Jennifer Whitmore (Wicklow, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

I too am a member of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Environment and Climate Action. I commend Deputy Leddin on his chairing of that committee and I also commend the other members. It is a very active and committed committee.

It has been quite a while since we looked at this report on transport and quite a while since we discussed it. I looked through it last night and remembered all of the discussions we had. It was very inspirational listening to the experts coming in to talk to us about free public transport systems, or about the projects in Germany or in Wales where they have really managed to deal with the issue. We heard of cycling superhighways and green networks, how it could actually work with public transport and our school transport system and concepts such as every village-every hour, which is really the ideal on where we need to get to.

As I read it and remembered the discussion, it seemed further and further away. The reality that many people and communities, particularly rural communities, face when it comes to public transport is a world away from what we have envisaged here. We need the pathway for getting from the current situation to the ideal. I do not believe it is impossible. It is not particularly complex. It will involve political will and a lot of funding and investment but getting the messaging right on public transport will be key. If it is built, people will use it. The messaging around climate change might not necessarily encourage the majority of people to use it but if the messaging was more about the benefits and if it was a reliable, regular and reasonably priced service, people would use it because it would be much easier for them. That is what we need to be working towards.

I will use my county as an example of the current situation because it has a mix of rural and urban areas. However, we are in the commuter belt so there are many rural counties in a much worse situation. To go from Arklow to Greystones, which is the nearest DART station, is a car journey of 35 minutes. There are only two morning services on the train that will get people there in time for work. There are no buses. That is twice in the morning that people can get public transport. Similarly, if someone is going from Wicklow town to Greystones, it is very limited. The bus would take one hour and ten minutes and that would involve two buses and a transfer. It is 24 minutes by car. There is no way we will be able to encourage people to take two buses and travel for an hour and ten minutes if they could just get in their car and drive. That is where we need to be looking. To go from Blessington to Baltinglass, in west Wicklow, is a 24-minute journey by car. There is one bus in the morning at 10.30 a.m., so there is no opportunity to get in for a 9 a.m. start. There is one more bus in the afternoon and two in the evening. Again, there is a very limited service available to people. That is without even looking at the many other towns and villages across the county where there is no or very limited public transport. In Roundwood, Aughrim, Glenealy or Hollywood, it is very limited. Avoca has a train line going through it and a station but that station is closed. That should be a relatively simple upgrade and yet the investment is not being made.

In some areas in the north of the county, such as Bray, there is a better public transport system but there are still issues with how regular it is. Reliability is a major issue for many. I have been dealing with many people over the last few months regarding the 45A and the 185, which are both Go-Ahead services. There are problems with the buses not turning up, being late and not being there at night. If you are trying to get home late at night you need to know that bus is going to bring you home. If people are left in the dark at an empty train station waiting for that bus, that shows it is not safe. We have to acknowledge that safety on public transport is a major disincentive, particularly for women. That is something we need to be looking at. Similarly, the 133 has been causing problems since I was elected. There have been constant issues with that bus service that have never been resolved. I even heard a story about a bus driver who had to ring his wife to get her to come down with cash so he could fill the bus up with diesel while en route. He had to pull in and get diesel, then ring the wife and get her to come down as he had no cash on him, because the bus had not been filled up the night before. These are the kinds of stories we hear. That is the reality for people and what we need to be moving away from.

There is one thing we should do and it should be simple. We need a Local Link that goes around every village in this country and between villages and towns. That would be a game changer. These would be small community buses. There are many private operators keen to get involved. It is a matter of financing it. Those community buses would be lifelines for small rural villages from an economic, social and tourism perspective. There is no downside to it. I am sure everyone has heard of Brittas Bay. I am probably biased but I think it is the most beautiful beach in the country. It is also one of the most popular and most used because it is so close to Dublin. Over the last number of years on fine days, it has become increasingly dangerous to go down there because the traffic is so bad. At one stage last year I was stuck in traffic for 20 minutes and an ambulance trying to get to someone who needed emergency care on the beach could not get through. The traffic is unbelievable, with people parking on both sides of the road. Some remediation measures have been put in place to try to address that, and hopefully this summer will not be as bad, but there is no public transport at all to Brittas Bay or Magheramore. For the past three years, I have been asking the NTA to provide a Local Link seasonal bus service that would go from Greystones through Newcastle, Kilcoole and Wicklow town to Brittas Bay and Arklow. That coastal route could be a huge service in the summer but it would also be a very good service in winter for people going between those towns. Not having a bus connection between those coastal towns is a missed opportunity. I will be raising it again with the NTA this year to see if it can fund that service. There are private operators that would be very keen to get involved in that project if the NTA is not in a position to put a bus on itself.

The work we did on the committee was good in that it paints a picture of what we could have and what we need to have. We need to focus on the here and now and make sure the investment happens. That is primarily a financial investment at this point in time. The Connecting Ireland plan is looking at expanding the Local Link. However, it only got €5 million in this year's budget for the entire country, which is a paltry amount considering the job we expect it to do. When the Minister of State is having those discussions with his Cabinet colleagues around the upcoming budget, I ask that he advocate a strong investment in Local Link. It would make a huge difference. I also ask that the Government invest in the school service. We need a national school scheme, not one that is based on how far away someone is from the school or how many other children are getting it. We need one that all children can access. Not only would that help with traffic and emissions, it would also set a cultural precedent where children would get used to using buses. They will bring that culture into their adulthood and will hopefully remain committed to using public transport into the future.

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