2026-03-03

I welcome the opportunity to raise this matter. I finally got it accepted. It relates to the north city arterial main, NCAM, project and issues along the Howth Road and James Larkin Road and in surrounding areas. Hundreds of my constituents have been contacting my office every day. I have been trying to get access to information from Uisce Éireann and the contractor, but to no avail. As a public representative, the Minister of State can understand how frustrating that can be. The residents of north Dublin understand that this is necessary work, but what they do not understand is why communication has been so lacking and how the project is being managed. The Minister of State knows how hard it is to get elected to the council and to the Dáil. He also knows how much trust people put in you. Furthermore, he knows how bad it looks when someone who represents north Dublin asks for detailed drawings to be provided and they are not provided. That is not acceptable. What is the point of holding local or general elections if you cannot get a simple drawing of which paths will be inaccessible? People with accessibility issues want to know if they can go down a certain path next week or if they will be able to get a bus from a particular area. Some of the employees of and contractors working with Uisce Éireann have engaged with me, but the majority have not. As the Minister of State knows, when you email Uisce Éireann, you get a reference number. That is generally the end of it. A constituent wrote to outline the frustration felt across the community. Residents on James Larkin Road received leaflets, but the full closure of the road affects traffic across all of north Dublin and has huge implications for public transport. The H2, H3 and 6 bus routes are already subject to delays and cancellations due to congestion. The lack of proper planning and communication risks making the problems being experienced by thousands of my constituents significantly worse. I attended the public consultation meeting. People in my constituency thought I was organising the meeting because there was no information sent to houses across the area. I asked Uisce Éireann how many leaflets were dropped and on what roads. It is still to get back to me. People wanted to see the drawings. I told the Taoiseach how I asked at a meeting I attended if I could take a photo of the drawings and was told “No”. I met with the project team after raising this matter with the Taoiseach. I raised several issues on behalf of residents. I apologise if the email went to my spam folder, but I was in my office five minutes ago looking for it and there was no sign of it. My job is to represent north Dublin - the job of everyone in this House is to represent their constituencies – but we cannot do that if semi-State bodies or agencies are not giving us the key answers we need. There are practical solutions to this. At the moment, the Coast Road is one-way all day, even at weekends when there is no one working. I emailed Uisce Éireann and suggested that between 6 a.m. and 11 a.m. when the majority of people are going into town, it could allow the flow of traffic to move towards the city and between 4 p.m. and 8 p.m. have it flowing outward. If it did that, traffic would be reduced. I was informed that the reason for not having a stop-go was for the health and safety of the company's workers. I have a video from today of a stop-go system being used by Uisce Éireann's team and the public because it was needed to allow a contractor to bring in stones, rocks and everything else for the project. The company is being hypocritical. I know people in north Dublin whose areas are completely congested. That is not acceptable. I am sharing the frustration of the hundreds of people who have been in contact with me. I would appreciate if the Minister of State could get back to me on this matter.

The Deputy has a job to do to represent his constituents when he comes in this Chamber. No one will ever challenge him on that, least of all me. The response I have here paints a somewhat different picture from that painted by the Deputy. It is important that I reflect it on the record of the House, but I am happy to engage further in my follow-up reply. The works in the Clontarf area commenced on 16 February and relate to a new €25 million strategic water pipeline that will significantly improve resilience, connectivity and long-term water security across north Dublin city area. The north city arterial main will also provide the additional network capacity required to enable the delivery of 12,000 new homes, supporting future growth across the entire region. It is a critical piece of infrastructure for cross-city water transfers between key storage facilities at Ballymore Eustace and Leixlip and part of a wider programme of work to enhance water resilience across the greater Dublin area. It is my understanding that Uisce Éireann has undertaken extensive communication and community engagement before and during these works. In 2025, the Uisce Éireann project team attended meetings of the Clontarf flood alleviation scheme joint working group to provide updates on the project to Dublin City Council, elected representatives, local businesses and resident representatives. Uisce Éireann also recently hosted two elected representative briefings in advance of commencement of works on the project with Dublin city councillors on Thursday 22 January and Fingal county councillors on Friday, 23 January. Uisce Éireann has also committed to providing elected representatives with updates every two weeks. To date, updates have been issued on 17 February and 20 February. Uisce Éireann also hosted a community information evening on Thursday 29 January in Kilbarrack. Residents and businesses along the route from Causeway Road to Bayside Boulevard, including Greendale Road and Thornville Road, were invited. Information on traffic management measures that will be in place in order to complete the works safely was shared at this event. Access for residents, businesses, property owners and emergency vehicles will be maintained throughout. It is expected that this phase of works will be completed by the first quarter of 2027. Uisce Éireann has also been engaging with Dublin City Council's active travel section to co-ordinate projects within the Kilbarrack area, and Fingal County Council roads division regarding co-ordination with forthcoming resurfacing works along the R105 Dublin Road. Before the works began, Uisce Éireann's contractor issued letters to homes and businesses in the area with details of the traffic arrangements. Variable message signage will also be displayed at the junction of Greendale Road and Dublin Road and at the Causeway Road junction. This signage may move throughout the duration of the works as necessary. Uisce Éireann's contractor has been engaging with local stakeholders, including Dublin City Council, emergency services, public transport providers such as Dublin Bus, refuse collection companies and schools, to help ensure that the project runs as smoothly as possible. Emergency services, refuse collection companies and public transport operators have been provided with a detailed traffic management plan so that they can make necessary arrangements. Since the works have commenced, Uisce Éireann has been closely monitoring traffic conditions and will continue to review traffic management plans, incorporating feedback from elected representatives and local residents, as the Deputy is doing here this evening on behalf of his constituents. I am informed that a dedicated community liaison officer for the project is in place.

