This question is in the context of the National Transport Authority, NTA, stating that it does not have money for further public transport expansion this year. Why has it been left in this position? I have a relevant local example in Athenry in my area. I know that the Minster is aware of the situation there. Will he touch on it?

Sustained investment in the public service obligation, PSO, programme has driven record public transport use, with passenger numbers up 23% and continuing to grow this year, alongside an expanded network serving over 240 towns and villages. As demand rises and congestion issues remain, Ireland’s public transport system has reached a pivotal point, with an increasing need for reliable services.

A fundamental reset in funding was required to place the PSO programme on a sustainable, long-term footing in line with the programme for Government commitment. Accordingly, the 2026 PSO allocation was structured to eliminate the need for supplementary in-year funding, providing greater certainty and stability for service delivery.

To underpin this, my Department secured an unprecedented €940 million allocation for PSO services in budget 2026, which was a 43% increase on the previous year. This significant investment provides a robust foundation to ensure that existing public transport services are delivered reliably and sustainably throughout the year, enabling the system to meet rising passenger demand and assist in absorbing growing operational costs.

The NTA is managing the 2026 allocation by prioritising delivery of existing programmes in line with operational readiness and resources. Enhancements within the current allocation are prioritised. Some changes are cost neutral while others require additional resources, and all are subject to funding, readiness and capacity.

Funding for new services in 2027 will be determined through the annual Estimates process, which we will be entering into shortly. Within the constraints of the reliable resources available, the NTA will be responsible for prioritising its service plan, taking into account operational readiness, demonstrated and anticipated passenger demand, and the need to deliver value for money.

This reset the Minister is talking about means fewer new services. That is what the NTA is saying, and the impact of that is massive. I know the impact of it in Athenry, and the Minister knows the story there, where we have been promised a PSO bus service for the past two years since the previous service ended. We still do not have that bus service.

We have been told that the 6.50 a.m. train, the only early morning train service at around that time between Athenry and Galway, is ending in six weeks' time at the end of July due to a lack of funding. Athenry is a large and growing town with a population of over 5,000 people. We have Dexcom now and up and running in the town, and many people commute in and out of Galway city. There are serious problems on rail services, with dangerous overcrowding at peak times.

We are being left waiting for these services. We are being told that the money is not there for the new bus services or to maintain this vital, early morning train service. There is no justification for us being left to wait any longer. I presented the Minister with a petition signed by 1,700 people within Athenry calling for these services to be maintained. Will the Minister ensure that that happens?

The 6.50 a.m. service is not going. Let us be clear on that. I know that the Deputy has been running a bit of a campaign locally. The 6.50 a.m. train service will be retained; end of story.

What I was trying to explain in my answer was that we got a big uplift in PSO funding. For the past five years in the Department of Transport, a big supplementary budget was requested at the end of the year to basically backfill new services. I did not want to do it that way, which is why we got a big uplift - a 42% increase - in the PSO allocation to stabilise those services across this year. We are now entering into the annual Estimates process, and I will obviously be looking for additional funding in that space to provide those new services that many Deputies are asking for and that I am looking for in my area, but we need them to be set up on a sustainable footing. We have managed to do that this year. There are resource constraints too, but this year is a stabilisation year. Even though we are seeing increasing passenger numbers, which is great, I want to provide additional services, and that is why we are entering the Estimates process shortly to provide additional funds next year to roll out new services. This year has been a year to stabilise the services that we have added to already. I have taken on board a lot of the different feedback I have got from Deputies about specific services and that will be in the NTA service plan.

