Barry Ward (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I rise in support of this motion. We have had much discussion this evening about the various aspects of the plan, particularly its regional aspects. One of the issues about which I have been in contact with the National Transport Authority, the Minister for Transport and the head of Dublin Bus is 24-hour bus services for Dublin. Many people from Dún Laoghaire work in the city centre. It is only a bus ride away and we have the famous 46A which connects us with the city centre. It is one of the flagship buses in the Dublin Bus fleet. As part of the BusConnects plan and the plans for changes to the bus network, there will be construction of what they are calling spines, which will run through the whole city, from one side to the other, and the 46A will become the E spine, or the various aspects of it. I do not have a problem with that at all. We will miss the name 46A, particularly given that it exists in popular culture and things like that, but that much we will get over as long as a proper service is provided. The 46A has been an excellent service.

One of the issues during the pandemic was that night services stopped. The 46N Nitelink bus, which followed a similar route to the 46A and served the people of the Dún Laoghaire and surrounding areas, stopped. There was a suggestion at one point that the 46N would not return. I am delighted that it has and from 22 October, the Nitelink is again available to people. However, the Nitelink is a one-way service. It is expensive and costs twice as much as a normal fare during the day. I have consistently raised the notion that we should have a 24-hour service. It already exists in certain areas and I understand a part of the BusConnects plan is to roll out 24-hour services. However, that is a conversation for 2023. That is the kind of timeline we are talking about. There are people who live in Dún Laoghaire and the areas around it, quite a distance from the city centre, and work in bars, pubs, restaurants, theatres or whatever it might be in the city centre, and have a serious difficulty with the public transport facilities that are available to them. It is expensive to get a taxi from the city centre to Dún Laoghaire. It would cost €25 or more, perhaps even more than €30, particularly at night time when taxis are more expensive. There is a need for these services. I am focusing on Dún Laoghaire because that is where I am from and it suits me to talk about the area but it is an issue throughout Dublin and our other urban areas. People are working in city centres and need the facility to be able to get home after work. Of course, it also benefits late-night revellers, people who are out and availing of the leisure industry. We should consider somebody who is working in a restaurant in Dún Laoghaire and lives in town. Such people cannot use the Nitelink services.

One of the things I hope we will have in terms of the development of public transport infrastructure is a focus on that. We need a service that does not stop at 11.25 p.m., which is the time the last 46A runs. We need a service that goes right through the night and facilitates people who work shifts and people who work at odd hours. We need to facilitate people in the night-time economy and the entertainment industry who are currently left a little bit short and rely on an expensive aspect of public transport. If we want to look at a public transport service that actually behaves in a way that reflects people and the way they behave and work, then we need a 24-hour bus service. As a part of this motion, we should also be considering the situation and we are not left waiting until 2023. We should put that in place now. The plans are there. The service already exists on some routes and I do not understand why some routes have been chosen over others. There is an opportunity for us to take a step forward now, when it is needed, and put in place a proper 24-hour bus service for people in places such as Dún Laoghaire and other suburbs who need to get in and out of town other than during the normal operating times of the bus service.

This is a tiny aspect of what we are talking about in the context of this motion, but it is an incredibly important thing for the people who are directly affected by it. I know the Minister of State has always been very good at listening to the issues Senators have raised in this House. I have always found her very accessible. I hope she will be able to raise this matter with her colleagues in the context of improving that aspect of public transport and facilitating people who are working in a particular way and need the benefit of that service.