Charlie O'Connor (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)

It is good to get out of our cars and take public transport or go walking, not only in terms of our well being but also for the environment. I hope Members opposite will support me in making that plea.

Other colleagues have discussed Dublin Bus. Years ago, when I attended secondary school in Drimnagh Castle and before I knew where Tallaght was, my mother told me not to travel too far up the road or I would get lost. I was living in Crumlin at the time. A friend of mine who lived in Tallaght told me that if he did not leave school in time to get the 4.15 p.m. bus from the Long Mile House, he would not get home until 7 p.m. Some critics would argue nothing has changed. The Luas is in place and there have been a number of developments in respect of bus services in Tallaght and the Dublin region. Reference was made on the ministerial benches to the need for joined up thinking. Sometimes I wonder whether those who have responsibility for public transport consider planning from the perspective of new communities.

As part of last week's visit by the Ceann Comhairle's Oireachtas education initiative to Dublin South-West, my good friend, Deputy Rabbitte, and I met students in St. MacDara's Community College. We were asked a number of practical questions by young people from the Firhouse and Ballycullen areas. The students pointed out that the bus service for these areas, which have developed in recent years, is still in the dark ages. These are the issues which people want addressed. The Minister of State at the Department of Food and Agriculture spoke about new communities in north Dublin and Deputy Thomas Byrne discussed County Meath. I do not understand why transport providers do not consider how they will serve people from those communities or persuade them to leave their cars behind. South Dublin County Council has won a number of awards for its proposals for Adamstown and Lucan, which require that stand alone communities have all the infrastructure and facilities they require. That is the way it should be everywhere. I do not wish to be parochial because everyone can speak about their own areas but I concur with the young people from Ballycullen and Firhouse when they say they cannot understand Dublin Bus's inability to provide a decent service.

Having kicked Dublin Bus, I also want to praise the company. On Monday, I attended a function in Fettercairn in west Tallaght with Deputies Brian Hayes, Conor Lenihan and Rabbitte, at which awards were presented to several local schools, including St. Anne's in Fettercairn, St. Aidan's in Brookfield, St. Agnes's in Crumlin, which is out of my constituency but beside my former home, and St. Paul's in Greenhills. Young people were given awards for protecting their bus services. Dublin Bus has told me that it faces challenges and we often hear television reports about bus provision throughout the city. I am aware that vandalism takes place everywhere but I have never taken the view that bus services should be withdrawn from vulnerable communities just because some moron throws bricks. There has to be a better way of resolving the matter. I applaud the initiative taken by Dublin Bus in that regard while criticising its lack of thought and provision as far as planning is concerned.

When I was a member of South Dublin County Council, I was involved in previous incarnations of the Dublin transport authority. I read with interest that the Green Party has taken an initiative on transport and I look forward to receiving a copy of it. John Henry left South Dublin County Council to become involved in those bodies. It is important that they have an input from local authority members, who sometimes receive a kicking. I can be perfectly honest in that regard because I have no ambition to become a local authority councillor ever again.

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