John Lahart (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I know the Deputy from Dún Laoghaire will be interested in parts of this. It is disappointing not to have a Minister from the line Department present. Were it anyone else but the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, replying I would postpone the matter until next Tuesday. I know the line Department will be watching this. I know the Minister of State will bring back the content and comments faithfully. She has done so before and I really appreciate it.

Neighbours of mine was very excited recently because their son gained a place in UCD having done the leaving cert. We were chatting about induction week and I asked how the son was going to get to UCD. I said there was a bus from outside the estate, route 175. Then the local and strong organisation, Knocklyon Network, was inundated on its Facebook page in the past week with comments from residents asking them to raise the issue with local public representatives. I said I would do my best and try to raise it on the floor of the Dáil. I waited until today, but it has been a busy week. I assure any of them who are watching that I have raised it with the National Transport Authority, the NTA, and I have written and communicated directly with the managing director of Go-Ahead Ireland, which is responsible for three of the four routes I will raise.

The first is route 175. It runs through Ballyboden in my constituency through Scholarstown and Knocklyon and serving Ballycullen, Firhouse, Old Bawn, into Tallaght village, past The Square and out to City West. In that area there are hospitals, schools, colleges, a business park, industrial estates and major employment centres. It is a critical route. It passes a number of schools, particularly Educate Together schools, but others also, including pupils from outside the catchment area. The schools are utterly dependent on bus services.

The second is route 75, which runs from Tallaght to Dún Laoghaire via Dundrum. I see the Acting Chair is nodding his head. That route starts in The Square in Tallaght, and shoppers and employees depend on it. Again, it goes through Old Bawn, Rathfarnham shopping centre, Rathfarnham village and passes schools. It connects out to Dundrum Luas. It is a vital link. It also connects to the Stillorgan shopping centre.

The third is route 27 from Jobstown passing, for example, the Coombe Hospital, Crumlin shopping centre, Kilnamanagh, which has a great shopping centre, Tallaght Luas, Tallaght Hospital and Tallaght village. These are critical routes.

The final one is route 17 which only spends minutes in my constituency, passing through Rathfarnham.

There have been failures in timetables, cancelled bus routes and the disappearance of bus times from timetables. I particularly feel for students who at this time have just started their school year. They are excited about it. We are trying to keep cars off the road. These are vulnerable times, including early in the morning and late at night. We can picture a young adult, a young woman maybe, standing at a bus stop and the bus not turning up. The person has to wait by themselves for another 45 minutes to an hour for the next bus to come.

I have a few more comments to make in the second part of my contribution, but that essentially outlines the background.

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