Ruairí Ó Murchú (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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I have previously raised the issue of the 100X route with the Minister. This is the Expressway service from Dundalk to Dublin and obviously back again. For many people it is the means by which to get to and from Dublin Airport. Some issues we bring up here have an impact on and relate to many people. In the period since I brought this up previously, I have been inundated. I acknowledge politicians are very good at saying "inundated" and sometimes inundated means two Facebook messages. However, whether it is on the doors or people who have emailed my office with specific issues on the 100X, it is a big deal. I am hoping that the answer the Minister will give me will be positive to a degree. The initial issue that we were dealing with was last-minute cancellations. On the previous occasion I raised this matter, I told the Minister that there had been two cancellations that morning, affecting the 6.30 a.m. and 8.30 a.m. services. That was only notified on the website just after 7 o'clock. Obviously, that system does not work for anybody.

My understanding is that eight LE double-decker buses are available for the route but that at times, up to five of them have been in the garage out of action. While I accept that the buses used for the NTA for PSO services are absolutely separate, sometimes they were lying there when there was no bus available. My understanding is that things have changed since I initially brought this up, in the sense that private contractors are being brought in to make up for the shortfall. However, I am told that there is an issue with these buses. I believe they had been operating in Donegal, some of them are more than 12 years old with more than 1 million km on the clock and they are just breaking down. That is something we definitely need to deal with.

I understand that the Minister does not direct Bus Éireann's individual operations. Many people who have brought up their individual issues have said that it can sometimes be an incredibly busy bus service even when it is there. A number of people told me their difficulty was that it was not there, whether that was leaving Dundalk heading for Dublin or whether it was people trying to get on at the airport. People will always talk about how busy a service is and how difficult it is to get on. It is an issue I have brought up previously. An element of streamlining probably needs to happen across the board.

I do not think we will be able to deal here with whether there should be a direct service because this is a service that goes through Drogheda and is used by very many people in Drogheda commuting to Dublin. We need to work out how to provide that complete service for all those people who use it. The Minister more than anyone will talk about the benefits of a public service and having buses available to take people out of their cars. We know about the issues with parking at Dublin Airport. This is just a service and we need to make sure that it operates as best it can.

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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I thank Deputy Ó Murchú for raising this important topic. From the outset, I must clarify that while, as Minister for Transport, I have responsibility for policy and overall funding for public transport, neither I nor my officials are involved in the day-to-day operation of public transport services.

The statutory responsibility for securing the provision of public transport services nationally rests with the National Transport Authority. The NTA works with the public transport operators, which deliver the services and have responsibility for day-to-day operational matters. That said, I reassure the Deputy that the Government is strongly committed to providing all citizens with reliable and realistic sustainable mobility options. Public transport plays a key role in the delivery of this goal. To support this objective, in budget 2024 the Department of Transport secured €613.463 million of funding for public transport services and TFI Local Link services. This includes funding for the continuation of the 20% fare reduction on PSO services, the young adult card on both PSO and commercial bus services, and the 90-minute fare until the end of 2024. Funding has also been secured to support new and enhanced bus and rail services this year.

As the Deputy will be aware, while the majority of public transport in Ireland is provided by the publicly subvented bus and rail services funded through the NTA’s PSO programme, the public transport system also includes non-subvented bus services provided on a commercial basis by bus and coach businesses of varying size.

These commercial bus and coach operators are an integral part of the overall public transport system in Ireland and play a pivotal role particularly in areas around the country that are not covered by existing public bus and rail services.

One such commercial service is the 100X route from Dundalk to Merrion Square, which is operated by Bus Éireann’s Expressway business. As I am sure the Deputy will appreciate, Bus Éireann Expressway, is a fully commercial entity, which does not form part of the PSO network, and like all other commercial businesses, is responsible for managing its own resources in respect of its commercial services.

I have been advised that to date in 2024, 99.8% of Route 100X Expressway services have operated fully. However, I understand that between 17 May and 20 May, of 152 scheduled services, 97% or 146 of these services operated to schedule. I understand that a notification of the six service cancellations over this period was placed on the Bus Éireann website and that passengers with pre-booked tickets also received a direct communication from Expressway via email. I have been further advised that Bus Éireann has been experiencing a higher than usual number of vehicle breakdowns in its fleet recently and it is unfortunately having an impact on its ability to operate services to schedule, including on the 100X route.

