Liz McManus (Wicklow, Labour)

I am grateful for the opportunity to raise the important issue of the forthcoming temporary closure of weekend DART services to south Dublin and north Wicklow. There was no warning about this decision and no consultation with the people directly affected.

The decision, as yet unannounced by Iarnród Éireann, to close its weekend DART service on the south side of Dublin is a major shock to people living in my constituency, County Wicklow. The closure is due to begin on 3 June and a full service will not recommence until 19 September. It is unacceptable that the travelling public of Bray and Greystones are, yet again, being denied a proper public transport service. This is not the first time it has happened.

For almost a year my constituents were denied a full DART service. From autumn 2003 to June 2004, they had no weekend service. This had a negative impact on commuters and it had a serious impact on businesses in Bray that depend on the thousands of visitors who avail of public transport to visit the town. In particular, Bray seafront is a magnet for visitors from the greater Dublin area and from further afield.

I accept that remedial works are needed to make the service accessible for disabled people and nobody objects to any work that has such an objective. The questions raised, however, relate to how this problem has arisen and why we have no information about it. At last night's meeting of Bray Town Council, this issue was raised as a matter of urgency. The council had not been informed of the intentions of Iarnród Éireann to close down the service at weekends even though it is the premier authority in the town of Bray. This type of arrogance does nothing to enhance the reputation of Iarnród Éireann nor does the indication that there is no room for compromise on this issue.

Will the Minister for Transport intervene to ensure that there is minimum disruption to passengers and businesses in my community? Will he assess why this work could not have been carried out while the service was shut down over the past year? It stayed closed for a longer period than was expected but it also was opened on important holiday weekends. This was a concession granted to the travelling public after numerous complaints.

I urge the Minister for Transport to ensure that the minimum disruption possible is experienced as a result of this unilateral decision. There will be two bank holiday weekends over the time of closure, the June and August bank holidays. Surely it is possible to provide DART services over those weekends. There is also a strong case for the Minister to meet representatives of Dublin Bus to ensure additional bus services are provided during the period of disruption. It is disturbing that Dublin Bus has not been given the go-ahead for the extra buses that the service so desperately needs. The fact that the rail service will be so curtailed to thousands of people is surely grounds for a significant improvement in bus capacity to meet the needs of the people I represent who are not being well served by Iarnród Éireann. I thank the Minister for listening so intently to the case I am making on behalf of my constituents. I am glad he cares.

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