I welcome the Minister's commitment on the 6.50 a.m. train. I ask that that be communicated to the NTA and Irish Rail as well, that clarity is provided to them on that. The responses I am getting have not reflected that until now but I welcome the Minister's comments on the matter today. If additional funding is forthcoming, of course that will be very welcome as well but my question is on when that will happen. In terms of Athenry, we have been waiting two years for that promised bus service. The NTA says that while it does not have any additional funding, it cannot implement that service. My big question, then, is: when that will happen? It is urgent for Athenry and, I am sure, for many other areas across the State where there are real constraints in terms of public transport capacity. I urge the Minister to ensure that this happens very quickly. The NTA wants to be able to provide more services. We all know that public transport has become increasingly popular but people want to be able to rely on it and they should be supported to do so. We need the commitment from the Government and, crucially, the funding to do that. I ask the Minister to provide clarity on when we can expect that.

I have spoken on the record of the House about the 6.50 a.m. train. The Deputy has raised it. Deputy Albert Dolan has raised it with me as well. That service is being retained, and I will relay that information. I am not sure how it got to the stage where there was uncertainty around it.

The broader point, which I have explained, is that about €1.6 billion is the operational cost of our public transport network across the board, most of that being PSO and fares. That is what it costs to run what we have, which is a greatly expanded public transport service, including Local Link services, trains and buses, right the way through our whole network. What I am doing now with the Ministers of State, Deputies Buttimer and Canney, is entering into the Estimates process for next year. Now that we have stabilised an increased service, which is good, and we have seen significant increases, we have a much higher base. We will seek additional funds for 2027 in order that we can roll out those additional services in 2027, subject to the NTA's service delivery plan. That is my intention.

Can the Minister give me an update on the Local Link 199 service and when it is due to start? It was actually meant to start last September. A bus has been purchased for it. Drivers are in place. The community really needs this bus service up and running. There is very much a lack of clarity because the Government says one thing and the NTA says the other. Can we have a start date for this service this morning?

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue again. I know there is a campaign on the ground supported by her. This is an important service that we want to get into use. I mentioned in my previous answer that this year has been a year to ensure that we got an increase in the PSO funding, which is very significant.

There has been considerable investment in services throughout the country under the Connecting Ireland Rural Mobility Plan. I think everyone is agreed that has been a real success. I have met many of the Local Link services across the country. The plan is improving how rural communities access public transport. I am pleased to state that passengers are responding to this continued investment, with TFI Local Link services recording a combined 6.97 million passenger journeys just last year, marking a record and a 19% increase on the previous year. That is just short of 7 million journeys.

In counties Wicklow, Carlow and Kilkenny, funding increased by 25% between 2024 and 2025 to over €4.6 million, boosting passenger numbers by 81%. A great example of this can be seen in route 183, which was enhanced from Arklow to Sallins. The enhanced route offers connectivity to Avoca, Rathdrum, Rathnew, Wicklow, Roundwood and Laragh and improved connections to regional public transport, including a morning connection to Arklow.

The PSO allocation, as I mentioned earlier, has risen to €940 million. That is 43% up on 2025's allocation. I want that on a sustainable footing; I do not want to have to go back looking for supplementary funding every year. That is a record level of funding we have provided and that underpins the new routes we have brought forward. It is a priority to roll out the 199 service, which is part of the NTA's service plan. The service is subject to the same considerations around funding.

To be straight, I expect that, as part of the Estimates process, with the additional funding we will receive, routes like the 199 service will operate from early next year.

I thank the Minister but that response just is not good enough. It just does not cut it. This service was to start last September. People have been relying on it. They have been making life decisions - dropping out of college, not able to get jobs in other parts - because they are relying on this service to go from, say, Roundwood to Bray. They were told it would happen in September. I am glad to hear the Minister say that it should happen from next January but what people need is an actual date. We have some members of the Government saying that an announcement was to be made last week and the NTA says there is no funding for this. There is a complete lack of clarity. This service needs to start at least in September because people in those areas cannot get to college or get to many of the schools they need to get to. To say now that there will be another six months' delay, following a year's delay, is just not good enough.

