. The presenter read out a comment texted in by a listener, the gist of which was that all we hear is more great news for expensive projects in the capital, and how about spending a few bob on the rest of the country.
Senator Morrissey was glad to remind us of the fantastic new airport in Cork (now crippled with debt by his government), hourly trains to Dublin (which currently cost more than a return flight, although that could change with the airport situation), and a lovely new motorway to Dublin (complete with ripoff tolls negating any possible benefits for road users or the people living nearby). “You’ve just listed three ways to get from Cork to Dublin! What about transport issues within the city and county that don’t involve a trip to the capital?” I shouted at the radio. I must have shouted loud, because that’s pretty much what Labour’s Róisín Shortall (party spokesperson on transport) then said to senator Morrissey.
Over 4 months later, I happened upon the website, www.morrissey4transp ort.com. There’s a contact form on the website so I decided to fire off a short note to Senator Morrissey. As is often the way, my short note stretched to a short essay, and here it is:
Senator Morissey,
In a discussion on Newstalk’s lunchtime show last October 19th, the presenter read out a comment from a listener who remarked that the government’s focus is on public transport in Dublin and that the rest of the country sees little benefit from all this investment. Your response included pointing out some projects that have benefited Cork - namely the new airport, hourly trains to Dublin and a new motorway to Dublin. Labour’s Roisin Shortall correctly responded by asserting that people in Cork (and Limerick, Galway, Waterford etc) care more about the chronic state of public transport within the city and suburbs than purely having more and quicker means to get to the capital. Incidentally, the airport is now being crippled with debt by your government, residents of Fermoy and Watergrasshill are held hostage to huge volumes of trucks who won’t pay the toll on the new motorway, and the fare for one of those hourly trains would get you a couple of return flights with Ryanair or Aer Arann (no thanks to government).
Here’s where I’m coming from: Cork’s bus fleet is old and inadequate, the routes are hopelessly out of date and the frequency and quality of service is nowhere near adequate to service a city like Cork. New developments are springing up all around the edges of the city and in sattelite county towns where car ownership is the only option for commuting, while the population of the city itself (census 2006) is remarkably actually declining. People commute from towns such as Carrigaline, which is the most car-dependent town in the country. Meanwhile vital traffic-easing projects like the ring road flyovers and the north ring road project have been shelved because we are told that Transport 21 prioritises ‘Inter-urban routes’ (read: Roads to Dublin). Think about it: With one hand your government has pulled the 70 million euro required for two flyovers to improve traffic flow on Cork’s equivalent of the M50. Then you come along and spend 600 million on buying a toll bridge to potentially improve traffic flow on the M50 in Dublin. Is it any wonder we feel contempt for this government’s policies?
The reopening of the Middleton rail line which has been announced about twice a week for the past couple of years is behind schedule and will not solve most of Cork’s traffic and infrastructure problems. Now, please can you suggest how I can take seriously the slogan on your website - “Try Public Transport? It’s getting better!”
Really, I’d love to hear some firm commitments to public transport in my city and county, and not just more pie in the sky proposals and recycled announcements.
While I’m at it, what is your position (as transport spokesperson for the PDs) regarding Martin Cullen’s decision to cripple Cork airport with debt and allow the Dublin Airport Authority to sail into the sunset with the assets (and proceeds from the sale of assets) of the former Aer Rianta? Do you think it’s perfectly acceptable for a government to make a promise and subsequently renege on that commitment when it suits? Do you disagree with your PD colleague Senator Minihan in his concerns for the future viability of Cork airport, its ability to compete and its ability to grow and develop? What is the Progressive Democrat’s official policy regarding Cork airport, and public transport in the cities of Ireland excluding Dublin?
I look forward to your reply, in the hope that it will include something new and achievable in terms of public transport policy for the 60% of voters who do not live in Leinster. I am completely disillusioned with this government right now, and it will take a novel and genuine approach to regain my vote and those of my friends and peers.
Now, senator Morrissey’s website also has a section titled ‘PD Policies.’ Alas, when I clicked on the first item ‘Progressive Democrat Policies’ I was greeted with ‘Error 404 - Page Not Found.’ Same result for any of the links in this section. I then turned to the Progressive Democrats website, but a quick search for the word ‘transport’ in the section titled ‘Our Policies’ doesn’t return a single result.
I wrote this post over a month ago, and had intended waiting for a reply from senator Morrissey before posting this. I got no reply or even acknowledgement. I also thought of sending the same or a similar email to other senators, TDs, councillors and other party representatives and posting their responses here. I’m out of the country and can’t vote, so inevitably my interest has waned. However maybe this will give you something to think about when considering how to use your vote.
Go to this forum for some interesting discussion on transport issues in Cork:
http://www.archiseek.com/content/showthread.php?t=504 6
Try Public Transport ?
. . . . it’s getting better !