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire Stáit. I know how things work. I am in here 15 months. The Department gave this question to Uisce Éireann and Uisce Éireann has given its reply to the Minister of State. I understand that the Minister of State is very busy and I welcome all the work he has done on other issues. Uisce Éireann gave us a briefing on 22 January. A week later, it had a briefing for the public and the week after that the project commenced. Two weeks' notice for public representatives to give feedback on a major project that is going to close up the entire main road in north Dublin is not long enough. After I raised it with the Taoiseach, I had a private meeting with Uisce Éireann and the contractor and they asked me why I wanted to know which path was to close. I was honestly shocked. I said maybe it was because I represented people with additional needs who needed to know which path they could go down. Maybe it was because people were wondering if the entirety of the St. Assam's and Foxfield roads was going to be chock-a-block, which it was last week. Businesses need to know if they have to reduce staff because they are going to lose access to the traffic flow. I appreciate the Minister of State's statement, but what I am really asking him for, as any Deputies or councillors from Dublin Bay North or the specific area would if they were here, is an immediate meeting with Uisce Éireann and the GMC Utilities team. It is not acceptable for them to make these decisions without any public information. I am trying to read the gobbledegook Uisce Éireann gave to the Minister of State. It says there were a huge amount of leaflets dropped. When I asked what streets they were delivered to, on what date and to what houses, it did not tell me because it does not want us to know how few it dropped. It talks about updates every two weeks. I counted - I have sent it about 40 or 50 emails. There is a generic reply to every TD and councillor. The Minister of State knows this. It undermines the entire democracy when a holder of one of the highest seats we can be elected to in this country cannot get a simple photo of a path for a child who has learned the route of their commute to college. I would love if the Department could request that meeting on behalf of the other TDs and the councillors in north Dublin. The northside cannot be treated this way. I have said it before: it would not happen on the other side of the Liffey.

I will take his request back to the Minister, Deputy Browne, and I am sure Deputy Heneghan will speak to him in the context of the Deputy's request. As the Deputy will appreciate, any works of this nature are very significant and will be disruptive. Obviously, only management and mitigation measures can be put in place. That will change depending on the circumstances that exist at any given time, given the nature of works at any given time. The communications, as outlined in my initial response, are there in terms of the meetings and the continued engagement that Uisce Éireann has committed to, including the designated liaison officer, for whom contact details are on the website, and the continued engagement with the emergency services, Dublin City Council and the public transport providers to ensure that as much of that communication is maintained insofar as is possible while works are being undertaken. I hear what the Deputy is saying in terms of the engagement. I think there is a broader point that has been made by Deputies. It has been raised by the Minister and me with Uisce Éireann in terms of communications. The Deputy will have seen some feedback that was provided to all Oireachtas Members recently by Uisce Éireann in terms of public representative engagements. I accept the points the Deputy has raised and I will take them back to the Minister, Deputy James Browne.

I thank the Minister of State. As the fifth Topical Issue will not be taken because Deputy Charles Ward is not in attendance, the Dáil stands adjourned until 9 a.m. tomorrow morning.