Questions asked after Dublin traffic chaos

Dublin suffered six hours of traffic chaos today after a single truck overturned on a key route near the city's docklands.

Critics claimed the gridlock caused across the north and the south of the capital proved the continuing ability of relatively minor accidents to cause major disruption.

The truck overturned at around 6am on East Wall Road near the Point Depot halting traffic at the city centre end of the Port Tunnel and sparking traffic jams from Dublin Airport in the north, to Pearse Street in the south.

A crane brought in to help remove the vehicle was not strong enough and had to be replaced with heavier equipment, which slowed the efforts to reopen the route.

The delays were at their worst by late morning, before the truck was successfully removed shortly after midday.

Labour Party spokesperson on transport Tommy Broughan said the episode provided clear evidence of how vulnerable the capital's traffic system is to major disruption.

"It is beyond belief that a single vehicle accident occurring so early in the morning could give rise to scenes of such mayhem, for such a prolonged period and over such a widespread area," he said.

"The inconvenience caused to tens of thousands of people as a result of this has been immense, as has the cost to shops, businesses and the economy as a whole.

"Even at the best of times Dublin traffic is on a knife-edge. The fundamental problem is our utterly inadequate public transport system.

"The only short to medium term solution to the traffic chaos in the Greater Dublin Area is to provide commuters with the option of reliable public transport. The only way to do this is through improved bus services."