Eoin Ó Broin (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the witness for the presentation. Mr. Creegan will know that I and my Dublin colleagues have been engaging very closely with the NTA on the first draft of the plan and in the consultation process. We engage in that process in good faith and are hoping to see significant change. For the part of the city I know best, there have been very substantial and some positive changes in the second draft, although we need further change. That is certainly the view of my colleagues.

I have some questions pertaining to the city network and then a couple relating specifically to my constituency. Notwithstanding whether the redesign on paper meets the needs of communities, there is the parallel issue of whether it will be fully supported with adequate resources for the infrastructure, interchanges and stock. Some of that is ultimately the responsibility of the Minister but can the witnesses give us any clarity on the financial envelope for the implementation of the redesign, separate from the bus corridors and the compulsory purchase orders? Every time I am given a figure, it has both of the other elements added to it. We are keen to see the funding available for the network redesign and particularly the interchanges etc.

Will the witnesses give us any update on fares? There were some positive sounds that the combined fare, and particularly the 90-minute fare, would possibly be higher than the bus fare but lower than the Luas fare. I would greatly welcome any information on that.

I get the sense from speaking to people that there is much resistance, particularly from some commercial interests in the city centre, to bus flow and efficiency in the core area around O'Connell Street, the quays and Dame Street etc. Am I correct in saying that? Are the witnesses satisfied the level of bus congestion we are currently getting at peak times at College Green, for example, or around the O'Connell Bridge interchanges, will be alleviated by what is there or is there still some commercial resistance, particularly from some of the larger retailers that have large car parks and which would like to see car dominance continue?

There are smaller populations at the city fringes and those counties just outside the city boundary who are dependent on these services. What kind of assurances can be given that those isolated communities will not see a real reduction in service? I know they have seen some of the direct routes returned but there is still some concern about frequency. Likewise, one of the great strengths of the plan is the orbital route idea. Will the orbital routes as proposed meet the very real demand that already exists for those services?

I have three constituency-specific questions, although I will make a detailed submission to the NTA on my own local concerns. D3 is not yet right and there is a very large catchment area on Monastery Road and Dutch Village. There are over 2,000 houses there and they will not have the direct high-frequency service that they currently have with the combined routes 13, 68 and 69.