Seanad debates

Thursday, 4 April 2019

Transport Matters: Statements

 

10:30 am

Photo of Kieran O'DonnellKieran O'Donnell (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I want to contribute to this debate and thank the Minister for coming before the House.

I will draw a picture of a range of transport that includes road, rail, airports and obviously ports in the context of where I am based, which is Limerick city. I acknowledge the commitment of the Minister to the M20. As he will probably be aware, Barry Transportation has been appointed as the design and planning consultant. The project is now under way for which I thank him. He allowed the project to go ahead initially by providing €1 million for preliminary work and I acknowledge that work.

I also wish to deal with air. Shannon Airport is an integral part of what we offer in the region and is very much synonymous with Limerick city. Recently the Minister met the management of the Shannon Airport group and we met him to discuss establishing major European hub connectivity to the region. I want to raise the whole issue of Shannon Airport and the establishment of a major European hub connection at Shannon Airport with the Minister. On 6 February, he facilitated a meeting with the Shannon Airport management group. The group was proceeding to supply a submission to the Department on developing major European hub connectivity at Shannon Airport. Such connectivity is vital for the region. Has the Minister received the submission? If so, will he give it due consideration? In terms of what we can offer, and if we want proper balanced regional development to counter what happens in Dublin and the eastern seaboard and, in particular, to take pressure off Dublin Airport, then Shannon Airport has a key role to play.

I want to discuss urban buses and having strong city centres and vibrant communities. In Limerick city we firmly believe, and I am very committed to having a strong city centre in Limerick city, that one of the key features to ensure that is timely bus connectivity. There are issues with some buses, such as the timeliness of the 304 and 304A routes, in Limerick city. I got the route, which passes through Castletroy, in place about two or three years ago. The route criss-crosses the city from Castletroy to Dooradoyle. There are issues with timeliness. A 304 bus route also travels from the university and criss-crosses the city to reach Dooradoyle. I know a review is under way but we have an issue in Dublin in terms of connections and so forth. I want the Government to be determined and produce a policy that provides structured bus connectivity into city centres. In terms of creating vibrant city centres, if one has people who live in the suburbs and they have an offering outside of the city centre then we must ensure that travelling to the city is not difficult and does not take a long time.

I also wish to raise a more local issue. The J. J. Kavanagh & Sons bus company currently provides a bus that travels from Limerick city to Dublin Airport via the old N7 and passes through Birdhill, that won the Tidy Towns Competition two years ago. As the company now plans to go onto the M7, the route effectively no longer uses the old route. The company will stop in Nenagh and Roscrea. I ask the Minister to ask the National Transport Authority, NTA, to facilitate bus connectivity for the Birdhill region, perhaps using Local Link transport. I have already contacted the NTA and Local Link Tipperary. I ask the Minister to give a nod to the NTA and ask it to consider the matter. If we seek to provide connectivity then we must ensure that no one is left behind, including people who live in rural areas.

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