Ruairí Ó Murchú (Louth, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I have previously raised the issue of the 100X route with the Minister. This is the Expressway service from Dundalk to Dublin and obviously back again. For many people it is the means by which to get to and from Dublin Airport. Some issues we bring up here have an impact on and relate to many people. In the period since I brought this up previously, I have been inundated. I acknowledge politicians are very good at saying "inundated" and sometimes inundated means two Facebook messages. However, whether it is on the doors or people who have emailed my office with specific issues on the 100X, it is a big deal. I am hoping that the answer the Minister will give me will be positive to a degree. The initial issue that we were dealing with was last-minute cancellations. On the previous occasion I raised this matter, I told the Minister that there had been two cancellations that morning, affecting the 6.30 a.m. and 8.30 a.m. services. That was only notified on the website just after 7 o'clock. Obviously, that system does not work for anybody.

My understanding is that eight LE double-decker buses are available for the route but that at times, up to five of them have been in the garage out of action. While I accept that the buses used for the NTA for PSO services are absolutely separate, sometimes they were lying there when there was no bus available. My understanding is that things have changed since I initially brought this up, in the sense that private contractors are being brought in to make up for the shortfall. However, I am told that there is an issue with these buses. I believe they had been operating in Donegal, some of them are more than 12 years old with more than 1 million km on the clock and they are just breaking down. That is something we definitely need to deal with.

I understand that the Minister does not direct Bus Éireann's individual operations. Many people who have brought up their individual issues have said that it can sometimes be an incredibly busy bus service even when it is there. A number of people told me their difficulty was that it was not there, whether that was leaving Dundalk heading for Dublin or whether it was people trying to get on at the airport. People will always talk about how busy a service is and how difficult it is to get on. It is an issue I have brought up previously. An element of streamlining probably needs to happen across the board.

I do not think we will be able to deal here with whether there should be a direct service because this is a service that goes through Drogheda and is used by very many people in Drogheda commuting to Dublin. We need to work out how to provide that complete service for all those people who use it. The Minister more than anyone will talk about the benefits of a public service and having buses available to take people out of their cars. We know about the issues with parking at Dublin Airport. This is just a service and we need to make sure that it operates as best it can.

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