I have outlined that this is an important service for people. I have outlined what has been done in just the past two years in relation to Local Link services in Wicklow. I think everyone acknowledges that there has been a significant increase. This route, this service, is a priority. I want to see it in place as soon as we can. I am trying to give a realistic timeframe for its implementation because the Deputy is right that people need certainty around it. They do not need to be told it might be next week and next week and next week. What I and the Minister of State, Deputy Buttimer, have been able to do is significantly increase the funding for these types of services to get this onto a sustainable footing, with a 42% increase and record public transport passenger numbers right the way across the country and continued growth. I want to grow that further. We are seeking additional funding for next year to roll out services like the 199. If I get additional funds this year - and it is an if - any of the services that we can roll out additionally we will do this year. I am trying to give the Deputy a realistic timeframe for her constituents. I am confident that we will be able to get this up and running early next year. We will be in our Estimates negotiations pretty soon. I want to get additional funding for that. We are looking at how that funding is made up between PSO and fares to be able to deliver new services like this, and the Deputy is right that people are responding to it.

I do acknowledge that the Minister is trying to give a realistic date. I think that has been part of the problem: that people have been waiting week by week for this service to be rolled out. The difficulty, however, is that I was told in May last year that this service was funded, that the money was there for it. It was tendered and it was contracted. There is a bus sitting in Clonshaugh in Dublin empty, not running, waiting to be used on this service. Four drivers have been hired for this service. Everything is ready to go, and I do not understand how that funding is no longer there. I know the Minister is saying that he is trying to stabilise funding this year and next year and that new services will come in but this service was promised. Because we are coming into the start of a new school year and a new college year, I ask that the Minister try to find that funding for just four months of the year to get this running. It is ready to go. Literally, the bus is sitting there. I ask the Minister to try to find that funding to bridge that gap.

I know people have been told this is funded. I know that the bus is purchased. People have been employed. If we can get it started earlier, we will do so. I will go back and specifically ask why that was advised previously. What the Minister of State, Deputy Buttimer, and I have tried to do - and I think we have done it pretty well - is to get that big uplift so we are starting from a higher base and then we can really be sustainable. As to what happened over the past five years, it was great to see the increases in services but there was no certainty around any of them-----

Correct.

-----because it was just a matter of going in every year for additional moneys towards the end of the year. I will specifically and personally check this one out and I will revert to the Deputy. I am trying to give a realistic timeline and, in fairness, she has accepted that. If it can be done sooner, we will do it sooner because I know the bus has been purchased. Let us see what we can do in that regard and I will come back to the Deputy directly.

Deputy O'Hara, are you taking Deputy Daly's questions?

Yes.

I ask the Minister to provide an update on the replacement of the State's rail traffic management system; to provide an updated timeline for delivery; the projected costs for this; and to make a statement on the matter.

The National Train Control Centre building was completed in November 2022, on time and within budget, despite significant disruption to the construction sector throughout the Covid pandemic. While the building today houses some signalling operations and Iarnród Éireann staff, as well as approximately 100 personnel of An Garda Síochána overseeing communications in the Dublin metropolitan region, bringing the centre into full operation has been delayed by slower-than-projected progress in developing and rolling out the new traffic management system, which is the software that integrates a range of complex railway systems, such as signalling and communications.

Taxpayers and train users are rightly concerned about this delay as I am too, I assure the Deputy. In my capacity as Minister, I have met with Indra, the contractor delivering the traffic management system. I met them last August and again in January of this year.

On both occasions, I expressed my clear dissatisfaction with the state of progress and emphasised the importance of bringing the project to a successful conclusion as quickly as possible.

A re-baselined programme was agreed between Iarnród Éireann, the NTA and Indra in November 2024, breaking the project into eight discrete commissioning phases to improve deliverability and realise benefits incrementally. The contractor delivered software to Iarnród Éireann in mid-April to support the planned implementation of commissioning phase 1 on the Rosslare line for early next year. A three-month software testing period is now ongoing. Decisions on software acceptance and future commissioning phases will be taken in mid-July, the middle of next month.

