Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Deputies Cronin and Paul Donnelly raised public transport services and Go-Ahead Ireland. It is a very serious issue. The National Transport Authority, NTA, has advised the Department of Transport in respect of this. The performance of all public transport operators is closely monitored as part of the contractual arrangements that are in place. Go-Ahead Ireland is not alone in experiencing service reliability issues. The public transport sector has been particularly hard hit by driver shortages as operators attempt to return to the pre-pandemic level of activity, as well as delivering intended service improvements. The NTA formally meets Go-Ahead Ireland on a weekly basis to review performance-associated customer feedback and driver recovery plans and will continue to closely monitor the situation. It continues to apply deductions performance payments as part of contracts. Due to the poor performance during the first half of 2022, the deductions applied were substantial. Penalties were previously applied to Go-Ahead Ireland in the fourth quarter of 2021 and the first quarter of 2022 amounting to approximately €266,000 and €209,000, respectively. These are issues with the NTA. The Deputies could communicate with the NTA in respect of specific services.

Deputy Costello raised Garda numbers. There are 14,300 members of An Garda Síochána and there will be a further 1,000. The next cohort of trainees is being taken in this month, and they will be followed by another 200 every 11 weeks.

That is the background. It is an operational matter for the Commissioner to appoint personnel to the various areas.

Deputy Bríd Smith raised the issue of the apartment defects. I said to the House last week that the Minister responsible intends to bring forward a scheme towards the end of the year in respect of defective apartments.

Deputy Stanton might have heard my reply earlier to Deputy McNamara on the need to accelerate all this. I will ask the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, to examine the foreshore licences issue. Perhaps Deputy Stanton will communicate with him on that.

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