Jennifer Whitmore (Wicklow, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

We will be moving from Cork to Wicklow. I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Josepha Madigan, for coming to the Chamber to take this Topical Issue. I know it is not her area and she will probably be limited in what she can say. It would have been preferable for the Minister for Transport to be here, but I understand that is sometimes not possible.

I want to raise the need for a coastal Local Link service for Wicklow. When I talk about a coastal Local Link service, what I mean is a Local Link service that connects Greystones, Kilcoole, Newcastle, beaches like Brittas Bay and Magheramore, Wicklow town and Arklow. It is a relatively short distance, but no bus service connects these towns and villages at the moment.

This is not the first time I have raised this issue. I raised the need for additional Local Link services in 2017, and the issue has been discussed for a long time. However, I do believe it is critical that we put this in place this year. I will initially call for a seasonal bus service connecting those towns, but there is potential and a need for an all-year service to connect them and provide a much-needed transport link to the DART in Greystones for people in Arklow and Wicklow town.

When I talk about a seasonal service, I am sure many Members are aware of Brittas Bay, which is one of the treasures in Wicklow. It is not just a county treasure when it comes to tourism; it is a treasure for the entire country, in particular the east coast. A lot of people make a day trip every year from Dublin to Brittas Bay and Magheramore to enjoy the fabulous beach.

Brittas Bay is a very small village. It has a couple of car parks and a few shops. Part of its charm is that it does not have a lot of infrastructure. Because of this each year we see increasing numbers of people coming to the village and leaving their cars all over the place to the point where over the past two years, there have been serious health and safety issues. I got stuck in a traffic jam there one day for 20 minutes with an ambulance stuck behind me and all of the other cars. It was trying to get to someone in need of emergency care on the beach. I understand this happened three or four times last summer and this is obviously not acceptable.

Many locals live in fear of a fine sunny day at the weekend because they cannot leave their homes. It is not safe for them to walk on the roads with the amount of car parking on the sides of the roads and the congestion that happens. To be fair, the council has done some remediation work. It has put in double yellow lines. I know some of the locals have opened up temporary car parks. This should be only part of the solution. The answer to this is a public bus service that would go from Greystones to Wicklow town and Arklow to bring people to the beach. There are private operators. I spoke to them last year when they were available to provide a seasonal service but the National Transport Authority, NTA, did not take them up on their offer. It would pay for itself. We speak about climate emergencies, health and safety and using local tourism spots but we have to provide the facilities. We have to provide the services. It is crazy in this day and age that a beach such as Brittas Bay does not have a bus service. Down the road in County Wexford, there is a seasonal Local Link bus service that connects Wexford town to Curracloe. I fail to see how such a service can be provided in Wexford but is not provided for such a popular beach in Wicklow.

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