Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I agree with Teachta Ó Cuív. I am always conscious when we raise this, and I do not mean this in a disrespectful way to the person who has turned up, that there is a rule. It is disrespectful to expect us to come in when the relevant line Minister does not. That is not directed to the Minister of State. I am very conscious that he is here and I do not mean that in a disrespectful way to him. With the assistance of the Cathaoirleach Gníomhach, perhaps the Ceann Comhairle might be able to resolve this issue.

I wish to raise with the Minister of State a number of issues regarding the bus services in my constituency of Dublin Fingal. Recently, across all transport providers, including Bus Éireann, Dublin Bus and Go-Ahead Ireland, there have been a large number of issues regarding the level of service provided to the public.

For the information of the Minister of State, Deputy Noonan, my constituency is a commuter constituency. We are actually very massively under-employed in the place I am lucky to represent and to live. The vast majority of people who work or go to college leave my constituency to do so. They are heavily dependent on public transport. We like to avoid the car park that is the M1 in the morning if we can. Some of us can use the train but even for those who are lucky enough to be near a train station, many people still have to use the bus to be able to get into work and go to college. We have had a litany of buses cancelled at that last minute. They are disappearing off the real-time information or they are arriving late. These are only just some of the problems. I have been in constant contact with the Department and with the National Transport Authority about the necessity for services to dramatically improve for my constituents. The bus services across north county Dublin, and in particular routes No. 101, 102, 33A, and the H2, among others, are essential parts of our community and essential for our community to function. This essential service is being undermined when the buses do not show up or arrive late. The people of Fingal have a right to get to work. They have a right to get to school on time and to go about their daily business safe in the knowledge that their bus is not going to be cancelled at the last minute or disappear off the real-time information or, as was the case when I got the bus myself recently, just not turn up or arrive late as it does many times.

This week a woman contacted me about the No. 101 bus service. She waited for the 5.55 p.m. bus from Busáras but it did not appear for one hour. This left her getting the bus at 6.55 p.m., and that is a very regular occurrence for this lady. It is not acceptable. Essentially, it means that people are at panic stations all the time. They are missing meetings, or perhaps there is something that a person wants to go to in his or her own community. We are people who are active in our communities and we want other people to be active in their community, but people cannot do that if they cannot rely on the bus. Likewise, it presents a problem if a person is turning up late for childcare. If you have ever had to do it, it is absolutely mortifying. If you do it continually you send a very poor message to the people you are paying to work hard to look after your kids about where your priorities are. It is not the person's fault, they turn up, they have their money or tickets and they are ready to get on the bus but it does not turn up.

With regard to the No. 33 bus route, and specifically the No. 33A part of that, this service as provided by Go-Ahead Ireland is one of the worst I have seen. There are countless phantom buses, late buses, and non-arrivals. It has happened to me on many occasions. The No. 102 route from Dublin Airport to Sutton is used by a lot of school students. Parents and students have told me the bus is often late or sometimes just does not show up. The students will get into trouble at school for coming in late. They will spend the day in a deficit because they have not been able to get in on time. When the bus does not show or it is late in the evening they are left waiting in the wind, the cold and the rain, or whatever the weather happens to be.

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