Joanne Collins (Sinn Fein)

I want to raise public transport, particularly in County Limerick. I have received a couple of emails from commuters in east Limerick who travel from Kilfinane to Colbert Station, which is the train station in the city. They travel from the east of the county to the city for work or college. I am informed that every day, there are between 70 and 80 people trying to get on a 52-seater bus. This means that at least 20 people are standing at a bus stop somewhere having to wait for the next one, which might not come for two hours or might not turn up at all. These people are finding it very difficult to get into work or college. College students who cannot afford to rent in the city and are staying at home and trying to commute in and out. The same thing is happening in west Limerick with the Killarney bus, which passes through Abbeyfeale, Newcastle West and Adare on its way into the city. By the time it hits Abbeyfeale, which is the first town it reaches in County Limerick, the bus is full. The next bus does not arrive for another two hours. Anyone trying to get into college or work for 9 a.m. does not have a choice. These young people are looking at having to buy cars and get car insurance. We all know how much car insurance is for young people. These students, and the workers, are trying their best to commute but the services are just not there. I raised this with the NTA at the transport committee before the summer recess. Its response was that it would look at capacity. Nothing has changed since. We are still in the same situation, with a lack of capacity and timings that do not work for people who need to be at certain places at certain times.

On the brighter side, I want to give a shout out to Local Link, which is absolutely amazing for a certain age group. If you are looking to get somewhere at a certain time and be back at a certain time, Local Link does not work. It is more for the middle of the day and it does not go to all locations where people need to go. For college and work, we mostly rely on Bus Éireann. We also use Dublin Coach because it goes down to Killarney but it is unreliable at the moment between capacity and timings.