No plans for second ring road in Dublin to alleviate M50 congestion

The M50 motorway around Dublin is cited as a particular source of frustration for drivers in a report from Inrix, a US-based transport data and analytics company. File picture: Stephen Collins

A second ring road for Dublin to take pressure off the traffic-choked M50 is not on the government agenda despite new evidence suggesting the capital city is among the most congested in the world. 

A report from Inrix, a US-based transport data and analytics company, found that Dublin is the 11th-most congested city in world, with the M50 motorway cited as a particular source of frustration for drivers.

A second ring road, known as the Dublin Outer Orbital Road, was proposed in the last decade to run from Drogheda to the Naas/Newbridge area, with intermediate links to Navan and other towns.

However, minister for transport Darragh O'Brien has ruled out such a plan, saying that his focus will be on improving public transport in a bid to coax motorists from their cars.

"Public transport is going to be the main thing," he said.

"We now have 1.5 million more people in the country than we had in 1999 and that's a really good thing, right? 

"Car ownership is up significantly. I'm not against roads — further road infrastructure is needed — but an outer orbital route is not in the National Development Plan.

"What I think we've really got to do is to continue to improve the public transport offering and improve connectivity across the city."

Public transport 'is the way forward'

Mr O'Brien said that public transport "is the way forward".

"People use it if it's reliable, if it's affordable, and if it's dependable. There are some black spots there that we need to deal with.

"I think the Dart+ programme is going to be critically important to give people more and more options. 

"So an additional ring road around Dublin in the short term is not going to happen. I understand, and I know well, the frustration that people will have by using the M50," Mr O'Brien said.

"Some days there's no problem, and then an incident happens, and you could lose hours of your commute to it."

Elsewhere, Mr O'Brien has asked the National Transport Authority to examine opening the MetroLink project — a high-frequency, automated metro line from Swords to the city centre — in sections. 

MetroLink programme director Sean Sweeney is now to review if a staged opening is possible.

Delivering the Metro in phases

"I've asked the Metro team to look at delivering Metro in phases, so we could start south of Donabate and work it through the airport, Ballymun, Glasnevin, O'Connell Street ... whether you can open them in segments along the way, is something that's being looked at," Mr O'Brien said.

"We can also unlock a lot of lands for further housing, and it will be one of the biggest decarbonising projects that that we have."

The minister said changes to planning rules will have an impact on the delivery of projects.

"When projects get going, we deliver them. Well, it takes too long to get to that stage (through planning) so my whole focus on the transport side is delivery."