Eamon Ryan has said that he is “keen” for this government to run “a little” longer indicating that he would not be in favour of an election being called in the next couple of weeks.
The former Green Party leader said the government still has plenty of work to do and he personally has a “treasure trove” of things he would like to get across the line before the country heads to the polls.
“The longer this government lasts the more we will be able to deliver and that is one reason why I am not rushing to an election,” Mr Ryan said on Monday.
The Transport Minister said that the long-awaited planning act will be cleared this week as it has been through all the stages of both houses.
“It will be ratified when it comes back to the Dáil. It is up to the park [Áras an Uachtaráin] straight away. We need that legislation in place,” Mr Ryan said.
From his own perspective, Mr Ryan said his number one priority would be the Marine Protected Areas Bill because it has already been delayed by administrative difficulties and it is a really important piece of environmental legislation.
The bill is on the cusp of being delivered and while Mr Ryan said he would love to see it get through the Oireachtas but would be happy to see it published as it would set a clear direction and clear intent.
The minister was speaking as the number of people now using public transport services reached a record high of more than a million journeys a day.
Mr Ryan said that measures brought in giving priority to public transport services has worked well in problem areas so far, highlighting the changes made on the quays in Dublin city centre as one such success.
“Stopping the gridlock, getting buses flowing freely is probably the best way. We have had real difficulties in Cork in terms of our bus service. We have had to adjust the timetable,” he said.
“I am looking forward to going down to meet Cork City Council in the coming weeks to look at what measures could we put in Cork, in the same way we have done in Dublin, that really radically improves the bus speeds.”
The plans would not only focus on the need to recruit more drivers and mechanics but how bus times can be improved on by freeing up “key bottlenecks”.
In terms of these measures, which Mr Ryan said needs to be delivered in Cork, Limerick, Waterford and Galway, the greatest problem was with planning.
However, with the Cross City Link Project having passed through the planning system, this should clear the way to get things moving.
