Gary Gannon (Dublin Central, Social Democrats)
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I wish to raise with the Minister of State the issue of the No. 11 bus, but not so much its future because that is starting to look very unlikely under the current plans. I am conscious that this is not the first time the No. 11 bus has been raised with the Minister of State in the Chamber. I was present last week when his party colleague Deputy McAuliffe raised it. I was a little surprised to hear the Minister of State's response to the Deputy and me on that occasion. He said that it was time people started talking up the BusConnects scheme. There are many positives to BusConnects. As a whole, it has the potential to greatly benefit the city and other areas of the country where it will make a difference. However, I find it very difficult to talk up the power of a bus service to a community such as that in Drumcondra or Wadelai Park because there will be a downgrading in those areas.

The service has existed for decades. The types of people who have been raising the matter with me and, I am sure, Deputy McAuliffe and others will see a service reduction. A route that ran all the way down from the airport and across the city will be cut, meaning the affected communities will have to disembark and Parnell Square. If they wish to cross the city for any reason, they will have to get onto a separate bus. That is no issue for me or anybody with health like mine but it is a daunting prospect for a person with a disability, a mother with a pram or an older person who relies on the bus for his or her very independence. I do not want to overegg the pudding but the service loss will have an impact on the very means by which people get around the city. That is the very real outcome of what we are doing.

It is not just me raising this. Several petition documents have been circulated by residents and there are close to 2,000 signatures at this point. It is an issue of genuine concern. I find it difficult to talk up a service on a doorstep when an old person tells me he or she will no longer be able to meet his or her sister over in Bewley's. I find it even more difficult when people tell me that their ability to bring their children by bus to a service on the south side of the city, which they must do because of the absence of care provision, is going to be affected.

There are very many pluses to BusConnects, but let us leave those aside. The service on the arterial route in question is being downgraded to the extent that I am now dealing with people who will not be on buses and will be forced to drive into the city. That is not what the Minister of State and I want, although there are Members in the House who would disagree with my position on the service. If the goal of BusConnects is to get more people onto buses but the outcome is the removal of a service from a vulnerable cohort, it is surely okay to say that, for a brief period, until we have a better plan that does not impact the quality of service offered to the cohort, we should put our plans on hold or extend the service to the south side. The existing service is to cease in November. I am very concerned about the impact of this on the quality of life of people with vulnerabilities or those whose health is worse than my own.

Our goal and that of everyone who has been commenting on this issue is the same. We do not need to plough on regardless. It is now time to step back a little and say we will not so much go back to the drawing board as offer a better alternative to those who are contacting all our offices, including, I am sure, that of the Minister of State.

I look forward to his response and will reply as such.

James Lawless (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Deputy. When I saw this Topical Issue selected, I was reminded of my colleague, Deputy Paul McAuliffe, who raised this issue under Questions on Promised Legislation last week, and I answered. To put in context that exchange, I absolutely recognise the legitimacy of the concerns around the No. 11 bus, and I have spoken with Deputy McAuliffe on it since then as well. It is a very serious matter if a bus that serves a particular population and community, with particular habits and practice formed around it, is then threatened or restructured in such a way that it no longer serves the needs of that community. I am not necessarily saying that is the case but I hear the concerns that it may be, and it is something that needs to be examined.

On the wider issue of BusConnects, I have met with a number of stakeholders in the last week, including the Dublin Commuter Coalition, who are very passionate and really want to see BusConnects driving forward and moving to the next stage. We have not yet realised the ambition that the BusConnects programme contains. We have 12 spines across the city but we have only really got to slightly more than half of those to date. We have had the pay but now we need to get the gain. What I mean by that is we need to start realising the benefits. It is really only when the BusConnects programme is actually up and running across the city, with all the spines and spokes running frequently, reliably and being enabled, that we will begin to really see the synergies that programme contains. That is the position; that is the ambition, vision, hope and expectation that I have for that programme. I very much hope I am right on that because we do need to start realising those benefits.

On the specific situation, I will clarify that my Department has responsibility for policy and overall funding for public transport but none of my Department, my officials or I are involved in the day-to-day operation of public transport services. In fact, statutory responsibility for that is devolved to the NTA, as the Deputy will probably be aware. It works with the public transport operators, who deliver the services and have responsibility for day-to-day operational matters. That comes under the Dublin Transport Authority Act 2008, which empowered the NTA with statutory responsibility for promoting the development of an integrated, accessible public transport network and accessible transport infrastructure. The NTA then works with the relevant public transport operators to progressively make public transport accessible for everyone, including people with disabilities and older persons. I think the Deputy mentioned older persons in his query with reference to the No. 11 route.

The Government is strongly committed to providing all citizens with reliable and realistic sustainable mobility options, and public transport obviously plays a huge role in that. Towards this objective, in budget 2025, we have secured an indicative funding package of €652 million. My Department secured that in the budget negotiations to fund PSO and Local Link services for next year. That is a very significant commitment to public transport. We are voting with our feet with respect to pledging those moneys and making sure they are provided so these services can continue. That also includes funding to support fare initiatives and for the continued roll-out of new services, including the continuation of the BusConnects and Connecting Ireland programmes.

