Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

That in itself is an acknowledgement that the draft was wrong from the start. We do not apologise nor should we apologise for representing the views of the old, the infirm and the disabled. This motion calls for a meaningful consultation.

That includes consultation with Dublin Bus drivers, the people who work at the coalface day in, day out, and who know what network will work. The draft network when reconfigurated must go out for public consultation. The Government has the power to ensure that happens. What we all want is a public bus service that not alone will maintain the current number of people using it but will encourage more people to migrate from their cars to public transport. We need to see additional capacity. That needs to be provided now, not sometime in the next three or four years, because many of our routes and buses are busting at the seams. We also need to see an acceleration in the roll-out of energy efficient hybrid buses. To date, the Government is still standing over a policy of purchasing diesel buses. Most importantly, we want a Dublin Bus service that meets the needs of its service users.

If those parameters are met everybody on this side, and I am sure on the Government side, of the House will be happy. The people in authority who are in a position to make sure those parameters are met are the Minister, Deputy Ross and his Cabinet colleagues. Let us not have Minister Ross say, as he did in December 2011, that the National Transport Authority was established to protect the political masters. Let him ensure the NTA exists to implement Government policies that will ensure a better service for all service users.

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