Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Yes and one reason for the delays the Deputy referred to and what is a common theme in some of the questions put to me today is the length of time involved in moving some of these projects through the planning process. The reasons for this are many. A big factor that I acknowledge as one of the reasons has been the need to supply more resources and support to An Bord Pleanála to evaluate and to do its independent work on big public transport projects quickly.

As for the funding, I do not have the figures with me here today as they are primarily under the aegis of the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan and today we are talking about the NDP in the round. I know that the Government has looked to make funding available to Bus Éireann and to Dublin Bus and the upgrading of their fleets has been a big priority. More money has gone into both of those organisations from the State and although this does not deal with the issues the Deputy and his constituents have, the Minister, Deputy Ryan, has also prioritised in particular investment into rail carriageways and into how we can electrify our rail network in the future. However, I take the Deputy's point that a lot of this is still too far away for his constituents, many of whom are still involved in journeys that are too long.