Fiona O'Loughlin (Fianna Fail)

I thank the Minister for coming back in to take this matter. I really appreciate it. We are all conscious of the Connecting Ireland rural mobility plan, which was launched in October 2021. It is a very important plan. Its key objectives concern increased access, enhanced connectivity, improved frequency and innovative solutions. It is managed by the NTA working with other partners such as Rural Link and TFI. It looks also at town bus services. It has certainly had quite a lot of success. I have seen first-hand the success of the Local Link buses. There are a few on the radar where a lot of work has been done and we are nearing the completion point. I am looking for an update on those. The proposed 888 route in south Kildare will connect Athy to Monasterevin, on to Rathangan and Allenwood. It will service different stops all along the route, particularly the Lullymore heritage park, which lies between Rathangan and Allenwood.A number of people from Allenwood and Rathangan who work there do not have any access to public transport. Also, as regards our visitor experiences, if the Minister of State has not been to Lullymore Heritage and Discovery Park, I would recommend that he go there. It is a fantastic experience for the young and old. We want to ensure that people can access it using public transport such that people will be able to get the train to Newbridge or Kildare and get the 126 bus, for example, into Rathangan and then be able to access the 888 bus, or travel by bus to Allenwood and get the 888 over. There is a strong, vibrant community that lives along that route and is looking forward with great anticipation to its commencement, which I understand will be in early June. We do not have a timetable yet but, obviously, the frequency is important. While we have quite good public transport on linear lines through Kildare, the cross-Kildare service is not so good.

Another matter that I mentioned and that I want to get an update on is the connectivity between Suncroft and the towns of Kildare and Newbridge. Currently, there is only one service a day. That will not get young people into school - there is no secondary school in Suncroft - or get people into work or in to meet the commuter trains to Dublin. Work has been carried out on that and possibilities are being looked at as regards also connecting the likes of Nurney and Boley into a service with Suncroft.

The third part of this Commencement matter is the fact that a number of third level students travel from Newbridge to Maynooth University but there is no public bus service. This needs consideration, as does a town bus route in both Newbridge and Kildare. We have a lot of new housing estates in both towns that are about three miles from the train station. I would like to see both those towns get a town bus in order to bring people using public transport to the train station.