I am not sure if the Minister of State is aware of the issues with BusConnects in Chapelizod but that is what I want to raise today. It has made up a huge amount of my work over the last number of weeks. People in Chapelizod, Palmerstown and Islandbridge are absolutely at their wits' end with the 80 bus route that came into being in the middle of October. I have held two very large public meetings in that time. In fact, the first one was so large that I had to divide it into two groups. I took one group of people first while the other group waited outside and then I had the other meeting. There was a protest a few weeks later and then another meeting that was attended by over 100 people. This issue is affecting people's lives to a huge extent.

The former 26 bus service was the only bus route from Chapelizod into town. The bus used to go in all the way along the quays. I do not know whether the Minister of State is familiar with the area, but the bus used to go all the way along the quays to Bachelor's Walk and then cross over to Merrion Square. The route was changed and the bus now goes over to Palmerstown Park. As one person said, people do not want to go to Palmerstown Park because they live beside the Phoenix Park. Why would they want to go over there? There was so much pressure put on the NTA that there was a meeting with all public representatives in the area. The NTA said it would move the 130 service that comes from Clontarf and it could go out that way but people in Chapelizod, Islandbridge and Palmerstown do not want to go to Clontarf either. They want the route that they had that was working, albeit not perfectly, and meeting their needs. They had a huge protest a couple of Saturdays ago and are having another one this Saturday because they want the 26 back. They want it back because it worked although, as I said, it was not perfect.

I want to give the Minister of State an idea of what is happening for the people of Chapelizod. Mothers have been waiting for over an hour. One woman with a new baby and a toddler waited for an hour in lashing rain and then missed her GP appointment. There are children going in the opposite direction, out of town, who are getting detention because they are late for school so now parents are back in their cars, bringing them to school. There are people going to work who used to take 45 minutes to get in or to get home but it is now taking them over two hours. Quite frankly, they could walk from town to Chapelizod in less time if they were able to but the footpaths and cycle path are also a disgrace. My son goes to sports out in that direction and I had reason to cycle there to the protest recently and the footpaths and cycle paths are not fit for purpose and very dark. However, that is a side issue for today.

This is the Christmas period and I was speaking to a person earlier this week who told me that a number of people are missing out on Christmas activities and festivities because they just cannot get the bus back and forth. People with disabilities are being let down. It is an unmitigated disaster. The NTA told us at that recent meeting that the 80 route is still within the 2% margin for buses that do not turn up or are late but that is not the data that we have collected. It is 9% or 10% on a good day. When buses are not turning up and are not reliable, it affects people's lives. The previous contributor spoke about volunteers. All of these people have their busy, normal days and then they are in a situation where they have to spend their evenings and weekends protesting for a very simple public service that they pay for. It is not even that it is free; they are paying for it. They are so frustrated. I pay tribute to them because they have come out on dark, cold, rainy nights to public meetings and to protests. They have been mobilising and they should not have to do that. They had their Christmas tree lighting ceremony recently and the atmosphere was not as jolly as it could have been because their energies are going into the wrong things. They have a lovely community there and that is where their energies should be going.

What is are the NTA and the Minister for Transport going to do to reinstate the 26 bus route?

I thank Deputy Cummins for raising this very important matter. I hear her frustration. I am not particularly familiar with the area. The Minister for Transport, Deputy O'Brien, sends his apologies but he could not be here today. As the Deputy knows, the Minister is responsible for policy and overall funding but is not involved in the day-to-day operation of public transport services, for which the NTA is responsible. I heard the Deputy's articulation of engagement with the NTA, which has statutory responsibility for the provision of public passenger transport services nationally, as well as in Dublin. The NTA works with the public transport operators to deliver services and has day-to-day responsibility for same.

That being said, I assure the Deputy that the Government is strongly committed to providing all citizens with reliable, realistic and sustainable mobility options, and public transport plays a key role in the delivery of this goal. I agree with Deputy Cummins that residents and communities should not have to be protesting because it does sap energy. In order to support the Government's objective, the Department secured €940 million of funding for public service obligation, PSO, and TFI Local Link services in the recent budget, a 43% increase on last year's budget of €658.4 million.

Regarding Chapelizod and the issues of concern raised by the Deputy on behalf of residents regarding the performance of route 80 introduced under phase 7 of the BusConnects network redesign, I am informed that BusConnects, which I see in my own city of Cork as well as in Dublin, will be transformative. It is a significant level of investment in the bus system, with the aim of providing better bus services across our cities. It is the largest investment in the bus system in the history of the State.

