Paddy Burke (Fine Gael)

I welcome the opportunity to say a few words on transport. The bus service is so complicated that the ordinary individual is put off using it. Reports show a drop in the number of passengers using the service last year and it is forecast that there will be an even bigger drop this year. I presume the same will be the case in 2010.

While Dublin is not a big city compared to others, it lacks a major central bus station where all buses from rural areas would converge and from which all routes would begin. There are a number of central stations in Dublin and this adds to the complication. Coupled with this, there are two Luas lines that do not join up. The transport system in Dublin is an absolute mess and the Government is not doing enough to create a system for the whole city that is considered easy to use by both urban and rural passengers.

Integrated ticketing has been on the agenda for quite a number of years. It is unbelievable to think we have not progressed further in this regard than we did five or ten years ago. Integrated ticketing is essential in a city such as Dublin. That one cannot avail of it in this day and age, regardless of where one comes from, is unbelievable. I do not really know what is holding us back from having integrated ticketing but achieving it should surely be high on the agenda. It should not be too difficult to solve the problem.

I received an e-mail in recent days from a student going to college in Sallynoggin. He outlined the difficulties he experiences trying to obtain public transport to travel to college. There are no feeder buses at one end of the DART line, which makes it very difficult for him to travel on the DART, and he must therefore take the bus. The bus costs him €3 per day, or €60 per month, which, as student, he cannot afford. There should be feeder buses serving the DART and Luas systems. It seems there is none in many cases. It is reasonable to have feeder buses rather than to have all buses come straight into the city and go from the centre out.

There is a lot to be done if public transport is to be improved. As Senator Buttimer and others have said, a better public transport system would be better for the country and the passenger and it would reduce air pollution. Some of the issues raised today need to be prioritised urgently. There is no doubt that we need union agreement on some of the issues and I am sure that, with negotiation, this is possible. The problem needs to be tackled urgently because it seems to feature from one year to the next.

Integrated ticketing has been on the agenda for some considerable time but we are no closer to achieving it than we were some years ago. I do not know how advanced the plans are for linking the two Luas lines. I am delighted to have had an opportunity to speak on the report. I urge the Minister to put an integrated ticketing system in place as a matter of priority.