Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for his reply. People locally hold me accountable politically and I have to hold the Minister accountable politically as the one in charge of this issue. I ask him not to wash his hands of any aspect of it and make sure the fact that it has had to be raised on the floor of Dáil Éireann will work its way through the system and result in a better quality of service for the people I represent. He can be sure these issues are not unique to the area I represent, but it is a matter for other Deputies to raise them on behalf of their constituents. I would like the Minister to follow up on these problems with the NTA and Bus Éireann. It is welcome that there are plans to expand services, including the 220, 220X and 223, but will the resources be provided to back up the intention to expand these services because lack of capacity is a problem? Lack of resources is, undoubtedly, a problem.

People want to know whether the position is going to change. I invite the Minister to read the community noticeboards on Facebook. Local newspapers such as The Carrigdhounalso provide a Facebook platform. They have been inundated with complaints and people are utterly frustrated about buses running so late and, in some cases, not even turning up and being full that it is having a detrimental impact on their daily lives. The fact that I have had to raise the issue in the House is born out of frustration and I am demanding action. I respect the fact that the Minister takes the matter seriously and it is welcome that the NTA has engaged with Bus Éireann and is aware of the operational problems which I agree are not acceptable. If the NTA measures the performance obligations, service delivery, punctuality, services and so on, it will find, unfortunately, that on these routes the quality of service has not been up to standard. Will the Minister follow through on this issue and please engage with the NTA in order that it will engage with Bus Éireann and put pressure on in in order that these services can be improved? There are people who want to avail of public transport which the Minister wants to encourage, but let us make it possible for them to do so by being able to rely on the provision of a decent service.

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