Given issues in terms of project delivery, I understand that the board of Iarnród Éireann is also considering potential options for the future delivery of the project. I await its recommendations, which I have not received yet. In advance of the conclusion of software testing and consideration by the Iarnród Éireann board, it would be premature to discuss schedule and cost implications for the project because I do not have that information yet.

The €50 million that has been written off on this failed traffic management system represents a shocking waste of public money. The information given to the transport committee last week by Irish Rail showed that, for years, Iarnród Éireann staff expressed concerns about the ability of the contractor, Indra, to deliver this project. Despite these concerns, millions of euro continued to be put into this project. It demonstrates a real failure in project oversight.

I understand that, in mid-2025, Iarnród Éireann recommended to the NTA that the contract be terminated due to the ongoing delivery concerns, yet that contract is still in place. The Minister mentioned that he had met the contractor. I know the Department has been kept updated on this. Why was a stop not put to this contract, given all the evidence that Indra was failing to deliver it? What has the Minister done to ensure that costs are kept under control to avoid this waste of money? What is going to happen to this contract going forward, and how will the Minister ensure that costs are kept under control?

It is a very important system. We need this system in place. It is not a question of just pulling the plug on it. It has to be managed through. I have said very clearly to Indra myself that I am most unhappy with the manner in which this is being delivered and the delays in the system.

In relation to the write-down amount, I note that the asset value of the national train control centre, NTCC, is also considered in the CIÉ Group accounts for 2025. These accounts were received by my Department on 18 May and are currently being reviewed in the Department and by financial advisers in NewERA, and I expect to receive them shortly. I have not got them yet. I want to look into that in detail. It is my intention to bring the accounts to the Government and have them laid before the Oireachtas in the coming weeks.

Fundamentally, though, and regardless of who delivers this system, we need it. It is important for signalling and safety. The manner in which it is being brought about is far from acceptable, and that is putting it mildly. I am acutely conscious that the money we invest on behalf of our people has to be invested correctly and projects like this have to be delivered on time.

When I have further details on this, I will come back to the House. The accounts will be laid before the Oireachtas shortly.

It is a very important project. It is clear from the evidence that Iarnród Éireann provided that the failure to deliver the system now risks the possibility of disruption to rail services. A sum of €50 million is an enormous amount of money. We just had a discussion about the lack of funding that was available for new public transport services, and €50 million would make a huge difference there and right across the public transport system in terms of the constraints that exist. The Minister needs to ensure that the costs are brought back under control, and that there is no risk to the safe operation of the rail network. The Minister should provide clarity on how we have got to this point and why this lack of oversight has been allowed to happen, as well as on what his own role has been in terms of oversight here.

Indra is also the contractor responsible for the delivery of the contactless payments on the public transport system, as part of next-generation ticketing. The cost of that programme is up to €269 million. Will the Minister confirm what actions he is taking to oversee that project as well?

We are on track to deliver contactless payments. I have met Indra specifically about the contactless payments. That is critical for the public transport offering that we have across the country. Real-time testing rolls out on a phased basis next year, leading to a phased roll-out from 2028. That is a very intricate system. It has to operate in tandem with Leap as well, so we have to operate dual systems.

On this specifically, I want to be clear that from a rail safety perspective, contingency plans are in place to mitigate the impact of delays on the traffic management system. To safeguard the signalling resilience of the rail network, I approved an additional allocation of €5.7 million in May to enable Iarnród Éireann to commence additional signalling works to increase operational resilience within the greater Dublin area, the busiest part of our rail network.

When I have the accounts, when they are back from NewERA and that work is done, I will be assessing them. I do not micromanage every agency's budget. That is not my role. The NTA and Iarnród Éireann are supposed to manage that appropriately. I take this very seriously, though. I will be looking at the accounts when I receive them. I will be bringing them to the Cabinet. The figure that has been put out there may not be the figure. That is from what I have been told. That will be laid before the Oireachtas and it would be a good opportunity for the transport committee to further interrogate it as well. The main thing is we need the system delivered.