[quote]
No, that’s not a sardonic punchline from Fine Gael’s latest campaign; It is in fact the tag line from the website of PD senator, chairman and transport spokesman Tom Morrissey. I happened upon a radio discussion featuring senator Morrissey on Newstalk’s lunchtime program last October 19th, regarding the announcement of a new route selection for the Metro in Dublin. The presenter read out a comment texted in by a listener, the gist of which was that all we hear is more great news for expensive projects in the capital, and how about spending a few bob on the rest of the country.
Senator Morrissey was glad to remind us of the fantastic new airport in Cork (now crippled with debt by his government), hourly trains to Dublin (which currently cost more than a return flight, although that could change with the airport situation), and a lovely new motorway to Dublin (complete with ripoff tolls negating any possible benefits for road users or the people living nearby). “You’ve just listed three ways to get from Cork to Dublin! What about transport issues within the city and county that don’t involve a trip to the capital?” I shouted at the radio. I must have shouted loud, because that’s pretty much what Labour’s Róisín Shortall (party spokesperson on transport) then said to senator Morrissey.
Over 4 months later, I happened upon the website, www.morrissey4transp ort.com. There’s a contact form on the website so I decided to fire off a short note to Senator Morrissey. As is often the way, my short note stretched to a short essay, and here it is:
Senator Morissey,
In a discussion on Newstalk’s lunchtime show last October 19th, the presenter read out a comment from a listener who remarked that the government’s focus is on public transport in Dublin and that the rest of the country sees little benefit from all this investment. Your response included pointing out some projects that have benefited Cork - namely the new airport, hourly trains to Dublin and a new motorway to Dublin. Labour’s Roisin Shortall correctly responded by asserting that people in Cork (and Limerick, Galway, Waterford etc) care more about the chronic state of public transport within the city and suburbs than purely having more and quicker means to get to the capital. Incidentally, the airport is now being crippled with debt by your government, residents of Fermoy and Watergrasshill are held hostage to huge volumes of trucks who won’t pay the toll on the new motorway, and the fare for one of those hourly trains would get you a couple of return flights with Ryanair or Aer Arann (no thanks to government).
Here’s where I’m coming from: Cork’s bus fleet is old and inadequate, the routes are hopelessly out of date and the frequency and quality of service is nowhere near adequate to service a city like Cork. New developments are springing up all around the edges of the city and in sattelite county towns where car ownership is the only option for commuting, while the population of the city itself (census 2006) is remarkably actually declining. People commute from towns such as Carrigaline, which is the most car-dependent town in the country. Meanwhile vital traffic-easing projects like the ring road flyovers and the north ring road project have been shelved because we are told that Transport 21 prioritises ‘Inter-urban routes’ (read: Roads to Dublin). Think about it: With one hand your government has pulled the 70 million euro required for two flyovers to improve traffic flow on Cork’s equivalent of the M50. Then you come along and spend 600 million on buying a toll bridge to potentially improve traffic flow on the M50 in Dublin. Is it any wonder we feel contempt for this government’s policies?
The reopening of the Middleton rail line which has been announced about twice a week for the past couple of years is behind schedule and will not solve most of Cork’s traffic and infrastructure problems. Now, please can you suggest how I can take seriously the slogan on your website - “Try Public Transport? It’s getting better!”
Really, I’d love to hear some firm commitments to public transport in my city and county, and not just more pie in the sky proposals and recycled announcements.
While I’m at it, what is your position (as transport spokesperson for the PDs) regarding Martin Cullen’s decision to cripple Cork airport with debt and allow the Dublin Airport Authority to sail into the sunset with the assets (and proceeds from the sale of assets) of the former Aer Rianta? Do you think it’s perfectly acceptable for a government to make a promise and subsequently renege on that commitment when it suits? Do you disagree with your PD colleague Senator Minihan in his concerns for the future viability of Cork airport, its ability to compete and its ability to grow and develop? What is the Progressive Democrat’s official policy regarding Cork airport, and public transport in the cities of Ireland excluding Dublin?
I look forward to your reply, in the hope that it will include something new and achievable in terms of public transport policy for the 60% of voters who do not live in Leinster. I am completely disillusioned with this government right now, and it will take a novel and genuine approach to regain my vote and those of my friends and peers.
Now, senator Morrissey’s website also has a section titled ‘PD Policies.’ Alas, when I clicked on the first item ‘Progressive Democrat Policies’ I was greeted with ‘Error 404 - Page Not Found.’ Same result for any of the links in this section. I then turned to the Progressive Democrats website, but a quick search for the word ‘transport’ in the section titled ‘Our Policies’ doesn’t return a single result.
I wrote this post over a month ago, and had intended waiting for a reply from senator Morrissey before posting this. I got no reply or even acknowledgement. I also thought of sending the same or a similar email to other senators, TDs, councillors and other party representatives and posting their responses here. I’m out of the country and can’t vote, so inevitably my interest has waned. However maybe this will give you something to think about when considering how to use your vote.
Go to this forum for some interesting discussion on transport issues in Cork:
http://www.archiseek.com/content/showthread.php?t=504 6