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

I can respond to that question but that was not what this Commencement matter was about. With respect, if the Senator tables a matter and asks me to respond, I will respond to it. I can respond to her broader question because I participated in a forum on how to respond to the management of traffic in Galway. The short answer from a public transport perspective is that we need to provide more buses. We have funding in our capital plan to do that, which is the very reason I do not want to change the use of bus lanes. If we increase the number of buses available across the country, which we will, it will be up to Bus Éireann to decide where to deploy those buses. As more buses become available, it is very important that we make sure to keep the bus lanes clear for the use of those buses.

The broader reason, specifically in respect of using bus lanes, is that if I were to make them available to more than one additional form of road user, the demand to make them more widely available would continue to increase. I want to have more buses using the bus lanes in Galway and elsewhere and that is why I continue to hold the view that we should keep the lanes free for current buses and more buses.