Cathal Byrne (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I raise an issue in my home town of Enniscorthy, namely, the need for Transport Infrastructure Ireland, TII, to fund a town bus service. At the moment, there are four seven-day-a-week services that are funded by Transport for Ireland. They crisscross the town, servicing various different routes. Unfortunately, this means there is no designated service in the town at the moment. While great work for Enniscorthy has been done by Ms Mary B. O'Leary, the general manager of the Transport for Ireland Local Link service, the reality is that approximately 13,000 people are now residing in the town. We have a target, through the Enniscorthy decarbonisation zone, of a 51% reduction in emissions by 2030. While great work is under way to ensure a viable transport service, without funding from TII and the Minister for Transport, the concept and idea cannot be implemented. I call on the Minister for Transport and TII to accept the findings of the survey that is being done at the moment in collaboration with UCD and Trinity College Dublin and fund this service so that the people residing in Enniscorthy can have their own designated town bus service.