Like other operators in the industry, Bus Éireann is facing significant challenges in the recruitment of both drivers and mechanics. The fleet is primarily maintained by Bus Éireann’s own maintenance department, which unfortunately has been impacted due to the ongoing shortfall of mechanics. Bus Éireann’s current headcount for craftworkers and mechanics stands at 154, which represents a shortage of 12 nationally and five at the Dublin Broadstone garage.

I understand that Bus Éireann is exploring all viable options to ensure improved service delivery across the Expressway network and that the company is making every effort to fill these key positions as quickly as possible. The company continually runs comprehensive mechanic recruitment campaigns, attends numerous jobs expos and partners with various groups such as education and training boards and business in the community to attract new recruits. It is hoped that these efforts will result in an increase in mechanic numbers at the company shortly.

Ruairí Ó Murchú (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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When I raised the issue before, my supplementary question related to the recruitment of mechanics for bus services. That is something that definitely needs to be addressed. I understand that Expressway is a commercial operation but if we are talking about trying to get people out of cars and making sure we are not putting undue pressure on car park services in the airport, we need to make sure that Bus Éireann, which at least has an interaction with the Minister, has a sustainable service.

A big part of this is ensuring it has vehicles that are fit for purpose. There seems to be an issue. The Minister himself referred to breakdowns, so I imagine there is a need to review the condition of Bus Éireann's vehicle stock. What I have been told about the poor state of some of these vehicles is frightening. For the want of a better term, some of them are on their last legs, which means they are going to be in the garage more often, with the obvious issues the Minister spoke about previously. The big issue here is that this service is used by a lot of people to get to and from the airport and cancellations are causing a huge amount of stress to them. If people cannot rely on the service, they will get back in their cars. We must ensure that does not happen.

The Minister referred to the period between 17 May and 20 May. I am working on the basis that Bus Éireann has made up for the shortfall in its own vehicles by taking on private contractors to fill the space. It is that issue, as well as the question of what conversation the Minister will have with Bus Éireann to make sure we do not end up with what is happening at present.

Marc Ó Cathasaigh (Waterford, Green Party)
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I thank the Deputy.

Ruairí Ó Murchú (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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If we want more people on buses then we must provide the service. We all know the environmental benefits but we also know all the other benefits that can be provided.

Marc Ó Cathasaigh (Waterford, Green Party)
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The Deputy's time has elapsed. I call on the Minister to respond.

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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It is true. We have a direct relationship with Bus Éireann and even though these are commercially operated services, I have met Stephen Kent, the chief executive, and the chair on numerous occasions in recent weeks at various events. It is important to keep in touch with what is a real issue, namely, the ability of the company to get drivers and mechanics. We must ensure that we can deliver on that, as well as new bus services and new buses. We must make sure that we have the very best modern fleet. I am very confident that Bus Éireann will deliver the target. We want 100% reliability.

As well as getting mechanics and drivers, one of the other pressures is based on success. In 2019, Bus Éireann had something like 89 million passengers. They were pre-Covid numbers, but it is up on that and last year I think it was 106 million. There has been a 20% growth in passenger numbers. In other jurisdictions, no one is seeing such a high increase beyond pre-Covid numbers. That is also driving demand. There is significant investment going into the company, which has 3,000 employees in total. There has been a major increase in the company's size. There has been very significant investment. One of the times I met Mr. Kent and the chair was at the major development in Limerick where we have just put in a massive new investment in a bus station and a new electrified bus fleet. I was in Cork last week where we do have real issues, similarly talking to the company. We need to improve the Cork service. Obviously, we also need to make sure that the commercial services are running efficiently, effectively and fast.

I am not aware of any problems with a particular bus. The key constraint is the availability of mechanics rather than the characteristics of any one bus. The company has flexibility and the capability of drawing in private contractors to help. To be honest, the private contractors have similar constraints with bus drivers and mechanics. It is a function of a flat-out economy. There is a need for us to engage in the recruitment of new mechanics. The company is doing that at full speed.