Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Regarding Deputy Barry's point about bus services, the commitments given by Minister for Transport yesterday were given in good faith after his engagement with Bus Éireann on these matters. I will continue to keep a close eye on this. I hope to be back in this House too. If we are, I am sure both of us will continue to monitor this issue and no doubt, Deputy Barry will continue to hold the Government to account on that matter. I know it is an important issue for people in Cork. I have heard this directly from people in Cork.

In response to Deputy Paul Murphy's point about vacant teaching posts, I would point out that more teachers than ever before are working in the public education system. Of course, the population has grown. That is also true. Pupil-teacher ratios in our primary schools are at the lowest level we have ever seen but there are a number of issues and the cost and availability of housing are certainly contributory factors. The Deputy asked about the Dublin allowance. I have an open mind on it but I live in County Wicklow. If someone has a Dublin allowance, what does do that do for a school in Kildare, Meath or Wicklow trying to attract a teacher? How that begins and ends is an interesting question. The report of the Dublin city centre task force, which we launched yesterday, comes at it in a different way. It suggests developing a significant amount of housing in Dublin city centre and making it available to key workers, including teachers and nurses. That may be a different way of achieving roughly the same result. I favour higher wages for teachers, which is what we are delivering through our public service pay agreement. There has been a reduction in the professional master of education fees. I would like to see that go further in the time ahead.

In response to Deputy Boyd Barrett, St. Augustine's is a school I know well. A number of my constituents attend that school. I will see what the story is in terms of those two bus routes. It is not often that the Deputy and I can agree on issues for political reasons but I do believe the ban on over-70s is nuts. I have made this view very clear to the Department of Transport and the Department of Education. My reason for saying it is nuts is similar to that of the Deputy. If the view is that somebody over 70 cannot drive a bus, which is not my view, why then can that person drive schoolchildren to a football match at the weekend? It does not make any sense in terms of consistency. It is inherently ageist. I would much rather see a situation where people are medically assessed. I know people would be willing to do that. I also know a number of people who would be willing to drive buses and they tell me this as I go around the country. That is a source of frustration. I know the Minister for Education shares this view. We have both asked that this matter be reviewed by Bus Éireann. I am not passing the buck but it is a decision that must made formally by Bus Éireann. We have asked the RSA to look at that. For what it is worth, I do not believe it stands up to any level of scrutiny. I will continue to pursue the specific case of St. Augustine's.

I have heard from Deputy Cian O'Callaghan's constituents very clearly about the DART+ Coastal North project. I know this issue could arise in other parts of the country, including my constituency, as people seek to expand the DART network, which is a good thing. I know it is a particular issue in Howth, Sutton and Bayside, where people are concerned about the lack of a direct service. I did correspond with the Department of Transport following our last engagement on this and highlighted the concerns raised by the Deputy. I will do so again and seek an update. I do not have a further update on the floor of the Dáil today but I am aware that it is an issue of significant concern to many thousands of the Deputy's constituents.

In response to Deputy Ó Murchú's point about the N53, I will ask the Minister for Transport to see if anything can be done on that in the intervening period and to engage with the local authority.

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