Gerry Horkan (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I have my own connections with Limerick so I gave the Deputy more latitude than I probably should have.

I will contribute next. I thank the witnesses for being here. As everyone has acknowledged, this meeting is a follow-up to a meeting that occurred when the situation was not as positive as it is at the moment.

I will address, as others have, the events of last Thursday. I was attending a function here that was cut short because of what was happening. The national Parliament is going to be a target for this kind of activity. Thankfully, it did not get that far in this case. I am very conscious of the families affected by the initial incident. I am sure everybody's heart is with the families of the people who were injured and the staff who were impacted by the activities. I am not sure if Go-Ahead Ireland had any services impacted by the burning of buses and so on. It was a traumatic evening across the city. The scale of it left people wondering where it would stop. Some staff in this building ended up walking home to Clondalkin and I am sure others ended up walking to other places. Visitors to the Houses, an elderly couple, were escorted on foot by one of our staff here to Phibsborough. While it is not a million miles away, that is not the easiest thing in the world for an older. There were also concerts in the 3Arena on the night.

I fully accept that buses were being diverted, that Dublin Bus did not know how to contain the situation and that the safety of staff and passengers is paramount. I know of somebody who was in Cornelscourt and the bus had to pull in on the N11. Passengers were told they could travel to the end of the route but they could not return. It would have been helpful if they had been able to come back into Dublin as far as Donnybrook bus garage with passengers coming the other way. I hope these activities never happen again.

I agree that safety is paramount, as it is when there are red weather warnings, but an awful lot of people were very discommoded. People who are not of Irish birth had to walk through certain areas and they felt more vulnerable than they would have otherwise that night. The only way for them to get home was to walk. One can walk a bit one way or the other but people are on their own when walking and taxis were never going to be able to cope with the level of demand. This is something we need to consider. Witnesses can respond to that in a moment. I am not being in any way accusatory or aggressive but, from a customer point of view, an awful lot of people were stranded in an awful lot of places. I do not know who was performing at the 3Arena on the night but I think it was generally attended by young people so thousands of cars ended up descending on the area to pick up people, causing further traffic congestion. I know Thursday night's events were unprecedented and I hope to never see them again. That is something for all of us to consider.

All of the statements contained a lot of positives, which is good. The committee acknowledges the positive developments such as an upgraded fleet and electric buses, which will be transformative in terms of air quality, noise reduction, etc. I am interested in learning what percentage of people use Leap cards. I am not trying to get rid of cash but I am interested in learning how much cash versus card is being taken because clearly the Leap card is a much more attractive option in terms of the cost of fares.

On Dublin Airport, there are no representatives of Aircoach present. Some of the witnesses are familiar with Aircoach. I know of people who have tried to board an Aircoach at 4 a.m. and were told the seats were pre-booked only and they should get a taxi. Perhaps Dublin Bus will consider providing a commercial service to Dublin Airport or increasing its services to the airport. I am not sure if Go-Ahead Ireland has any services that stop at the airport. Representatives of Dublin Airport appeared before the committee last week. Car parking is a challenge. The number of people using the airport is phenomenal. I have taken an Aircoach bus and used the 41 and 16 services which travel to the airport using the bus lanes. I have seen bus lanes full of taxis, which is another challenge. I am not saying we should get taxis out of bus lanes. How do we handle bus services if bus routes are full of taxis? It must be challenge. I ask Mr. Hann and Ms McKay to give an insight into how much congestion is caused by taxis.

Go-Ahead Ireland gives the NTA the fare box and it is paid to run the service. Is it the same system with Dublin Bus? That question is for the NTA.

I welcome the new routes, including in my local area. I was a bit disappointed that Goatstown was not mentioned. Monkstown, Kilmacud and everywhere else were mentioned but Goatstown was left out. The S4 and S6 are in my area. I did not receive a map but I found one online. Maybe there could be more communication about these routes because there are lots of new connections, some of which involve a transfer or change.

On the real-time passenger information, RTPI, service, does Dublin Bus or the National Transport Authority manage that? I think the information service has improved but I am not sure who operates it.

A representative of Go-Ahead Ireland addressed the CPC issue. That seems to be a no-brainer. You can drive with the piece of plastic but not without it. A driver who has passed the test and done everything required will wait on the post for the bit of plastic to arrive. Maybe there is a mechanism in legislation to allow a digital version to be sent immediately. Something must be done. It seems daft that staff are being paid to sit around waiting for a piece of plastic to arrive. I understand the concept of the CPC and why it is necessary. I have given a long speech. I ask the witnesses to address those points.

I ask the representatives of Bus Éireann to elaborate on how much the school bus service costs. Many people in Dublin think school bus services are for people outside Dublin and that people in Dublin can get services on Dublin Bus, Go-Ahead Ireland or whatever services. What is the level of dedicated bus service provision in Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown, south Dublin, Fingal and Dublin city. Perhaps Ms Graham will comment first.