Darren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank everyone who contributed to the debate. The Minister of State, Deputy Naughton, stated that some elements of the motion "do not properly reflect the progress to date in this area, the work currently under way or the Government's future plans for public transport." I do not know what that means. We have set out, for example, in the area of Connecting Ireland, the rural bus plan which is supported by the Opposition, that the Government is not investing enough in it and not rolling it out at a suitable pace. The Minister of State also said implementation of the programme would continue at the pace outlined by the Government and in line with the funding and operational resources available. The reason we tabled the motion is that we are not satisfied adequate progress has been made on Connecting Ireland. We have spelled out what we believe the Government should do, which is to increase the investment in it.

I can give examples from my county. Some months ago, the Minister of State, Deputy Naughton, informed the House that Kentstown would have a service this year, after 40 years without one. It will not have it this year because the commitment is not being delivered on. The same applies elsewhere. Invest in the Navan rail line now, not post 2031 as the Government reaffirmed tonight. The same goes for the dedicated public transport policing unit. It has to happen in order for workers and passengers to feel safe to use public transport. Services must be expanded, costs and fares driven down and the people working on and using our public transport system protected.

We also need accountability. The Minister of State, Deputy Naughton, made the point, which the Minister of State, Deputy Calleary, echoed that the NTA engages in contracts with providers and it is a matter for them. The Minister for Transport is responsible for the delivery of the public transport network. I have sat in Opposition for at least four hours of debate on public transport in the last couple of weeks and the Minister has not been here for one minute of it. I and others have discussed with the Minister of State and others Go-Ahead Ireland and the lack of accountability for its service, and the senior Minister has not been here for any of that discussion. We want to see accountability for the provision of public transport services. There is significant room for improvement there.

We are lucky with the huge effort and work that workers in the public transport service provide and deliver. They need to be supported and resourced. There are a huge number of issues to be tackled in terms of licensing, rostering, pay and terms and conditions that should reward those people and encourage more to go into that sector to deliver the scale and number of services the people of Ireland need and deserve.

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