Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I am familiar with the problem. I was in Douglas last Friday, as it happens. The Deputy is right; a large amount of the morning rush-hour traffic is children being driven to school. People see the difference between the summer period when the schools are not open and the winter period. It makes a dramatic difference. If that 20% or 30% of school traffic can be taken out, it frees up the traffic for everyone and is better for the kids and the families. Absolutely, we need to provide better services.

As well as the new 14 and 46 bus services, there are, of course, the 206 and 207 routes serving Douglas as well. I was talking to Bus Éireann last week specifically about Cork bus services. Going back to when we had the earlier debate, we have an issue. We are looking to recruit 50 additional drivers in Cork and additional mechanics as well. However, the real problem in Cork is that our buses are getting stuck in traffic. A regular scheduled Bus Éireann Cork city service may serve a lot of these schools' needs. You would try to ensure the timetable is rostered so that you are picking up when that demand is at its highest. The biggest problem in Cork is that our buses are stuck in traffic. No matter how many drivers or mechanics there are, if the bus is stuck sitting in gridlock, then the whole service will not work.

The most important thing we need to do in Cork, in my mind, is deliver the BusConnects project. My sense is that it has broad support now. There was a lot of opposition in Douglas to one of the routes but my sense is that it has broad support. As I was saying at the Oireachtas environment committee yesterday, we have to be very quick because, at this point of consensus, we could lose it if we are waiting another two or three years for further consultation, assessment, planning or development, as has happened in Dublin where there was too long of a gap between the original proposal and the delivery. That is the most important development. The Deputy is right; if the Department of Education was to step up and say that it wants a new route here, that would be its business. I would very much welcome it but I do not expect it. I expect us to improve the quality of bus service for everyone in Cork and in doing so, provide a service for these schools as well.

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