Ruth Coppinger (Dublin West, Solidarity)
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100. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport his plans to end the 70 bus route resulting in people in the Littlepace area having to change buses to go to Dublin city centre; if BusConnects gives consideration to the impact on bus users with mobility issues when cutting direct routes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31156/26]

Ruth Coppinger (Dublin West, Solidarity)
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The 70 bus that connects Dunboyne and Littlepace to the city centre is going to be cut under the BusConnects plan even though it is the most direct route many people in Dublin 15 have. This is also going to hit people who are not very mobile. It is incredibly ablist to force people to get off a bus and to route everything through Ireland's busiest shopping centre in Blanchardstown. Nobody wanted this and the BusConnects planners have not listened.

Jerry Buttimer (Cork South-Central, Fine Gael)
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I thank Deputy Coppinger for raising the matter. In the overall context BusConnects is important. She makes a point about the listening piece. I know from my constituency in Cork there is an obligation and a real need to listen and engage. I will bring the Deputy's comments back as well.

As she has said, the 70 bus will be replaced by other bus services as part of the implementation of BusConnects Dublin. These new services will include the L64, which will provide a frequent service between Dunboyne, Clonee and Blanchardstown, and the P64 which will provide a direct bus service to Dublin city centre for commuters. Since the start of BusConnects, a core objective has been to provide a network of more frequent bus services with reduced wait times for all passengers. This sometimes requires transfer between frequent services. Opportunities will exist for transfers to very frequent bus services on the B spine to and from Dublin city centre. Connections with Dunboyne rail station, for rail services to and from Dublin city centre, will also be available. I would also like to highlight the benefits of these new services in the Littlepace area. These will include the introduction of significantly better all-day frequencies, not just during peak commuting hours, and better network connectivity options with the 90-minute Leap fare.

On bus users with mobility issues, I note that all buses are fully low floor wheelchair-accessible and bus stops at the L64 transfer point will also be fully accessible. I assure Deputy Coppinger the distances between bus stops will be kept to a minimum where interchange is required.

Ruth Coppinger (Dublin West, Solidarity)
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Yes, but most buses only have a place for one wheelchair and one pram, so I do not accept the idea everybody is going to be able to transfer like that. Let us start with the reality. Who wants to have to get off a bus? Nobody. Once you are on a bus you want to stay on it. However, for some reason BusConnects planners and the NTA are fixated on the idea of routing everything through the Blanchardstown centre, which by the way, coincides with the potential introduction of car parking charges there. That fits in nicely and BusConnects is being cited as the reason to fleece the local community.

There is currently a bus that runs from Dunboyne and Littlepace directly onto the N3 with a bus lane and for some reason the planners want to take it away. From 6 a.m. it is every 20 minutes and then from 7 a.m. it is every ten minutes until 8 p.m. when it becomes every 15 minutes. It is perfect. It is one of the buses that actually works. In 2018 when this was discussed there was a raft of complaints, public meetings and petitions. Why does government not listen?

Jerry Buttimer (Cork South-Central, Fine Gael)
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I think the Deputy is incorrect regarding the buses because there are many buses and the new ones will have more than one wheelchair access point.

The other point is we have almost 5,500 people working in Blanchardstown Shopping Centre, which is a massive number.

Ruth Coppinger (Dublin West, Solidarity)
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Tell me about it.

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal East, Fianna Fail)
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Is that a problem?

Jerry Buttimer (Cork South-Central, Fine Gael)
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Is that a positive or a negative for the area?

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal East, Fianna Fail)
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Would she rather they were not working?

Jerry Buttimer (Cork South-Central, Fine Gael)
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Would she prefer they were not working? In fairness, they are providing. The Deputy can shake her head at me but she is meant to represent-----

Ruth Coppinger (Dublin West, Solidarity)
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Just answer the question.

Jerry Buttimer (Cork South-Central, Fine Gael)
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I will.

Ruth Coppinger (Dublin West, Solidarity)
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It is about the 70 bus.

Jerry Buttimer (Cork South-Central, Fine Gael)
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She raised the shopping centre. Does she want the people to work or not? Does she want them to be unemployed? Let us be fair now.

John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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Will the Minister of State just address the question?

Jerry Buttimer (Cork South-Central, Fine Gael)
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The fundamental point is BusConnects offers greater connectivity, higher frequency, better connection and a more direct route to the city. We can disagree on some things but I genuinely take the Deputy's point that if BusConnects is to succeed there must be meaningful engagement with residents and people in areas that are affected. The point she made there is right. I have it in my city, as I said. It is important planners engage and listen. The overall point is this is a good news story for people, in that there is an enhanced offering of bus services.

Ruth Coppinger (Dublin West, Solidarity)
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The reason I was rolling my eyes is I campaigned and marched to get that town centre built. I know how important it is and family members have worked there. My point is that does not mean everyone wants to sit in traffic in it.

Jerry Buttimer (Cork South-Central, Fine Gael)
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That is why we are doing BusConnects.

Ruth Coppinger (Dublin West, Solidarity)
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Yes, but nobody wants to sit on a bus and be dragged through Blanchardstown centre. The Minister of State does not seem to know the area, with all due respect. People are often delayed there for 20 minutes. With the original BusConnects plan there were roughly 28,000 complaints. Some 914 of them originated from Blanchardstown and most of them were about the 70 bus route. One third of respondents said there would be a loss or reduction in the existing service. Roughly one third said they did not want to have to get off the bus to transfer into town and one third referenced the requirement for new infrastructure and a new interchange. I do not know how frequent the L64 the Minister of State mentioned is going to be and it is not clear how many P64 buses there will be either, but at the moment the service is perfectly adequate at peak times and people are losing this. Government needs to listen to what people are saying sometimes.

Jerry Buttimer (Cork South-Central, Fine Gael)
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I listen. I am a public representative and I represent people.

It is important to recognise that the new L64 network will run between Dunboyne and the Blanchardstown centre. The new peak-time route, the P64, will run between Dunboyne and the city centre and both will serve Littlepace. Both services will also lead to Dunboyne. Equally, detailed timetables will be issued and will be set near the time of implementation so that we can take account of the comments the Deputy has made here this morning. There has been engagement with residents. Concerns have been raised not just by the Deputy but also by other local representatives in the area and changes have been made. I look forward to further engagement by the NTA. In the interests of fairness, BusConnects is a good news story. It will enhance frequency, enhance connectivity and enhance the passenger experience for the commuters who are asking for more buses that are on time and that are frequent.