Marc Ó Cathasaigh (Waterford, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister. I am glad he has been engaging with them, but I am not sure the answer goes to the crux of the issue. He has had an invitation to go to County Sligo to go surfing; he can come to County Waterford and go surfing as well but I will make him check in with the Local Link operator there if he does. County Waterford provides probably one of the best Local Link services in the country. From my town, Tramore, people can access Dungarvan on one service, and they can get to Dunmore East on another. From Dungarvan, fantastic services serve the Gaeltacht communities, which go through Cappoquin, Lismore and Tallow, for example. We are getting close to an every village, every hour service, particularly on the Cappoquin route. I am hearing that while the Local Link operators are taking up a huge amount of the slack and making a huge expansion to their services, they are not necessarily getting the support they need. They are not necessarily being heard by the NTA in the correct or collaborative way the Minister spoke about regarding route planning. Do they need to be more resourced? Do they need to be more supported in the roll-out of these services?

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