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

The Minister of State will forgive a little bit of cynicism on my part when she mentions projects like MetroLink. There are people in my constituency who bought houses off the plans from brochures that had a picture of MetroLink on them. They thought their kids might be able to use it to go to school and perhaps college, and maybe at some point their kids might be able to use it to get into town to collect their pension. There is a lot of frustration on behalf of my constituents because when a big project is planned it seems the small stuff does not get done.

The Minister of State mentioned safe active travel but it is not possible to cycle between the big towns in my constituency. I know this because I have done it and it is absolutely terrifying. The last time I cycled to Rush I spent my entire time there worrying about having to cycle back. The roads are just not suitable for cyclists so safe active travel is not an option. Public transport needs to be that option.

Will the Minister of State pass on to the senior Minister - on my behalf - that he needs to look at services such as the 33X? There are services that are oversubscribed and things that are working well but people are losing confidence in them because they cannot get on the bus in the morning. It is not because they do not want to get on the bus. Sometimes the issue is not even that the bus is not there but that it is there and is full. Some of the buses in my area have, bizarrely, been changed from double deck to single deck and are now rammed with people. They are leaving people waiting on the side of the road. Will the Minister of State tell the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan, that I would like him to engage with the NTA regarding the letter that was sent on 21 September by the Lusk action group? It is a very measured letter and they are very careful in it to talk about those things that are working. It is a very simple ask. If something is working and is getting people to and from appointments, into school and into work, we are asking simply for more of that. We appreciate that big projects are planned but in the meantime it is the smaller projects that will make a huge difference for people living in Lusk, Skerries, Balbriggan and the surrounding areas. I ask the Minister of State to take that back to the Minister, Deputy Ryan.

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