James O'Connor (Cork East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

It is always good to see NTA representatives at the committee. I thank them for being here. There are a couple of issues that are very important to me. Patrick Mulcahy, who works in my office and is now a councillor, and I have held a lot of meetings and, to be fair, they have fruitful in trying to deliver additional capacity in certain areas. Ms Graham will know the route 260 service has been a very big issue in east Cork. It is very important to Youghal and to some of the rural villages along the N25. Youghal is looking for further morning services. People are using the bus service because it is an affordable way to get to work. It is well used. Youghal is within a 45-minute commute of Cork city when traffic is favourable. We are seeking further assistance around the morning services. I acknowledge the NTA has provided an additional double-decker service but we want to see what more can be done. I am talking about the morning services at 7 a.m., 7.10 a.m. and 7.20 a.m. which terminate in Midleton and the 8.10 a.m. and 10 a.m. services from Youghal. All those services need additional capacity. My constituency office in the town, which is a short walk up from the bus stop, gets many calls from people complaining about not being able to access services at appropriate times in the morning. There is demand on that route. Can the NTA help me and my office to deliver for our constituency and the town of Youghal with extra services?