Mary Mitchell O'Connor (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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Last week, on Monday, 6 July, Dublin Bus met with councillors from Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council to propose changes to the current network of services in the south-east area of Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown. What has ensued since is a case of misinformation, speculation and conjecture because of the lack of hard concrete information. This has caused much upset and anxiety in the area. The routes under consideration include the Nos. 7A, 7B, 8, 45A, 59, 63 and 111 which serve many local communities throughout the Dún Laoghaire constituency. Constituents rely on these vital services and it is crucial any changes made are decided on after a fair and inclusive consultation with the public.

I am calling on the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport to ensure Dublin Bus runs an inclusive public consultation and informs the wider public when, where and how long such a process will take place. As far as I am aware, the consultation details have not yet been decided and the review is not available online. These steps should be taken as a matter of priority. It is unfair constituents have to learn from hearsay that their bus route may no longer exist or will be amended. Several constituents have contacted me already on the proposals, including local colleges which have firmly stated the potential adverse effects of any such change cannot be overestimated. We cannot forget the large elderly community in the constituency. These bus routes serve and act almost as a lifeline to elderly people, ensuring their daily mobility and independence.

I have been in touch with Dublin Bus to arrange a meeting with its new chief executive, Ray Coyne. I will be recommending to him that the consultation uses all means possible, including open days in shopping centres similar to those for Dublin Bus’s Network Direct service and stands where Dublin Bus reps can take on board both positive and negative feedback. The public need to be heard on this.

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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I am involved in organising a public meeting in Sallynoggin tonight where I expect large numbers of local residents to come and express their absolute fury and disbelief at a decision of two public bodies, Dublin Bus and the National Transport Authority, NTA. These bodies, which are the Government’s responsibility, have made proposals to slash bus services in the greater Dún Laoghaire area, affecting bus routes Nos. 7, 59, 63, 8, 111 and 45A.

In particular, Sallynoggin will be devastated with the proposal to take the No. 7 out of the area altogether. Killiney Village and Mackintosh Park off Pottery Road are to lose the No. 59 bus service. The frequency of buses to Loughlinstown Park is to be substantially reduced. Blackrock Village will no longer have the No. 7 going through it. Significant numbers of residents in large community areas, particularly the elderly, the young, students and the disabled, are going to suffer severely as a result of these proposals if they are implemented.

I do not want the Government to fob this of, claiming it is the NTA or Dublin Bus’s responsibility. These are bodies owned by the public and of which the Government is in charge. The NTA cannot be an excuse, like the Health Service Executive, for the Government to abdicate its responsibility. It is the Government’s cuts in subsidies to Dublin Bus that are forcing this agenda of privatisation of these services. Will the Government tell Dublin Bus and the NTA to get their hands off our local bus services? We need more, not fewer, buses through these areas.

Ann Phelan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Labour)
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I am taking this important matter on behalf of the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Deputy Paschal Donohoe.

I understand the stress that can be caused in areas where there is talk about changes to bus routes. Under the Dublin Transport Authority Act 2008, as amended by the Public Transport Regulation Act 2009, the NTA is responsible for the provision of bus services. The Minister has no role in decisions regarding bus routes.

Subsidised bus services in Dublin are provided by Dublin Bus in accordance with the terms of its contract with the NTA. No changes to services can be made without the approval of the NTA. The Minister, however, has been informed by the NTA that subsidised bus services are constantly changing and evolving to better meet the needs of the travelling public and ensure best use of public funding. The NTA regularly meets with Dublin Bus to review the operation of the subsidised bus network.

Dublin Bus is developing proposals to revise the current network of services in the south-east area of Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown. The purpose of the proposals is to improve the public transport network in the area, providing dedicated access to Loughlinstown Hospital, helping combat traffic congestion and increasing service levels to key destinations such as Cherrywood. Routes under consideration include Nos. 7A, 7B, 8, 45A, 59, 63, and 111.

Dublin Bus presented the emerging proposals to local councillors in the Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown area on 6 July last. Dublin Bus will also be consulting with customers and other interested parties prior to finalising the proposals for consideration and decision by the NTA.

Mary Mitchell O'Connor (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Minister of State for her reply. I am glad to hear Dublin Bus will be consulting customers and other interested parties. However, I want this to be a genuine conversation, not a one-way street. I am perturbed the details of the proposals are not up on the Dublin Bus website, even though a public meeting will be held tonight on them. It is difficult for people to know what exactly is the truth concerning these proposals. I want people, particularly older people, to be helped in this process. While Deputy Boyd Barrett has referred to some groups complaining, others are glad that some of the routes will change. At the same time, the concerns of older people and those with disabilities must be listened to.

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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Dublin Bus is making €11 million in profits, carrying 4 million extra passengers and these numbers continue to rise. That means we need more, not fewer, buses. This is about profit, nothing more. For the Government, as the Minister of State has just done, to pass this off, claiming it has to do with the NTA and Dublin Bus, is nonsense. The NTA was set up by Fianna Fáil and continued by this Government. Owen Keegan, a Dublin city manager, and John Fitzgerald, a former city manager, are on the NTA board and are the Government’s appointees. We want them called to heel. It is this and the previous Governments’ decisions to cut subsidies to public transport in Dublin city from €85 million down to €60 million that has generated an artificial crisis in Dublin Bus services. This then has become the excuse for Owen Keegan, John Fitzgerald and other bodies to demand the reconfiguration of bus routes, meaning cuts. We lost the No. 46A through Monkstown Farm as a result of this process.

Now we will lose the No. 7 services through Sallynoggin from Loughlinstown. Killiney village will be devastated without the No. 59, Mackintosh Park etc. Of course, several of these routes are also earmarked for privatisation. It is a set-up what is going on here. There will be fury about this, and it will not be only as it was in one isolated area in Monkstown Farm on the last occasion. This is across the whole of Dún Laoghaire.

I ask the Minister to not fob this off. The Minister should intervene stating this is not acceptable. Dublin Bus is making profits. We have more passengers. We need more, not fewer, buses through those areas. The Minister should say, "No way", to these cuts.

Ann Phelan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Labour)
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I draw the Deputies' attention to the fact that Dublin Bus is committed to meeting customers and interested parties - I will assume Deputy Boyd Barrett is an interested party - in regard to the proposed changes and will do so prior to finalising the proposals which, in turn, will require approval by the NTA. If I was to give advice to both Deputies and to the public meeting, they should try to work with the NTA and Dublin Bus and see can they come up with a working solution that will suit most of the service users who are on the route. The Deputies will find that the agencies will not be wanting. The Deputies should make their feelings known to the NTA and Dublin Bus, but try to find a solution that is workable for all interested parties.