Imelda Munster (Louth, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I will start off with BusConnects. From the initial publication of the plan, there have been 30,000 submissions. The public engagement and the opportunity for people to raise their concerns in such volumes are very welcome. However, sometimes would it not be better to engage with the public and the communities first on what they feel they need regarding work, travel and everything involved in their community, including hospitals and so on, before putting forward any plan to them? Given the volume of submissions that were made, engaging with the public on their needs before drawing up a plan might be something to look at in the future. If one listens to people living in Dublin and its outskirts, the frequency of services and the need for increased bus numbers are the daily priorities. Route changes appear to be way down their list. One hears people say they stand at the bus stop every morning and three buses pass them before they can actually get onto a bus. How will BusConnects solve this issue?

People have also been wondering why the NTA wrote to property owners whose properties or gardens will be directly affected while there appears to have been no contact with other property owners living in areas where, say, trees are to be completely cut down, alterations to footpaths made and so on. Has the NTA any plans in this regard?

Regarding MetroLink, another Deputy raised the issue of the metro west. The NTA’s report here talks about assisting people who face losing their homes. Could Ms Graham provide more details on the plans the NTA has to assist these people? The authority says owner-occupiers and tenants are to be given a year’s compensation. In Ms Graham’s statement she said "up to one year". Is it a year or not? Given the spiralling costs of rents, how will the rate and the compensation for property owners be calculated? Does Ms Graham have an idea of the overall cost of this part of the project?