I welcome the opportunity to speak on the Bill. It is a short and technical, but necessary, Bill. The purpose is straightforward, namely, to extend the powers the NTA exercises in the greater Dublin area to cities such as Cork, Galway, Limerick and Waterford. It enables the NTA to deliver the infrastructural elements of BusConnects Cork and removes the statutory gap that has held up a major project for far too long. I thank the Minister and his officials for bringing the Bill forward. We are committed to the development of a strong, modern and integrated public transport system across the State. The programme for Government commits to expanding bus services in our cities and the Bill is part of delivering on that commitment. Expanding the NTA’s power is one thing; how those powers are used is another. I want to use my time to make three points about that. First, on balance, the NTA must prioritise sensible solutions. Public transport investment is welcome. Road safety investment is welcome and necessary. However, schemes must be designed in a way that does not create excessive congestion, does not push traffic onto residential streets and does not undermine access for older residents, people with disabilities or local businesses. In my constituency of Dún Laoghaire, communities have raised legitimate concerns about the design of specific schemes. Those concerns deserve to be heard. The NTA delivers better outcomes when it engages early, listens properly and adjusts where the evidence supports it. The same goes for local authorities. Second, on bus reliability, while looking to expand the network we must not lose sight of reliability on existing routes. The so-called ghost bus problem in Dublin, in particular, is one I have raised on multiple occasions in the House. It impedes and undermines public confidence in public transport as buses disappear. Passengers see them on the app and screen and then they simply disappear. In recent months, cancellation rates on some routes have reached 8%. Fines for PSOs are one thing, but the public simply require dependability. To be fair, the ghost bus phenomenon originated under a previous Minister and this Minister has said that is unacceptable, and I agree. The new Trapeze automatic vehicle location system is being rolled out, and that is welcome. The underlying causes, that is, driver and mechanic shortages and the congestion that delays buses across the city, must be addressed. The NTA’s contracts with operators must be tightened. Reliability must come before expansion. We also need increased frequency on Sundays, which I have raised on previous occasions in the House, and integrated ticketing. Third, there must be far greater urgency on rail and on Luas. The greater Dublin area transport strategy provides for the extension of the Luas green line from Bride’s Glen to Bray. That extension was identified as a priority more than a decade ago. The Bray Luas would serve Cherrywood, Old Connaught, Fassaroe and Bray DART station and it would transform travel along the N11 corridor. It would relieve pressure on a road network that is at breaking point and capacity on the green line needs to increase. Yet, the most recent projections push delivery of the expansion of the green line into the 2031-36 window and that is simply not good enough. The people of north Wicklow and the area south of Dún Laoghaire have been waiting too long. The DART+ Coastal South to Wicklow, the Luas Finglas extension and the planned extension of the green line to Bray must all be advanced with urgency. We need the same focus and the same statutory drive on rail, including heavy rail, that this Bill provides for BusConnects. I support this Bill. I ask the Minister to bring forward, as soon as possible, a clear delivery timetable for the Luas extension to Bray and a published plan to address the ghost bus problem on the Dublin bus network.

Sentiment score: 0.15