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

I accept what the Deputy is saying. I happen to be meeting with Bus Éireann in the coming days and I will raise directly with its representatives this issue the Deputy has raised.

I will make a couple of points. One issue we have is we have seen real success, particularly in the last two years, in public transport numbers. Last year they went up 23% nationally and this year, 12% so far. Part of what we are seeing is a phenomenal success due to fare reductions and other measures. We need to build on that.

There are real constraints on Bus Éireann. More so in Cork and some other locations, there are still real constraints in getting drivers and mechanics. That is an issue that we have to be aware of.

I believe one of the ways in which we can most improve the service is if we can provide bus priority measures right across all the routes so that the bus drivers and buses we have are not delayed in traffic and we improve the service. That allows us then to maybe start looking at additional capacity measures because the bus schedule works much more efficiently. That could be one of the ways in which we enhance the service.

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