Mr. Stephen Kent:

I thank the Senator for all his comments about the staff. Our collaboration with him in the past has been very productive and we continue to try to do what we can for the area. If there is an opportunity for Killaloe and Ballina - particularly as summer services and tourism comes back, where these services are critical - I would hope that they could be included. Again, it would be subject to the conversation with the NTA but now that we have a service and can see it bearing fruit, hopefully we will get to a point of talking about that. We will keep it under discussion.

Bus rapid transit will be part of the consultation that the Chair of this committee has been involved in and the Limerick consultation happening with the NTA. It will all be integrated into that. All the measures that were talked about in the past are hugely reliant on infrastructural investment to make them happen. There is no lack of willingness to participate positively in all those initiatives. What we will need to do, as I said earlier, is anything that gives us more directness, coverage and speed, all the things that customers usually need if they are going to make a choice to convert from the car to public transport. It is under consideration. I understand the consultation is back out and, from the NTA last week, that it may be back before people in May. We will be active participants in that and those ideas. We will participate in anything that can progress this.