Ms Anne Graham:

I will answer some of the other questions. We have plans to increase capacity on Dublin Bus services. As we introduce the Go-Ahead services, which will operate from September this year, drivers and buses will be freed up to extend the services operated by Dublin Bus. This will give us the facility to increase capacity on Dublin Bus services. We will have plans not only to deal with congestion issues but also to try to improve our services, including, I hope, having 24-hour services on some corridors and improving weekend services.

There was a question about whether our deadlines are arbitrary and if we could be more specific. At this stage, we can only give an indication of our timelines. When we start construction in 2021, we will make every effort to complete the project as early as possible. We hope it will not take ten years to complete and that concurrent development of a number of routes would reduce the construction period. However, we have to be very careful to ensure the operation of services is not undermined while construction works are taking place.

The Secretary General of the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform made an announcement on free travel, which gave rise to some discussion. While we do not have any proposal to change the conditions that apply tor free travel during peak services, we continue to make the point that funding for the free travel service has not increased since 2010. The number of passengers availing of the free travel scheme continues to grow yearly. Free travel passengers are subsidised by the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport through the subsidy it provides for services. They are also being subsidised by fare-paying passengers. We will seek increased funding for the free travel scheme to ensure it can continue. If we find that funding does not increase, some steps may have to be taken. At this stage, there are no proposals to make changes to free travel.