We are about to start MetroLink out in Dublin north. MetroLink to the south west would be another transformational project. I welcome the Deputy’s question on this. If we want people choosing public transport instead of cars, which they are in many areas whether for cost, congestion or climate reasons, we need to provide an integrated transport network that lets people travel throughout the city. It is for this reason that we do not try to bring forward rail lines or routes in isolation but use the Greater Dublin Area Transport Strategy 2022-2042 to inform planning and development of public transport infrastructure in Dublin, including metro lines.

As the Deputy knows, the NTA has statutory responsibility for the transport strategy and must review it every six years, meaning that the next review is due to be concluded by 2028. As part of this review, the NTA will reassess the need for additional metro lines, among other transport options, in the greater Dublin area. This review will consider updated travel demand forecasts as well as changes in land use and spatial planning policies. This background analytical work is expected to commence over the next year. The feasibility study for a metro to south-west Dublin will be undertaken as part of this broader strategic review process. The Deputy will, I hope, understand that this approach will help ensure that it is considered in an integrated and holistic manner, alongside wider transport and spatial planning objectives for the greater Dublin area.

The projects we are delivering now include DART+ South West and DART+ West, DART+ Coastal North, the MetroLink and the extension to Luas lines, which we are doing at Luas Finglas.

As Deputy has noted, the programme for Government includes a commitment to undertake a feasibility study for a metro south west in Dublin. We will do that. The operative railway order for MetroLink was secured in January 2026. With this key milestone now achieved, attention is turning to the preparation of the review of the strategy. On this basis, I look forward to the upcoming review of the transport strategy with a specific focus on this potential new MetroLink line.

I thank the Minister. Getting MetroLink built and even getting it started in earnest will be a fantastic legacy for him as a Minister for Transport. He will have the full support of the Labour Party and, I think, others in opposition in getting that done in as speedy a manner as possible. We know how vital it is for our city. I am asking that he does not just stop when he gets to Charlemont. We know these tunnel-boring machines are going to be in the ground. I ask that the line be continued on to Dublin South-West through Rathmines, Terenure, Rathfarnham, Knocklyon, Firhouse and Tallaght. There is a group in the Public Gallery from St. Colmcille's in Knocklyon. Maybe by the time they are my age, the line might actually be built.

This is not a new proposal. It is something Deputy Bacik has been requesting for a long time, as has the Metro South West Group. I understand that it needs to be done in a planned, integrated and sustainable manner. It makes sense to us that a line would not stop in the middle of the city but would continue out, and that this should be done in as efficient a manner as possible.

It is a very good point. This year has been really significant in the delivery of metro. We have our full railway order and clean planning permission. It is out to tender and some of the enabling works have started already in the Swords area, with the realignment of the roads, and construction is to start next year.

On a MetroLink to Dublin South-West, I fully get what the Deputy is saying. This will be a six-to-eight-year build. While that is happening, this review will have been undertaken. MetroLink will be the first real integrated system. When it comes into the St. Stephen's Green area, it will integrate with heavy rail, intercity rail, DART and the Luas.

There are major opportunities to expand further. The Deputy can be assured that there will be a specific focus on this as part of the review. That review scoping work will start next year, with the review to be undertaken in 2028. We will start building MetroLink next year and that will be rolled out on a phased basis. The review will happen. I know the Deputy will continue to advocate for it and he will have my support.

