Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Labour)

This is pure spoof. These are the tricks the Minister employs. He muddies the waters, spreads confusion and does not answer the question he has been asked. The Minister promised 275 buses under the national development plan, but he has refused to honour that commitment. He only provided 93 buses and, therefore, owes Dublin Bus and the commuters of Dublin 182 buses.

Given that the majority of people in the Dublin area are dependent on buses for public transport, notwithstanding the popularity of the Luas and DART, will the Minister explain the reason he refuses to provide the additional buses needed and which he promised to provide? Is it not time we had somebody in the Department of Transport who is prepared to champion the notion of public transport and show some commitment to the people who are turned away from buses on a regular basis because the fleet is inadequate and insufficient to meet the demand? Is it not nonsense to talk about getting people out of their cars when we do not have the required capacity in the bus service?

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