Tim Lombard (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I raise the issue of where we stand regarding our public transport corridors and our local government in this context. A delegation came to see me at one of my clinics in Kinsale yesterday about the Cork-to-Kinsale route. It is a significant one used by tourists every day. The starting point for that route has been changed, however. Instead of starting at the bus station at Parnell Place, it is commencing from Clontarf Street. This is about the process in this regard. Things change, but the process is the key thing. The National Transport Authority, NTA, comes in and it just makes changes. There is no consultation and no mechanism whereby members of the community are asked what they think. There is no interaction whatsoever. The NTA is the funder and, therefore, it has the ultimate power.

We have now had a bus stop moved, and no bus shelter provided, to right beside an adult shop. Residents of a certain age are trying to get off the bus there every hour of every day. The queues are beyond belief because the bus route is tied in with the service to the airport. Instead of making it to Kinsale in 45 minutes, therefore, it now takes just over an hour. When we look at how we are governing our State and at who has the power of governance, the power the NTA has now is beyond belief. I do not know how we gave it this power.It is a significant funder and a huge driver of these transport corridors, which are important. However, the public needs to have a say along the way and be involved. What is happening at the moment is that local authorities are saying the NTA is providing the funding, so they cannot go against it because it will not give them the funding otherwise. In other words, it is either the NTA’s idea or nothing. That is not governance or a democracy. That is not what the people want.

We need to have the Minister come in so we can ask who actually controls and runs the NTA. Who has the power of control and audit over the NTA? Where does the public - or even public representatives – step into this scenario?