That is great. I thank the Minister for giving clear timelines. That will be much appreciated in the area. Dublin South-West has historically been underserved by public transport. We have a Luas line that starts in Tallaght but conspicuously avoids the rest of the constituency. We support the roll-out of BusConnects and would like to see that done as quickly as possible. There are some issues with routes, but broadly speaking we support that. As the Minister knows, no growing modern city can survive on bus routes alone. It requires light rail or a metro. Given the road space constraints in this particular area of the city, extending the metro through the city centre to Dublin South-West would make sense. As I said, a previous feasibility study ended the line in Knocklyon. It would make more sense for the line to go all the way to Tallaght whether has been a huge increase in population and new housing is being built all the time.

This is a very exciting time for public transport. This five-year period is a delivery period of major projects that people have heard and spoken about, including the expansion of the DART and, as I mentioned, DART+ West, DART+ South-West, DART+ Coastal North, Cork light rail, phase 1 of Cork commuter rail, which is concluding, and the commencement of MetroLink. These are transformational projects that are badly needed. A lot of them will deal with an infrastructural deficit that we have carried for a long number of years.

Thankfully, when we provide public transport options people use them. I welcome the support of the Labour Party for this project. Over the next year it is important that the Deputy and others in Dublin South-West and beyond engage with the NTA through the process of that review. We are commencing the construction and delivery of MetroLink, which will enable us to deliver further extensions to the MetroLink line, like what is being done with the Luas. I intend to bring Luas Finglas forward. Under the previous Government, the project was due in the mid-2030s. I think we can start construction in 2028. I use it as an example because it is an existing line that is being extended. The same can apply to this.

I want to again raise with the Minister an issue that is close to my heart and the hearts of residents across Dublin 15, namely, the provision of the N8 orbital bus service, a new BusConnects service linking Blanchardstown with Dublin Airport. I want to tie down a commitment the Minister made on a previous occasion that the route will be up and running by the end of this year.

That is what we are hoping to do. I want to again make it clear that the NTA is responsible for the provision, scheduling and timetabling of public transport services nationwide. The Deputy knows that. It works with operators to deliver these services.

I mentioned in response to earlier questions that we have secured a significant uplift in PSO funding, a 42% increase. I do not want to get back into supplementary budgets every year to provide services. We need certainty. The N8 route is planned to be implemented as part of phase 9 of the BusConnects Dublin network redesign programme. The exact implementation date for the route will be determined by funding provisions and operational readiness.

The route will run between Blanchardstown and Clongriffin via Dublin Airport. It will be critical to the Deputy's constituents. When the route is launched it will allow seamless and easy interchange with the W4 service which runs from Tallaght to Blanchardstown. I have answered the Deputy's question on a previous occasion. As soon as we can get funding for the route it will be a priority project. We have increased the funding. I still think we will be on track for later this year or early next year to roll out the service. If we can do it any sooner we will.

There has been a significant increase in public transport use. We have substantially expanded the service. Blanchardstown and the Dublin 15 area is a major growth area. It is in the service plan. We want to deliver it. As I have said before, I would like to deliver it by the end of the year. My position on that has not changed.

As the Minister knows, this route is long delayed. When I contacted the NTA in 2024, I was told it would be in place in 2025. When I asked about it in 2025, I was told it would be in place in 2026. When I asked about it earlier this year, I was told it would be in place in 2027. The Minister and I have discussed this route in the Chamber a number of times. He gave a strong commitment last time in terms of having the route delivered this year. I received a written reply from the Minister's Department on the same day which hedged somewhat and referred to 2026 or maybe 2027.

I am a bit concerned about what the Minister has said because I do not feel he was quite as committed to getting the route delivered this year. He raised a point about delivery of funding. I know he does not run the opening of individual routes day by day, but he is responsible for the money. I am unclear why the Minister is asking whether the money will be ready this year. He is the person with responsibility for whether there is money to deliver the N8 from Blanchardstown to Dublin Airport in 2026 to which he has committed.

To be fair to the Deputy, he has advocated for this. He mentioned he has been asking this question since 2024. The route was planned and approved before I came in as Minister for Transport. Having said that, in this year's budget we were able to secure €1.6 billion to run our public transport network. We have about €960 million in PSO, up 42% on the previous year, which gives us a much higher base.

