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

To Deputy Tully, the uncertainty of such a bus, particularly going to the airport where people might be nervous, is unacceptable. They are told to go earlier but the airport times have lengthened in recent years.

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That imposes a cost and burden on the consumer, so we need greater certainty. The same applies to the questions put by Deputies Smith and Wynne.

Bus Éireann is working well as a company and the passenger numbers are way ahead of projections, but we need to continue to evolve and get greater efficiency and flexibility in how the company works. It is in a difficult environment. As I said, these bus services are competing in the market and are not regulated by the State, given they are not public service obligation routes. I will meet representatives of Bus Éireann early next week because we are really thinking big about the company, such as about how we can integrate the school transport system with our public transport system. Where there might be five services a day on a current route, we might get up to seven services a day if that could be integrated, which would make the timetable work more effectively for everyone.

Bus Éireann does have challenges, because of difficulties getting drivers and mechanics and problems with congestion in large parts of the country, which is their biggest impediment, but we as public representatives can help the company there by providing bus gates and enhanced bus priority. I am confident the company will respond to what it has heard here today and assess the timetables, which Deputies Smith and Tully raised in the context of those Cavan routes, and give feedback in due course.

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