'Like nothing on earth' - Kildare doctor opens up on two-hour commute to work

A doctor commuting from Kildare to Dublin has said the added delays on the M7 recently are impacting peoples' quality of life as she faces a two-hour drive each morning.

The Athy-based doctor was opening up on her experience to Kildare South and Labour Party TD Mark Wall who has called for an emergency response unit to be set up for the M7 and N7.

Traffic has been a major problem on the route recently following a series of traffic incidents with many commuters facing up to three hours stuck in rush hour traffic.

Jessica, a doctor living in Athy, Kildare and working in Dublin shared her story: “I have been doing this route for about two years now and at the beginning of last year was it was taking me about an hour and 15 minutes to get into Dublin from Athy, Kildare. Now, it is taking me close to two hours every day. I think the commute is really adding up overtime in terms of the impact it has on quality of life."

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Patrick, commuting from Rathangan, Kildare to Dublin also spoke on the impact the commute is having on him: “You have to leave before nearly 6am to try and make sure you’re definitely in on time. One morning I left at 6.10am and it might have been about 8.30am before I actually got in to work. The last two or three weeks has been like nothing on earth.”

Deputy Wall said: “My office has been inundated with concerns from many commuters using both the M7 and N7 routes, which have all but become a car park. We have seen over recent weeks and months a number of serious traffic incidents, however the response time to these incidents have been painfully slow with people facing traffic delays up to three hours in some cases. These long delays have become a daily occurrence, particularly during rush hour traffic.

“I am calling on Transport Infrastructure Ireland and the Minister for Transport to set up a permanent emergency response unit at rush hour for both the M7 and N7. This will help clear road traffic incidents quicker and prevent traffic coming to a standstill.

“This is about safety and quality of life; people are spending their lives stuck in traffic being late for work, and even missing critical medical appointments like chemotherapy. We need an emergency response unit for the M7/N7 urgently.”