Cathal Crowe (Clare, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I just have one more question. I hope the other members can draw out this topic also. I thank the drivers. I do not often use the bus but believe the drivers are incredibly helpful. I have said in the past to Ms Graham, when she has been at committee meetings, that taking a bus or other form of public transport can sometimes be confusing to someone who does not use it the whole time. A passenger might wonder where to put the Leap card or what to do. I had my dad in Dublin recently and it was probably a decade since he had used Dublin Bus. There is not a great amount of information. Similarly, if somebody came down to the west and tried to use one of our Local Link systems, there could be a bit of confusion. Some information at the stops would be beneficial.

My last question is for Ms Graham. I am going outside Dublin for this one because Dublin will never elect me. The 343 bus service goes from Limerick past Shannon Airport and on to Ennis. It is an extremely populated corridor in County Clare. The population along the corridor has risen significantly in the past year. I welcome the fact that the NTA has increased the number of services – the double-decker services – but we need a higher frequency because far too often, people arrive at the bus stop for the 343 only to find it full. Sometimes it does not arrive at all. I would like to know whether the NTA has a more frequent service in mind because that is what Bus Éireann and the service users want.

Ms Graham might also tell me whether the NTA has plans to develop the Ennis town bus service. We have seen towns such as Dundalk pass us out. The project has been in planning for many years. We want to hear some good news at long last for the residents of Ennis, which is Munster's largest town without city status. It deserves a bus service. I hope Ms Graham can give us some good news today.