Jumping to the No. 11 bus, which I know is at the heart of the Deputy's question, the decision to replace the northern part of this route with the new route 19 forms part of the BusConnects network redesign, which is aimed at enhancing the entire public transport network in Dublin. Under this redesign, route 19 will connect Dublin Airport and Parnell Square via Ballymun, Wadelai Park, Home Farm Road and Drumcondra. The route will run every 20 minutes, significantly improving upon the initially proposed hourly service and will have increased capacity at peak times. This change addresses concerns about service frequency and connectivity, providing better links, especially to Dublin Airport. The service will provide new direct connections to Dublin Airport, benefiting both airport workers and travellers. The southside route 11 will remain unchanged from Sandyford to Parnell Square, where it will now divert to run via Phibsborough and North Circular Road to the Phoenix Park.

I acknowledge the concerns raised by the Deputy about these changes - as I acknowledge the concerns raised by Deputy Paul McAuliffe last week - particularly with regard to how they may impact on elderly residents and students. We understand the importance of maintaining connectivity for all users, and I assure the Deputy in the House that the NTA is working closely with operators to address any service or connectivity issues arising from the roll-out of BusConnects. I also understand that the NTA undertakes extensive public engagement prior to the introduction of any service changes.

As noted earlier, the frequency and capacity will be improved, up to ten minutes at peak times on the busiest sections. Although route 19 will not extend past Parnell Square, passengers can interchange with other bus services at nearby stops and with the Luas at Parnell Street and Dominick Street.

Gary Gannon (Dublin Central, Social Democrats)
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What I am going to say is not targeted at the Minister of State directly or individually. The next comment is not for him. There is a massive arrogance to just ploughing on regardless here. I have had it from the NTA, and I have had it from any sort ministerial intervention we have called for. Though I appreciate there are statutory limitations, we do know that there have been changes in the past that came from a groundswell of public opinion. I have also had it from other people in some of the coalitions the Minister of State mentioned.

There are one or two problems but the main one - while I am standing in Parliament talking about a bus route, which is not what any of us wants to be doing - is the fact that this bus route is going to stop at Parnell Square. It is going to limit and impact people who are most vulnerable in terms of how they engage with the city. That is all we are asking for - some solution or some kind of delay until that solution is provided. On the idea that the frequency is going to be increased, that is fantastic but again, if you are a person who has any of the complexities I have just outlined such as a mother with a pram, a person with an additional needs or an older person, the idea of getting onto that bus in Drumcondra, which is often crowded, getting off at Parnell Square, which is always crowded, walking 100 m up the road to get into the same situation again to go two miles up the road to get off is a disincentive for people to use that bus.

We have seen it previously. We have seen the 123, which was supposed to be removed, being kept because of a groundswell of public opinion and the NTA changed its mind. At this moment, we need a political intervention here to engage with the NTA. This is genuinely going to impact the residents I represent as they engage with the city. It is going to impact Deputy McAuliffe's constituents and Deputy Shortall's constituents. This is not something people are taking lightly. We have to be able to get around the city centre safely. I want more people on buses. I do not want my city clogged up with cars but I cannot legitimately say to people that this plan is grand and to head on as they are, as I can hop off and on and they cannot. To bring a degree of fairness and a modicum of sense to this, we should not just plough through changes to the infrastructure of this city in a manner that is simply not just. I ask the Minister of State, in his capacity and the role he has, to maybe engage with the NTA and simply tell it to hold on for a moment.

James Lawless (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Deputy. I fully recognise the points he is making and understand them. It is absolutely key, and I am someone who, throughout my career, has been committed to optimising the use of public transport and maximising the take-up of it. It is actually quite a simple formula to make that happen but it is a formula we have to deliver. It has to be affordable and at a reasonable price. We have done that with the PSO, the fare cuts and the young adult or student discounts etc. It has to be efficient. It has to be reliable and it has to turn up in the first place, turn up on time and meet the schedule, and it has to go where people need to go. It is that fourth limb that the Deputy is querying in this instance with respect to route selection.

As I have said, there are limitations to what any Minister can do under statute, the NTA regulations and so forth but I invite the Deputy and Deputy McAuliffe to engage with me in my office. I can see if a representation can be made to the NTA as to whether there can be a way through. I sympathise, and I am also aware of other routes, not least Confey and Leixlip in my own constituency, where there are similar eventualities occurring. A route that used to come down Captain's Hill and into town now involves a connection at the bottom of the road. They may seem like small issues but they are big issues to people who use the bus on a regular basis, particularly elderly people and people who rely on those services to get to town, to medical appointments, to meet family as the Deputy alluded to, and many other reasons. We need to make sure the service works for the people who ultimately need it.