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

Yes, the electric buses are another example. We are looking at pathfinder projects of real benefit, with a huge increase in patronage at very low cost, by anyone's measure. When infrastructure is put in place it provides an opportunity to rethink the town. I have a slight concern regarding Athlone that maybe the benefit of the bridge is not being availed of because to a certain extent, other difficult decisions were not made about how the town traffic system works. It was an opportunity, particularly for the west bank, to be really transformative. I will be upfront and honest on this. I do not think the council swung in behind the idea of rethinking how the town works. I do not want to single out any one council in this regard. I do not know if the Senator is familiar with Mullingar but I was there recently. There is a new traffic-light management system and I think there are questions about whether it has improved pedestrian safety or created a real sense of space. I have a sense that sometimes the devil is in the detail and it is difficult to see things and engineer them, and it is difficult politically. Coming away from both Athlone and Mullingar, I felt that there was great progress being made but so much more could be done.