Martin Heydon (Kildare South, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for his response. I welcome the safeguarding of the Nightrider routes until the end of the year at the very least to allow a little time and space for consultation on and analysis of the use of these routes and future demand, which I expect will continue into the new year. This is particularly important for south Kildare residents because taxi and hotel costs for these residents, who may want to have a night out in Dublin for work or whatever other reason, are prohibitive during the busy Christmas period, particularly on Friday and Saturday nights. This is therefore an important extension. We must consider the broader scheme in this regard. I hope there will be proper consultation with those who use the route to ascertain the level of demand, on which we should not just take Bus Éireann's word, and to examine the time options. It may be possible to change departure times or work with them a little if passenger numbers are down but, again, I am sceptical of Bus Éireann's statement that there have been insufficient passenger numbers for some time. I question this because we are heading into a period of peak business. I think there is something afoot with this decision. The curt way in which it was communicated to people did a major disservice to passengers of Bus Éireann, and I express my disappointment in this regard. Nonetheless, I am glad the service will continue until the end of the year at least.

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