Tom Morrissey (Progressive Democrats)

Failure occurs too often in our public transport system. At a time when Dublin Bus and Iarnród Éireann receive considerable subsidies — €260 million this year — from the Exchequer, we must ask why people do not flock to use buses and why Dublin Bus probably operates at a 22% load factor when people flock to the Luas. We need a debate to tease out the reasons behind the success of the LUAS.

Senators have spoken in this House about the housing crisis. The greatest leveller of the housing crisis is the supply of land. Some Senators served on Dublin County Council ten or 12 years ago when hard decisions had to be made about rezoning land. Some of us are now being asked to account for our decisions in another location in this city. The real issue relates to those who sat on their hands and refused to take hard decisions and rezone land, including officials. Had those lands in Dublin been rezoned ten years ago, what would the current situation be, how far away from Dublin would people be living, what type of transport system would there be and how long would commute times be? Let us have a debate on this issue and on where the real criminals were ten years ago.