I thank the Minister of State for being here. Both the Cathaoirleach Gníomhach and the Minister of State will be aware that we have very significant transportation projects in the pipeline for Cork city and county, which are very welcome. Many of these projects are urgently needed in terms of progress. We have the Cork Luas project, which is significant, the BusConnects project, the commuter rail implementation and, of course, ongoing active travel projects. All of these are very important and very welcome. We need to manage these projects under the one roof of a transportation office based in Cork, with the expertise based locally and with representation from the National Transport Authority, Transport Infrastructure Ireland, Irish Rail and our local authorities, as well as other relevant agencies. This is critically important. The Cork metropolitan area transportation strategy needs to be fully implemented. Before it is implemented, it needs to be updated and revised. It needs to be brought up to speed in terms of the projects that are out there. This is best served by having an office based in Cork so that can progress. As the Minister of State knows, the preliminary business case for the BusConnects project has been approved by Cabinet. It will now progress to the planning phase and that is very important for the structural change that is required in terms of the development of 11 sustainable transport corridors. There is also the redesign of the existing service, which I hope should begin to take effect this year, but, as a public representative from Cork, I do not need to tell the Minister of State that I am deeply frustrated at the slow progress on BusConnects. It is incredibly slow despite the huge amount of money that has been spent. We have seen no benefits whatsoever in the service on the ground, which is frustrating for us as public representatives, but more so for the public and passengers who want to use the service. We expect the preferred route for the Cork Luas project, also known as the light rail project in Cork, to be published in the coming weeks. It will progress to consultation. As the Minister of State knows, that is an 18 km light rail project, including 25 stops along the way, with the potential to carry 2,300 passengers per hour, which is very welcome for Cork. Transport Infrastructure Ireland, TII, is the lead agency here but of course the National Transport Authority, NTA, is also involved. As I mentioned, we have seen good implementation of the commuter rail project, which is welcome. Active travel projects are ongoing in the local authorities. I strongly argue that these need to be mentioned in Cork under the one roof. I am not the only person making this call. I know our local authorities, the Cork Chamber of Commerce and Cork Business Association have made this call too. It makes perfect sense. We have the Cork metropolitan area transportation strategy. As I say, this needs to be updated and reviewed. That is best done in Cork by people based there locally engaging with the local communities and agencies. Cork Airport is a prime example of where there has been a failure of joined-up thinking. The Cork Luas project does not include Cork Airport, for example. The commuter rail project does not go to the southern side of the city and the bus service currently serving the airport is appallingly inadequate. It is as simple as that. The current bus services as a whole are extremely frustrating. The Minister of State, I, and other public representatives are inundated with complaints about failures of the service on a daily basis. It simply is not good enough. People are sick and tired of excuses at this stage. They want to see improvements in the service. This can be best done by a local transportation office in Cork where all the relevant stakeholders work together so that we can progress the key transportation projects for Cork and get the earliest possible delivery to help provide a modern-day service for its people.

Sentiment score: 0.15

I do not have to tell the Minister of State that Cork is the second city. It is the fastest growing city in Ireland and that is likely to continue for the coming decade. The population of Cork is expected to increase by between 50% and 60% by 2040, bringing the overall population of the county to 770,000 people, which is very significant. I repeat what I said earlier. The projects in Cork should not be managed by people in Dublin. They should be managed by people based in Cork so that they can have active engagement with all relevant bodies, individuals, communities and stakeholders in Cork. That is critically important. The NTA office which is being worked on at present is welcome, of course, but that office needs to be radically reconfigured. It needs to be empowered. It needs to be a decision-making office and it currently is not envisaged as one. It needs to have representation from a cross-section of transportation agencies, TII, the NTA, Irish Rail, Bus Éireann, the local authorities, and so on. That is the only way we will be able to progress key projects in Cork and delivery. People want delivery. The Minister of State knows that as well as I do. We have seen success with commuter rail. That is an example of success. I give credit to Irish Rail for the progress it has made on that. There is more to come and it is welcome, but a key element of that is managed from Cork, which is the difference. The airport is critical. It is our key transportation hub in Cork, along with the seaport. There is much frustration about the inadequate transportation service to the airport. There is no early morning bus service bringing workers and passengers to the airport. The statistics for those who travel to the airport by public transport show a shockingly low number, because the service simply does not exist. It is an example of a failure of joined-up thinking by agencies of the State and their failure to work together. Cork deserves better. It deserves an office based in the city with the relevant expertise and decision-making powers so that we can progress with meaningful intent on the key projects. That is what I am calling for.

Sentiment score: 0.12