Lorraine Clifford-Lee (Fianna Fail)

I will move on to the Local Link service, which is excellent and which serves many rural communities. I was quite dismayed when it was stated that there is not going to be an increase in funding. In my area of north County Dublin, we have a strong demand for increased services along existing routes and for the introduction of new routes. I mention route 195, which services Balbriggan, Naul, Ballyboughal, Oldtown, Garristown and Ashbourne, in this regard. The service on this route is very good, but it needs to be improved with extra buses on the route. This is particularly the case when we consider that the last time the route was reviewed was in 2022. We have had hundreds of houses built in the rural areas along that route in the meantime, never mind in Ashbourne and Balbriggan. Taking the rural villages, 150 houses have been constructed in Garristown alone since 2022. Will a review of this and of many other routes take place? I understand the NTA is working under the Connecting Ireland rural mobility plan that runs from 2022 to 2026. After 2026, will we see increased services? Will we see it even before then? Is there even capacity to put on any increased services, given the lack of increase in the budget in this area?