Paul Gavan (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I want to raise the issue of bus transport with specific reference to Limerick, but there is a wider debate to be had. Last week, with only a week's notice, a private company, Dublin Coach, announced it would suspend its 307-308 bus service, which goes from Limerick city centre to the University of Limerick and on to Annacotty. To explain, Castletroy, which this bus service serves, is one of the fastest growing areas, not only in Munster but in the country. This is shocking news because students and families depend on these services.

Here is the point. I am making a clear call this morning to Bus Éireann to step in and expand its services to include Newtown and the route from Monaleen school to Supervalu. The difficult is that when one raises issues with Bus Éireann, it immediately refers one on to the National Transport Authority. Everybody here knows there is no comeback from the National Transport Authority. It is literally throwing a request into a black hole. It is not good enough.

People want accountability. I want Bus Éireann to respond to the need that people in Castletroy have and the service gap there is now to increase services for families and students to ensure that people do not have to take their cars when going to university and when going into Limerick city centre. I also want to see an expansion of services to the greater Castleconnell area, which makes perfect sense as well. We could take hundreds of cars off the road each morning if we had a regular service in Castleconnell instead of the three-hourly service that we have at present.

My problem, frankly, is how do we get the attention, not only of Bus Éireann but of the National Transport Authority. I have heard other Senators complain about this in the past. I want a debate about it. Right now, the National Transport Authority is simply not accountable in terms of reasonable requests about expansion of services. We cannot wait for years. What we need is a guarantee from Bus Éireann that before September comes we will see an expansion of its services to take up the gaps in the market that now exist and ensure that we have decent bus services so that people in Castletroy and the wider Limerick area do not have to rely on private car transport.