Gary Gannon (Dublin Central, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

I wish to raise with the Minister of State the issue of the No. 11 bus, but not so much its future because that is starting to look very unlikely under the current plans. I am conscious that this is not the first time the No. 11 bus has been raised with the Minister of State in the Chamber. I was present last week when his party colleague Deputy McAuliffe raised it. I was a little surprised to hear the Minister of State's response to the Deputy and me on that occasion. He said that it was time people started talking up the BusConnects scheme. There are many positives to BusConnects. As a whole, it has the potential to greatly benefit the city and other areas of the country where it will make a difference. However, I find it very difficult to talk up the power of a bus service to a community such as that in Drumcondra or Wadelai Park because there will be a downgrading in those areas.

The service has existed for decades. The types of people who have been raising the matter with me and, I am sure, Deputy McAuliffe and others will see a service reduction. A route that ran all the way down from the airport and across the city will be cut, meaning the affected communities will have to disembark and Parnell Square. If they wish to cross the city for any reason, they will have to get onto a separate bus. That is no issue for me or anybody with health like mine but it is a daunting prospect for a person with a disability, a mother with a pram or an older person who relies on the bus for his or her very independence. I do not want to overegg the pudding but the service loss will have an impact on the very means by which people get around the city. That is the very real outcome of what we are doing.

It is not just me raising this. Several petition documents have been circulated by residents and there are close to 2,000 signatures at this point. It is an issue of genuine concern. I find it difficult to talk up a service on a doorstep when an old person tells me he or she will no longer be able to meet his or her sister over in Bewley's. I find it even more difficult when people tell me that their ability to bring their children by bus to a service on the south side of the city, which they must do because of the absence of care provision, is going to be affected.

There are very many pluses to BusConnects, but let us leave those aside. The service on the arterial route in question is being downgraded to the extent that I am now dealing with people who will not be on buses and will be forced to drive into the city. That is not what the Minister of State and I want, although there are Members in the House who would disagree with my position on the service. If the goal of BusConnects is to get more people onto buses but the outcome is the removal of a service from a vulnerable cohort, it is surely okay to say that, for a brief period, until we have a better plan that does not impact the quality of service offered to the cohort, we should put our plans on hold or extend the service to the south side. The existing service is to cease in November. I am very concerned about the impact of this on the quality of life of people with vulnerabilities or those whose health is worse than my own.

Our goal and that of everyone who has been commenting on this issue is the same. We do not need to plough on regardless. It is now time to step back a little and say we will not so much go back to the drawing board as offer a better alternative to those who are contacting all our offices, including, I am sure, that of the Minister of State.

I look forward to his response and will reply as such.

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