Dee Ryan (Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Minister of State for coming in to take my question. She is very welcome.

I am standing here to ask her if she can, and I really hope she will be able to, clarify for the people of Limerick what is going on with Limerick BusConnects. To give the Minister of State the background, BusConnects was first mooted more than a decade ago. The public in Limerick, including employers, members of pedestrian and cycling organisations, traders, all the different city centre stakeholders and councillors, would have been consulted on this great vision for public transport in Limerick since about 2020. It was finally unveiled for us in December 2023. We were told originally that this project was going to be delivered in 2025.

I am out on the doors in Limerick every week and frustration with the public transport service in Limerick comes up everywhere and repeatedly. I have parents complaining that they cannot give their teenagers a little bit of freedom and let them off to go somewhere on the bus, so they have to play taxi. I have students genuinely upset that they have to pay for petrol or diesel. We do not have sufficient cycle lanes and routes everywhere across the city, so they have to drive the short distance into the university or into one of our many institutes of learning because they cannot get the bus. Of course, I also have employers speaking to me. I would have been very familiar with the employer perspective in the past in my role as an employer representative. Employers cannot take on people unless they have a car because their particular place of employment is not serviced by public transport. Workers are frustrated that they cannot get to work on a bus. They would like to be saving some money with the cost of living by using public transport. Generally speaking, people feel that they pay taxes, work hard and hold up their end of the bargain, so they want to know why they cannot use public services and avail of a proper bus system in Limerick.

We have had many different and conflicting reports on when BusConnects is going to be delivered. I really hope the Minister of State will be able to bring clarity to this subject today. We were first told it was going to be happening in 2025, then it was going to be in 2026, and more recently we were told it was going to be 2028. I am nearly even afraid to say it out loud but in the last month, I have heard that it could be 2030, which is unthinkable.

Can the Minister of State please tell us what is holding us back and the reason for the delay? Has the local authority completed all the works it needs to do to run the system? Has the city centre transport plan been finalised with the mayor? It has been on his desk and I know his team has been liaising with the National Transport Authority, NTA, for over two years on it. Has the Department funded the project? Has the NTA hired the mechanics and drivers? I ask these questions because this is like the Spider-Man meme. When I start asking questions, all these organisations start pointing at each other and give me all the reasons I outlined as to why BusConnects has not been delivered. Perhaps the Minister of State can clarify the answers to some of those questions for us now. Ultimately, all I want to know is when BusConnects will be operational.

Marian Harkin (Sligo-Leitrim, Independent)
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I thank the Senator for her question. Let us see what answer I can provide for her. On behalf of the Minister for Transport, I thank Senator Ryan for the opportunity to discuss BusConnects in Limerick. I will also use the opportunity to highlight sustainable mobility developments in Leitrim - I am sorry, I must have been thinking of my own constituency - in Limerick more generally.

The Limerick-Shannon metropolitan area transport strategy was developed by the NTA to deliver an accessible, integrated transport network that enables the sustainable growth of Limerick up to 2040. This includes the development of the Limerick BusConnects programme. Good progress has been made in delivering the strategy, including BusConnects Limerick. In 2023, the NTA carried out an extensive review of the Limerick bus network. This review was conducted in collaboration with Limerick City and County Council, Clare County Council and Bus Éireann, and was supported by the specialised expertise of transport system 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 aim 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, 41% of residents will live within 400 m of a high-frequency bus route running every 15 minutes or better. Limerick is the first city in Ireland with a fully electrified bus service, with two phases of charger installation works having come on stream at Roxboro bus depot during 2024 and 61 zero-emission buses in active passenger service today.

Regarding future phases of BusConnects Limerick, and the BusConnects programme across the cities more generally, the NTA will publish its detailed national development plan, NDP, implementation plan later this year, which will set out the elements of the programme to be progressed in the coming years within available funding to 2030. This follows on from the publication of the NDP sectoral investment plan by the Department of Transport last November and the publication of the NDP review last July.

In addition to bus-based improvements, the Limerick-Shannon metropolitan area transport strategy also recommends a number of improvements to rail infrastructure, including a new rail station at Moyross. Planning permission for this station was received from Limerick City and County Council in November 2025, with procurement preparation now under way. Other rail interventions include increasing the frequency of services on the Ballybrophy line to up to two trains per hour, double-tracking of the line from Limerick Junction to Colbert Station and the upgrading of Colbert Station, which was successfully completed in November 2024.The public is now benefiting from these improved facilities, including the new ticket offices, toilets, bus concourse, set-down area and car park. The NDP sectoral plan also allocates funding for the delivery of a number of priority rail projects by 2030 as identified by the rail project prioritisation strategy published last December with the assistance of the European Investment Bank.

Dee Ryan (Fianna Fail)
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Having heard my account of what is going on the ground in Limerick, the Minister of State will understand why I am really disappointed with that response. The NTA will be publishing an implementation plan by the end of this year. Is she joking me? What in the name of God is going on in the NTA? Clearly, it has no interest in Limerick. It has no interest in delivering the public transport needs we have and serving our needs in Limerick. What happens in there when they are faced with a tough question and asked why they have not done something yet? Do they say they will do another implementation plan? We are sick of plans in Limerick. We want delivery. We are clear on this. The NTA in its response also sounds like it is kind of blaming the Department saying it will engage with the Department on funding this. We have been told separately by the Department that the NTA is fully funded for this. I am not satisfied with that answer. Where do I go? Where do I get the answers to the questions I need?

Marian Harkin (Sligo-Leitrim, Independent)
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I thank the Senator. I am of course providing the answers given to me by the Department. As we know, the new Limerick bus network will provide more frequent public transport offerings to more people across Limerick. I hear what she is saying. She is talking about now. As with the previous Senator, I will bring her concerns to the Minister. I will let him know how strongly she feels about this and that she is looking for timelines insofar as they can be delivered. What we are looking at here is that aspects of the BusConnects programme include a 70% increase in bus services in Limerick city and suburbs, shorter waits, more direct routes, simpler networks and schedules, additional services at weekends and a 24-hour bus route connecting University Hospital Limerick, the city centre and the University of Limerick. As I said, Limerick is the first city in Ireland with a fully electrified bus service. I hear what the Senator is saying. She is asking when this will be delivered. People are waiting for it, and the Senator does not really want to hear about plans next year or the year after. As she will understand these are all part of the process, but I will ask that-----

Dee Ryan (Fianna Fail)
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It has been a six-year process so far and it sounds like the process is being delayed even further. It is unacceptable.

Marian Harkin (Sligo-Leitrim, Independent)
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I will not dispute that because I do not have the detail of what the Senator is speaking about.

Dee Ryan (Fianna Fail)
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I appreciate that.

Marian Harkin (Sligo-Leitrim, Independent)
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I will certainly bring her concerns to the Minister. That is not just something I am saying. I will do that.

Dee Ryan (Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Minister of State.

Garret Kelleher (Fine Gael)
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Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire Stáit as glacadh leis na trí ní, agus gabhaim buíochas leis an Seanadóir Ryan chomh maith.