On 28 November, following customer feedback and engagement with public representatives, the NTA announced a two-stage plan to revise route 80. I have heard everything Deputy Cummins said this afternoon and am aware that my reply may not give her and the residents the solace they seek. I am informed that from early 2026, route 80 will operate from Liffey Valley to Chapelizod on a revised alignment along the quays, crossing the Liffey at O'Connell Bridge rather than Bridge Street, and running through College Green to South Great George’s Street. This temporary measure will improve access to the city centre ahead of the planned pedestrianisation of College Green. Later, in quarter 2 of 2026, route 80 will link with route 130, continuing along the north quays and O’Connell Bridge to Eden Quay and northward through the city centre to Clontarf. This alignment will maintain a ten-minute peak frequency and provide new connectivity to the Luas green line at O’Connell Street and the DART at Connolly Station, offering passengers more options for onward travel. I am aware that the Luas green line is not operational today which is causing bother for commuters and I apologise to them. The NTA acknowledges that for a variety of reasons, including city centre congestion, route 80 did not meet expectations following its introduction. When rolling out phases of the BusConnects network, the NTA commits to monitoring new services, identifying issues, and implementing fixes where appropriate. These changes reflect that commitment.

In planning the redesigned network, the NTA considered Dublin City Council’s plans to transform College Green and Dame Street into a pedestrian-friendly plaza, which will restrict east-west bus movements through College Green. This was why route 80 was originally routed via Bridge Street. However, customer feedback indicated that continuing along the quays to O’Connell Bridge would provide greater benefits, including improved bus priority measures and enhanced connectivity to O’Connell Street and onward transport services. The NTA has reviewed this feedback and agrees that the changes make sense. While the NTA considered terminating route 80 at Merrion Square, replicating the former route 26, it concluded that linking routes 80 and 130 offers greater benefits, including improved interchange to bus, Luas, and rail services, and better access to the docklands and Connolly Station. Those travelling to Merrion Square will continue to have multiple onward connection options.

It is very positive that the bus is not going to go up Bridge Street because it can take so long to get up that hill. People are just waiting there and it is a complete and utter waste of time. However, the issue is that there was no public consultation about changing the route to include the 130. Part of the overall difficulty is the time at which consultations for BusConnects were held. Not many people engaged because they did not know how difficult the change was going to be.

Consultations happened during the Covid pandemic and it was very difficult to imagine a bus route when you were not exactly sure how that was going to go. I am very glad that the NTA is monitoring things and has admitted that this has not been what it expected and hoped it would be. That is also the experience of the people living in the area.

As the Minister of State has outlined, we had a meeting with the NTA. I asked whether there was something wrong with the route 130 that meant it had to be fixed. I did not get an answer to that. However, if a bus route is working, why not leave it? Why do we have to link things up? I disagree that going to Merrion Square would be a difficulty. I do not understand what the difficulty would be. It could go down Hawkins Street. I appreciate that the Minister of State's expertise will come into play when BusConnects starts in Cork but there is a possibility of getting to Merrion Square through Hawkins Street. There are ways around this.

The NTA may be experts on buses but I would argue that the people who have to use them every single day are experts, too. The NTA should be listening. I look forward to meeting the NTA in the next couple of days. I am thankful that it finally agreed to meet Deputy Gary Gannon and me; we are going to meet it next week. I will be bringing this issue up again because there is still frustration. I am not sure the solution the NTA has provided is going to be acceptable to the community. In fact, I know it will not be because they are out protesting again on Saturday.

I thank Deputy Cummins for raising this matter and for her co-ordination and engagement with residents. I understand her frustration. The NTA has announced that it will fast-track delivery of a planned walkway and steps from Chapelizod to bypass the Chapelizod Hill Road. That will make it easier for residents of Chapelizod village to access bus services, including C spine services. As the Deputy will know, the walkway forms part of the BusConnects Lucan to city centre scheme, which has received planning consent from An Coimisiún Pleanála. Construction is scheduled to commence next year.

In her reply, the Deputy said that she was going to engage with the NTA soon. It is important that there be engagement on the redesign of the network. It is critical that the NTA engage with people living in the area, commuters and public representatives. We will never all get what we want. The Deputy knows that herself.

I will keep trying, though.

As someone who has engaged on BusConnects in Cork, I genuinely appreciate where the Deputy is coming from. I will bring her views back to the NTA and the Minister, Deputy O'Brien. The issue she raises is that commuters have genuine concerns. The NTA has a duty and obligation to listen and to continue to engage. I will certainly convey the points the Deputy has raised here this afternoon because the whole point of BusConnects and investment in public transport is ultimately to make whatever redesigned network we get easier for people to use, to get more people onto public transport and to ensure there is connectivity providing direct links for residents, commuters and those working in the city centre and elsewhere.

I commend Deputy Cummins on her work. She has had a number of public meetings on this matter and has had active engagement. I hope the NTA will listen to and engage with us as public representatives. We are elected to speak on behalf of residents.

I hear what the Deputy has said about the residents and I will take her views back.