There is no “quick fix solution” for worsening traffic congestion along Dublin’s M50 traffic artery, Minister for Transport Darragh O’Brien has said, conceding that journeys on the motorway can be “tiresome and frustrating”.
Mr O’Brien said a lot of work had been done to improve things including the removal of toll barriers, the addition of more lanes and changes to access and exit points.
“But it’s carrying 150,000 cars a day. And we’ve seen a continued increase in car numbers as well. And we do have an infrastructural deficit, and that’s why the National Development Plan is so important.”
Earlier this week, Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) said investment and redesign works to alleviate worsening congestion and commute times had been “maxed out”, and any further remedy would have to involve Government policy.
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Speaking on RTÉ Radio on Thursday, Mr O’Brien said TII had invested in technology for monitoring and surveillance and in response times for accidents.
“That said, with all of that, it can still be a very tiresome and in many respects frustrating journey depending on what time you hit it.”
There was a need for Government to continue with road investment, he explained, as well as public transport. There were 340 million passenger journeys in 2024, and he expected that to increase by about 10 per cent this year.
[ M50 congestion can only be fixed through Government policy change, says TIIOpens in new window ]
“Where there are alternatives, [people] will use public transport because it’s affordable. It’s mainly reliable. The punctuality rates are decent, but we need to keep working on that,” he said.
“So that’s why in the NDP, we’re investing so heavily in public transport.”
He said there was also congestion on other Dublin routes such as the M7 and M4, and said he would also like to see more park and ride facilities.
However, he conceded there was no quick fix for the M50, “other than the investment which we’re putting in between now and the end of this decade alone, of just short of €25 billion euro in transport projects.
“So one in every four euro being invested in the NDP needs to be delivered because every additional public transport route, every additional bus, train, Luas – [and the need to] get metro built as well and get that started. They’re really critical.”
[ Drivers to face higher tolls on M50 and Dublin Port Tunnel from JanuaryOpens in new window ]
