Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, Solidarity)

I want to ask about transport infrastructure, of which buses are the easiest, quickest and cheapest part to deploy. Every day, pretty much, I get emails about the state of the bus services in Ballycullen, Knocklyon and Rathfarnham. The 15 bus service is the busiest route in Dublin and the 15B is also grossly overcrowded. What is happening is that buses routinely fill up in the morning after the first few stops and then leave everyone behind at the later stops. This is a daily occurrence. One constituent says:

I now leave home at 7.15 a.m. to get to work for 9 a.m. My home is exactly 5 miles from the GPO. Who is accountable for privatising the buses? I do not remember getting to vote on it. I'm going to lose my job if this goes on.

A student says:

Something needs to be done quickly. I am increasingly desperate, anxious that I will miss something like an exam or something far more important than just a lecture in the near future.

For years, we have been promised that BusConnects is the answer but the A-spine is now delayed until the autumn of 2026 at the earliest, and it will likely be over capacity as soon as it starts. What is the Government planning to do to fix the bus service?

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