Aindrias Moynihan (Cork North West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for that overview. As he points out, the Macroom service was one of the services identified as being particularly problematic and as offering an opportunity for growth in serving villages such as Ballingeary, Inchigeela, Kilmurry, Crookstown, Cloughduv, Aherla and on down to Killumney and Coachford. If one wants to get in and out to Cork city from Coachford, for example, one can get a bus in the morning at 7.40, but to get back home again, one has to be out of the city before 1 p.m. It is not practical. For people living along the Bride Valley who want to get in and out to work, they can get a bus at 7.30 a.m. but they must be out on the Model Farm Road at 4.30 p.m to get home. That does not suit most people who are going in and out of Cork city.

There were plans to expand the service, as the Minister outlined, but plans do not get put into place immediately. It takes a bit of background work to take them forward. It should not be the case that we should park all such projects at this time. The coronavirus crisis should not mean that everything stops. Plans should continue in the meantime and there should be a readiness to switch projects back on. I understand that these cannot be advanced overnight but preparations can be made. The Minister referred to the 243 bus service that goes out to Grenagh and on up to Bweeng. Grenagh is 20 minutes from the city centre by car but it feels like a week by bus. Improved services need to be rolled out as soon as possible and the preparatory work must be going on in the background in the meantime.

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