Michael Collins (Cork South West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

That is correct. I echo the comments of Deputy Pringle on Donegal. I have the same issues in west Cork from one peninsula into another. The difficulty is to have a proper transport service. Last week on Leaders' Questions with the Taoiseach I raised the possibility of a park-and-ride system that would run from Clonakilty to Cork train station and Cork Airport and on to Cork city to alleviate the massive use of cars. This park-and-ride system could have buses running from Mizen Head through to Skibbereen from the Sheep's Head, Beara Peninsula and Bantry and on to the park-and-ride facility in Clonakilty.

Cork, Bandon, Innishannon and surrounding areas could be catered for en route. Some 30 cars could be taken off of the roads for every 40 people who could use the service. It would give great relief to the hard-pressed families with no choice but to have a second vehicle. I appreciate that the Taoiseach acknowledged this as a possibility and that the scheme might work. He stated he would examine it and, in fairness, we have to give everybody a bit of time. I am looking forward to his response in the near future.

It is unbelievable to recall that we had rail services to Schull, Bantry and west Cork in the late 1800s but we have no public transport services linking west Cork to the train station in Cork city in 2019. It is vital that this Government invests and delivers on projects which were close to being implemented a decade ago but are now on hold. An example in Bandon is the proposed northern bypass for the town. It is now proposed to make this a two-phase project and that will bring the bypass into the town and down Kilbroghan Hill which is already a congested bottleneck at the best of times. The solution suggested for this is banning on-street parking in the town.

This will cause carnage for businesses and residents. I cannot understand for the life of me how anyone could sign off the change to the plan to allow a bypass to filter cars into an existing bottleneck, adding insult to injury with regard to the unfinished southern bypass, for which money is promised prior to every general election. They have tried to cod the people of Bandon, but they will not cod them forever. Nothing has happened either on the promised Innishannon bypass. West Cork is at a standstill on funds. Little or no money has been spent on the N71, R586 or R585. Simple passing bays could open up roads from Bandon to Clonakilty to Skibbereen or from Bandon on the northern side to Ballineen, Dunmanway and Drimoleague. The only money the Department has spent has been to repair damaged roads.

It is unfortunate the Minister ran out, but I suppose he saw a few of us across the floor. He does not usually spend much time discussing issues with us here but these issues are very important ones for the people who need proper public transport services, including for people with disabilities. I mentioned Sarah Dullea, who has been fighting for a disabled-access bus from Dunmanway but is unable to get one to enable her to work in Cork city. We are at crisis point. The Local Link service is the only light in a very dark tunnel. We were promised an evening service and an Uber service. We were promised everything but nothing is happening. There is perhaps one service in County Cork. We were promised an Uber service by the Minister of State in west Cork, but absolutely nothing is in place. We find out now that there will be one service or two at most in the whole county of Cork. The Government should stop codding people and invest in transport services and in west Cork. People will then be able to take their vehicles off the road. Until they can, they will have no choice but to use the ones they have now.

See this speech in context