Marc Ó Cathasaigh (Waterford, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I acknowledge the huge positivity that has been in the room this morning. There are, of course, teething issues and there are places we want to improve. There is a natural impatience among public representatives who want these services rolled out as soon as possible to give maximum benefit but there is no doubting there has been a sea change in the provision of rural public transport. We are playing catch-up and there may be an element of us being victims of our own success. Senator Burke referred to the passenger numbers on the trains. As a frequent train user, I am well-acquainted with that as well. We are becoming victims of our own success in terms of the capacity on trains but that is all to the good.

Many of the issues I wanted to raise have been raised such as the bus shelters and the bus stops. The village of Annestown benefits from a fairly decent service between Tramore and Dungarvan but the only way people will be aware that there is a public transport option is if they see the bus pass through the village. Work needs to be done on visibility and the roll-out of bus stops. Senator Garvey referred to the need for flexibility in how that is applied. Again, I can provide another local example. A new service will run from Dungarvan to Clonmel and it will pass through the village of Ballymacarbry, which has been in dire need of public transport service for years. I am currently being told it will not be possible to put a bus stop in Ballymacarbry and, therefore, a bus will run through the village without stopping. If that goes ahead, that is insanity and I am anxious that would be resolved before the new route is put in place.

On this issue of accessibility, we have to make sure the accessibility is rolled out across the bus stops so that we have the low-floor buses. Another local example is the service from Tramore to Dunmore East. It is a new service that is well-used on an absolutely gorgeous costal route. There is an accessible bus stop in Tramore and, therefore, a wheelchair user can board the bus. There is not an accessible bus stop to my knowledge in Dunmore East. A wheelchair user can get on the bus in Tramore but he or she will have some craic getting off the bus in Dunmore East. It needs to be ensured there is uniformity across the board on that.

This is very much playing to stereotype as a Green Party member but I sometimes understand our public transport system as being a bit like a tree. Of course, I would say that. If I imagine the twigs, the branches and the trunk, the trunk is heavy rail. That is where the capacity is to carry the most people in the quickest way. The branches are the bus network and the twigs are active travel provision. We are discussing the branches: bus provision. I am not sure we are connecting well enough with the trunk. Senator Garvey gave some examples where the timetables do not line up. I lived in a very rural part of Germany. God help us, it was in the last millennium when I lived there. It was a good 25 years ago and if I got the bus from Homburg to Wabern, I always arrived in time for the Frankfurt train. It was seamless. As soon as I stepped off the Frankfurt train in Wabern, the bus pulled up. I did not have to think about it, worry about it or preplan. We need to get to that stage. I have a concern when I read the maps for Connecting Ireland that, in many cases, the route is shadowing routes a heavy rail connection. The route from Thomastown to Waterford city is an example. I would prefer people to be delivered into Thomastown in good time to catch the train to Waterford, rather than doubling up and providing a competing service. On the other end of the branch and into the twigs, we have to think about the active travel networks to make sure that people can get safely to the bus stops. There must be provision for passengers to leave their bikes if they have cycled in. This was mentioned previously. We need a good lock-up, preferably dry, spot so people are not leaving their bikes out in the rain. Something I have not heard mentioned at all this morning is the potential of e-bikes to greatly expand the radius. People might walk a kilometre to a bus stop and might cycle 5 km but they are put on an e-bike, the radius is substantially increased. People are not going to throw a €2,000 e-bike up onto the ditch on the side of the road. There needs to be some place where they can be locked safely.

I would like to ask a very focused question on the demographic of passengers. It has very much changed from what Mr. Kerry described as the widows. There is a very good skate park in Dungarvan and the young fellas are getting on the bus in Tramore. They are going up and having a skate for the day, hanging around with a few bodies, and heading back down. That is not a demographic I expected to see on Local Link services and it is a demographic I am really excited about seeing.

I have a more in-depth question about governance. Mr. Boland might be best placed to answer this. I give a name check to James O'Donoghue who is involved in Waterford Local Link and is absolutely outstanding in his role. We have a fantastic range of services. Some of the best Local Link services in the country are operating in the county. I cite the route from Dungarvan going through Lismore, Cappoquin and up into Tallow in particular. It is pretty much an hourly service, which is extremely well-frequented and extremely well-run. This service is being re-tendered on a four-year basis. Anybody could swoop in and offer an alternative tender. James O'Donoghue is trying to maintain his staff on that four-year rolling contract basis. I suspect every Local Link has that lynchpin person in the middle. If they are taken out because of how our governance structure is organised in the Local Links, it takes time to build that capacity. Is there a need to have supports around requirements such as general data protection regulation, GDPR, and all of those new initiatives that roll out and cost hours? I see Mr. Boland nodding at that. I do not suggest a more centralised service because we cannot lose that local knowledge given the level of local knowledge that I have seen in the Local Link providers is second to none. We are asking Local Link to take on a much greater burden in the provision of rural public transport. It has been, by and large, a success. The services are excellent and they are being well-used. However, in the context of what is a much greater workload, do the governance structures need to be rethought? Perhaps Mr. Boland will come in the last question first.