Alison Comyn (Fianna Fail)
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We welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Buttimer, to the House.

Dee Ryan (Fianna Fail)
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The Minister of State is very welcome. It is great to have him here again. I am particularly delighted to get the opportunity to address through this Commencement matter an issue I am particularly passionate about. It is a matter I have been working on for a number of years, that is, the broader matter of the improved public transport and active travel facilities for the citizens of Limerick city and county.

Today we are dealing specifically with a proposal I have submitted to the National Transport Authority for the inclusion of Annacotty Business Park in Limerick BusConnects, which we hope will soon be commenced . The ambitious plans included in Limerick BusConnects are most welcome. I compliment the staff at the NTA, the staff at Limerick City and County Council and the many councillors across the metropolitan region who contributed to it as well as the very many stakeholders who contributed to the two years of public consultation and the development of the second iteration of the draft Limerick BusConnects plan, which became the finalised plan and was published in December 2023. It includes an increased frequency of bus services across Limerick city and suburbs, an increased number of new bus routes and the introduction of 24-hour bus services on some routes, facilitating the development of an all-day economy for the first time in Limerick. There is a 70% increase in the number of bus services to be provided to Limerick city and suburbs when Limerick BusConnects is fully operational. That moves us into the space of becoming a true modern, small but very proud and ambitious European city. We are very grateful for the work that has been done by all the agencies and public servants to date. However, I am talking to the Minister of State today about an important area that I and many stakeholders believe was omitted from those ambitious plans, namely, Annacotty Business Park. It is the largest indigenous industrial park in Limerick county. It is home to 33 businesses and 4,000 employees. They are going into and out of the business park every day and there is no bus stop there. I have engaged with the members in the park and their employees. There would be a huge appetite to see increased services, not just for the benefits they would bring right now to people who are working there but also for the future development of the park and the potential for the mostly indigenous businesses in the park to expand. As the Minister of State knows, if there are no public transport facilities for proposed developments, then we have to provide car parking spaces. Currently, businesses within the park are constricted in their expansion ambitions because of that.

The provision of this public transport loop would also have a beneficial impact for St Vincent's special school in Lisnagry, which has more than 500 people working and availing of the facilities there, and indeed for many hospitality businesses on the east side of Annacotty, including Finnegans bar and restaurant, which has capacity for 250 people seated for meals, is under new management in recent years and, with its great new energy, from an employment perspective and a connectivity perspective, could absolutely do with improved connectivity. I thank the Minister of State for his time and ask for his support in a trial expansion of facilities to the Annacotty Business Park, to measure the uptake in the services and the benefit to the surrounding area.

Jerry Buttimer (Cork South-Central, Fine Gael)
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I thank Senator Ryan for her ongoing advocacy. I know she wrote to and communicated with the NTA last month regarding Annacotty Business Park I commend her on that. I am taking the matter on behalf of the Minister for Transport. It gives me an opportunity to provide Senator Ryan and the House with an update on sustainable mobility options in Limerick.

The Limerick-Shannon metropolitan area transport strategy has been developed by the NTA to deliver an accessible, integrated transport network that enables the sustainable growth of Limerick up to 2040, allowing it to take its place in Europe as a city of its size, as Senator Ryan said, including the upgraded bus system for the area. Significant progress has been made in delivering key projects detailed in the Limerick-Shannon region, including the BusConnects Limerick programme, as the Senator indicated. BusConnects will be transformative for all five of our cities, including Limerick. Two years ago, the NTA carried out an extensive review of the bus network in Limerick, in collaboration with Limerick City and County Council, Clare County Council, and Bus Éireann, and with the specialised expertise of transport designers Jarrett Walker and Associates. Following public consultation, the NTA published its final new bus network for Limerick in December 2023. The redesign of the bus network is one of the nine key elements of BusConnects Limerick that aims to transform the city’s bus system, making public transport more useful to more people. The new bus network will enable more people to avail of public transport, resulting in increased access to a greater number of schools and workplaces across Limerick city. Overall, approximately 41% of residents will live within 400 m of a high-frequency bus route, running every 15 minutes or better. In addition to the above, the first phase of battery-electric bus charging infrastructure came on stream at Bus Éireann’s Roxboro depot in Limerick last year, allowing 34 double-deck battery-electric buses to enter passenger service in Limerick also in 2024. The second phase of battery-electric bus charging infrastructure was substantially complete at the end of 2024, and an additional 21 double-deck battery-electric buses are expected to enter passenger service throughout this year.

