Jennifer Whitmore (Wicklow, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

Ireland has never been as wealthy and that was illustrated this week with the splashing of the cash in the budget. Can the Minister tell me then why is public transport in Wicklow so bad?

We essentially have the same service we had 20 years ago and that is despite a clear demand for it, the need to meet our climate targets and despite all the promises, commitment and spin from Government TDs on this issue. There are 13,000 people living in Wicklow town. Greystones, with its DART connection, is 20 km away but there is no direct bus between it and Wicklow. It is just incredible. It is basic stuff. We also have Newtownmountkennedy. Every morning the 133 bus is full as it goes through there, meaning there is no option for people in that town to get into Dublin. It is completely unacceptable, so what is the Minister and his Government going to do to improve public transport in Wicklow and across the country rather than just engaging in spin and PR about it?

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