John Curran (Dublin Mid West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I have set out the position as we find it today. The Minister finished by referring to Dublin Bus but does the Minister know how many extra buses Dublin Bus will have in 2017? The total provision of additional buses this year for Dublin Bus, at a time of significant growth in demand, is 20. That is a grossly inadequate response. The bus network, as the Minister has said, is the backbone of the public transport infrastructure but the Government is not providing the required level of response. As I raise this issue with the Minister, I am frustrated at the lack of urgency. The frustration of the people who will sit in their cars and on buses this evening is not being reflected in the Government's responses.

The entire road infrastructure in the Dublin region is at capacity. Are there plans to deliver what was previously proposed in Lucan, namely a Luas line? Are there plans to open a train station in Kishogue? Are there plans to provide local bus services that would join major transport infrastructure hubs, for example, bus services from neighbourhood centres in places like Clondalkin and Lucan to the Luas station at Red Cow or the main Fonthill Road railway station? Where are the specific plans that could have a more immediate impact?

I could speak on this topic for ages but my time is running out. The final point I will make is that I am concerned about long-term planning. I am concerned because Transport Infrastructure Ireland, TII, and South Dublin County Council, SDCC, have very different views on where things are going. By 2023, TII expects the population of the SDCC area to be 268,000, with jobs in the region standing at 105,000, an increase of 7% and 12% respectively. However, the council itself anticipates that the population will be 280,000 and the number of jobs in the area will be 115,000, representing growth rates of 11% and 23% respectively. How are we going to deliver the necessary infrastructure when TII and SDCC cannot even agree on projected future growth?

See this speech in context