I am glad that the Minister is here for this debate. I want to bring to him a message from my constituents in north County Dublin with regard to the BusConnects north coastal project. As the Minister will know - I understand he has engaged with the local group - the 33 bus is the main bus serving the towns of Rush, Lusk, Skerries and Loughshinny. The bus is frequently overcrowded. We have all heard many times about people left standing on the side of the road while the bus goes past because it is a single-decker when it should be a double-decker, or the double-decker is already full. There is a desperate need for a functioning public transport system for north County Dublin. Not everyone lives near the train station. While it is great for those who do, there are people who do not live near the train and are dependent on the bus. The proposals for BusConnects are causing a lot of angst among my constituents because they see that those proposals are not responsive to the needs of the community. In many instances, they represent a backwards step. We are not just giving out about it, however. A well-thought-out proposal has been made to the NTA. The NTA responded and we have sent a response back to it. My understanding is that the Minister was due to meet with this group in April. I am hopeful that meeting will be reinstated because it wants a chance to show the Minister the work it has put in to ensure that whatever changes are made work. We all want BusConnects to work, but it will not work unless the people who are going to use the service are listened to. These people are not making observations for the sake of it. They have made them and have put forward a well-thought-out proposal because they desperately want it to work. We need it to work. The bus service we depend on in north County Dublin is not sufficient for the needs of the population. BusConnects will only deliver if it is done in consultation with the people who will ultimately use the service.

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