Joanne Collins (Sinn Fein)

To return to rural transport, I will not get down to the granular level of Local Link services between villages and towns but address the issue of people living outside cities and trying to get into the city for school, college or work. People working from nine to five can forget about it because anyone travelling from west County Limerick into Limerick city has to take a bus coming from either Tralee or Killarney into Limerick and then on to Dublin. They arrive every two hours in the morning, at 7.30 a.m. and 9.30 a.m.. The first arrives at 7.30 a.m. around Adare and it can be full when it arrives in Abbeyfeale. College students then have to wait for two hours for the next bus and arrive late for lectures. Those working in retail or a nine-to-five job cannot rely on buses. We are trying to get people out of their cars and into public transport but it does not seem to be working for people in county towns travelling into the cities. In that sense, we are limiting where people can work if they cannot afford a car. We all know how expensive it is for young people to get on the road, between buying a car and paying for driving lessons and insurance. Does the NTA have plans to build capacity and introduce more frequent services from County Limerick to Limerick city and beyond?