Alan Kelly (Tipperary North, Labour)

As a former tourism executive, I am aware of the huge merit of such visits and their potential for the country. As far as the Government is concerned, the review that has been carried out is working. The main features of the redesigned network are an increase in the number of high frequency routes, more direct alignment of routes to and from key areas of work and leisure, greater use of quality bus corridors, more even headways between departures, fewer route variations, adjustments to make the network easier to understand, an increase in cross-city services and improved connections with rail and Luas transport modes.

Huge progress has been made with Dublin Bus which is very efficient in what it does. I do not want to be dumbing-down some of that work. I compliment those who are working together to create these efficiencies in a difficult climate while avoiding industrial relations disputes. I compliment Dublin Bus on the manner in which it has introduced a new route network map. The provision for passengers of real-time timetable information is part of the Government's plan to try to push more people towards public transport, particularly the bus network. All of this should help Dublin Bus to safeguard its future. I suggest the results being achieved by Network Direct as part of this have been encouraging. My office has received numerous compliments about some of the services being delivered and the efficiencies taking place.

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