Barry Ward (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)

I acknowledge the points made by the Minister of State about the investment in the bus service and the provision of the 90-minute fare. These are all positive things. I do not dispute that for a moment. I also welcome the acknowledgement by the NTA that there are capacity issues on the E1 route. I think that is correct. I do not agree that passenger demand is being met on the E2 route, although I will say that when it works the way it is supposed to work, that is probably true. The problem arises when a bus driver is sick and does not turn up for his or her shift in Dún Laoghaire that morning. His or her bus then does not leave Dún Laoghaire. I do not know what provisions are in place to replace that driver to ensure that a bus leaves. The service is then a bus short and there is a knock-on effect all along the route. People cannot get on the bus when it gets to Honeypark, where I live, or when it gets to Deansgrange or wherever it might be. That is the issue. Maybe the review shows that when it works well, it works well. I would not dispute that. However, I know from hearing from people and, unfortunately, from standing at the bus stop myself that there are times when the bus comes and you cannot get on it. That is not okay.

This is a long route so that knock-on effect continues right the way along the route, all along the N11 and into town. With such a long route, maybe there are issues that could be addressed by starting a bus somewhere along the route; for example at Donnybrook garage. Donnybrook garage sends chills down people's spines because when you get to Donnybrook garage, you can sometimes sit on the bus for five minutes as the drivers change over, which is not ideal either. If an empty bus started at Donnybrook garage, however, it could deal with many of the capacity issues created by a ghost bus coming through the system and causing problems.

I acknowledge that a review has taken place. I acknowledge what the Minister of State said about Bus Átha Cliath continuing to monitor the E2 route. I welcome that. I ask that it would take into account the fact that it does not always work the way it is envisaged to work. It does not always do what it needs to do. It does not always meet passenger capacity. Unfortunately, my neighbours and I are sometimes left standing at a bus stop because we are not able to get on the bus.

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