Regarding the matter raised by Senator Ryan in respect of the design of the network and the exclusion of Annacotty Business Park, the new bus network was published in draft form in March 2023 for public consultation, during which in excess of 650 responses to this consultation were received. This feedback was taken into account in the design of the final new network plan.During the public consultation process, the NTA received feedback about the potential to extend the service to Annacotty Business Park. On review, it was decided that the provision of service to Annacotty Business Park through the Connecting Ireland programme would be a more efficient way to connect the business park with public transport. The NTA is currently working with Bus Éireann to identify how and when this need will be met and officials in the Department of Transport continue to engage with the NTA on the matter. Senator Ryan made reference to that. In her letter to the NTA, she wrote about the trial experience, which we should look at again. I will bring her concerns to the Department.

More generally, improvements in bus services in Limerick city proposed via BusConnects and the Limerick Shannon metropolitan area transport strategy will ensure a range of sustainable transport options are available to the people of Limerick. The strategy also recommends a number of improvements to rail infrastructure in the area, including a new rail station in Moyross, increasing the frequency of services on the Ballybrophy line up to two trains per hour, dual track between Limerick Junction and Colbert Station and the upgrading of Colbert Station.

In addition, the final report of the all-Ireland strategic rail review, which will inform the development of the railway sector on the island of Ireland over the coming decades and was published in July last year, calls for proposals to improve rail services in the Limerick area, including the electrification of the route between Dublin and Limerick, an upgrade to Limerick Junction and the Limerick Junction to Waterford line, along with a spur from Sixmilebridge and Cratloe to Shannon Airport.

I thank the Senator for her contribution. The reply may not be what she wants, but she has made a good case in the House today.

Alison Comyn (Fianna Fail)
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Before I bring Senator Ryan back in, I welcome to the Gallery the Probus retirement group, special guests of the Ceann Comhairle, Deputy Verona Murphy. I presume they are from the Wexford area. They are not. My father was once a very active member of Probus. I know what incredible work the organisation does. I send best wishes from everybody here in the House and wish you continued good success.

Dee Ryan (Fianna Fail)
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The group is very welcome. We have a vibrant Probus group in Limerick. I hope to have them to the Oireachtas at some stage.

I thank the Minister of State for his response. I appreciate its thoroughness. As I said, we are very excited in Limerick about the ambition of the overall Limerick Shannon metropolitan area transport strategy, which had great engagement from people right across the community. People are looking forward to the roll-out of the improved facilities. In fact, we can see the work being done in terms of the provision of improved footpaths and cycle lanes and the development of the turning circle. We can see the capital investment that is happening. I met Mr. Creegan, the acting CEO of the NTA, and regularly engage on this with other public representatives. Mr. Creegan has agreed to consider my proposal for a trial Annacotty Business Park loop. The loop would stop on the Dublin Road opposite St. Vincent's special school and proceed to the Cappamore Road and Annacotty Business Park. I raise the matter today to flag it with the Department and to seek the support and consideration of the Minister of State for the proposed trial route.

Jerry Buttimer (Cork South-Central, Fine Gael)
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I welcome the group to the Gallery. I share Senator Ryan's positivity regarding BusConnects and public transport in Limerick. As a country, we are redesigning our bus network and Limerick is at the forefront of that in terms of the provision of more public transport. As I said, there has been a 70% increase in bus services in Limerick city and suburbs, shorter waits, more direct routes, simpler network and scheduling, additional services at weekends and a new 24-hour bus route between UHL, the city centre and the University of Limerick.

In addition, following feedback from the public, the NTA and Bus Éireann are currently considering how best to provide the bus service to Annacotty Business Park as part of the Connecting Ireland programme. Senator Ryan makes a good case and in her letter to the NTA she set out in a detailed way, illustratively and in writing, how the route can be of benefit to everybody. I will bring her contribution to the Department, the Minister and the NTA. It is important that all of us join in the celebration of the roll-out of the redesigned bus routes across Limerick city and county. It is about ensuring we have improvements under the Connecting Ireland programme, including Annacotty Business Park. I will bring the Senator's contribution back. It is about taking more people out of cars and using public transport more. If we can have creative, innovate ways of doing that, let us do it. What the Senator put forward, both in her detailed and comprehensive submission and today in the House, certainly adds value to the offering we can provide in Limerick.

Alison Comyn (Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Minister of State for his time in the House.