Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I agree with the sentiments expressed by the Deputy. I talked to the management of Dublin Bus after the event and I have a sense that they had fairly good information. They closely monitored what was happening, and because there were so many buses around the city drivers were able to report in and share information. There are very extensive cameras on all our buses, so it is not as if drivers are disconnected. Decisions were made in the final hour to withdraw services on the basis of real-life evidence of what was happening. It was a difficult call in terms of whether services should have been pulled earlier. If that had been done, then many people would not have been able to get out of a difficult situation. I think they made the right call even though it was, as the Deputy said, very difficult for certain drivers.

In everything we do with the transport revolution, we need sensors, remote monitoring, and use of digital technology to improve services and share information about services. We have a lot of work to do on improving the real-time information systems so passengers know what is happening as well. Incorporated within that, as we upgrade our software technology to improve that, we should also be able to give passengers better early warning notices and an awareness of what is happening. I agree with the Deputy that it is not that they are not connected but I think we can, and should, improve that.