Martin Kenny (Sligo-Leitrim, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

We all want bus services throughout the State, especially in Dublin and other urban areas. In Dublin, where the network has been rolled out and BusConnects has happened to a certain degree, we still have a lot of difficulties, with ghost buses, buses that are full and timetables saying a bus will arrive in three minutes, whereas 20 minutes later, there is still no sign of it. There is great frustration among the public and that is regrettable because I want this to work, as everybody does.

In regard to the funding issue, which the Minister mentioned, my understanding is the NTA has indicated it wants to partner with another group, which I assume is a consultancy company or something similar, and it estimates it will cost €350 million over ten years. It accepts it does not have the level of expertise in house to do some of this work. All of us Deputies have for years had a sense, which I think the general public have as well, that in the case of several of our public service organisations, a lot of people are working there, yet when there is work to be done, a consultant has to be brought in. People wonder why that always happens and why these huge costs always arise. We need to get some detail on that.

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