Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Senator Landy has raised this matter with me on many occasions. It is appropriate that we have this debate here because it is a really important issue. The Senator already knows that it is a complicated and challenging issue. A big contributory factor to this is the fact that as our national motorway network has been upgraded - the M9 is the particular motorway that has contributed to this - the bus operators want to make use of that improved network to service more people. A consequence of that is that people who are not located immediately adjacent to that motorway or who are in places with lower population densities than larger towns or cities are now facing the consequence of that decision. That is a core cause of what is happening here.

I understand very clearly that the availability of public transport or, more broadly, communal transport, be it operated by a private bus operator or public company, provides essential connectivity to people. A challenge that must be responded to is how that kind of connectivity can be delivered given that national routes have been upgraded and bus companies are understandably looking to make use of them. I cannot tell the Senator that I have an immediate answer to this but I can assure him that the NTA, which is the regulatory body in this area and does excellent work managing competing demands from what are often scarce resources, is examining the matter to see if a response is possible. As Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, I have an interest in this matter and I will be contacting and working with the NTA to see if a response can be put in place to respond to the needs articulated by the Senator. I assure him that I will certainly keep him abreast of this because I know it is a charged matter. I met a resident recently who explained to me that if the changes were to go ahead, she did not know how she was going to get into work. That is a legitimate concern for somebody to have. I have only have a fixed amount of money and while we are in a better position than we were a year ago and an even better position than we were the year before that, it is still a fixed amount of money. I have growing demand and am trying to figure out how we can bridge that gap. The NTA is looking at this matter. I will keep in contact with the NTA about it and I assure the Senator that I will keep him fully aware of and updated regarding any developments in this area.