I want to deliver the bus route this year. I have said that before. I do not have an exact date. As is the case with everything, it is subject to funding. In the Estimates process this year, I want to take another step up so that we can provide more new services across the country. This year has been very much about stabilising. I know how important the N8 is to the area. It will be a critical link and will also link to the W4 route. I will keep the Deputy fully informed as to the date when we can get the service.going. It is still my intention to get that started this year.

The ongoing delay in the delivery of the N8 is emblematic of wider delays in the delivery of bus services. I refer in particular to my constituency. The B spine route has been delayed. A judicial review is ongoing and I understand is that is coming to an end. Large numbers of new houses are being built. The Minister and I were at the opening of new estates over the past number of years. Additional bus service in places like Hollystown, Tyrrelstown and Kilmartin Grove are important in terms of dealing with the housing crisis in our country, but those areas are not seeing an increase in the level of services and capacity. There is already pressure to extend the N8 to cover areas like Hollystown and Hollywoodrath so that people have links to the airport and other areas of high employment. Again, it comes down to the question of money and providing financial backing to open these new services.

It does come down to money. The Deputy is absolutely right. When I came into the Department of Transport we were very short of money, including PSO funding. Over the term of the previous Government, every year there was a supplementary budget, that is, additional moneys added at the end of every year. We could not plan new services properly. My big focus this year was securing an increase of 43%, up to €940 million. That is a much higher base which means we move into next year with a higher level of funding to provide new services.

I know the area the Deputy has spoken of very well. As is the case in my area, it is a major growth area in the Fingal region providing thousands of new homes, something the Deputy and I want to do and worked hard to do. We are seeing more of that happen. Additional bus routes are critical in those areas that are wholly dependent on bus services to get into town. As I said, not for fear of repetition, it is my intention, working with the NTA, to get the route started this year.

I want to highlight the urgent need for increased investment in public transport, specifically in north Dublin. I have raised the roll-out of contactless payments and how it has been delayed until 2028 and the need for accurate live updates for when lifts are unavailable for people with mobility or disability needs. I want to ask the Minister about more frequent services, more carriages and the timeline for the roll-out of contactless payments.

Our Department, the NTA and service operators are working hard to deliver improvements to public transport services, including contactless payments and late-night services. We have delivered significant improvements over the past number of years, which should be pointed out. I thank the Deputy for his advocacy and commitment to enhanced public transport. The continued roll-out of the BusConnects network redesign has given passengers across the greater Dublin area more late-night options that ever before. We now have 15 24-hour bus services operating seven days a week across the city.

That means the vast majority of the suburbs now have access to a daily round-the-clock bus service. It is a significant change from five years ago, when there was no 24-hour provision at all.

In addition, Dublin Bus operates 12 nitelink services between midnight and 4 a.m. on Friday and Saturday nights, linking the city centre to suburban areas during peak late-night demand. Most other Dublin Bus routes run until 11.30 p.m. daily. Go-Ahead Ireland operates 35 routes across Dublin, Kildare and Wicklow, with most running from morning until midnight. We also have the rail and Luas services running at capacity, with additional late-night trains provided, where possible, during peak periods.

We are acutely aware of the benefits these services bring. As the Minister said, it is about reliability and putting public service transport on a sustainable footing. The Deputy's question captures a fundamental shift we must engage in, as a society and on the part of service operators and providers. That shift relates to a movement towards early-morning and late-night working. We must think differently to address the needs of those workers, including workers in the night-time economy. The Deputy's question is a very pertinent one for all of us involved in this area. We have seen change, and more change is needed. I will say more about that in my supplementary response. The Deputy has asked a very good question.

My frustration with the current situation of ghost buses and infrequency of DART services certainly is one of the issues that got me involved in politics. I spoke this morning to a Clongriffin resident who had to run to the end of the platform and squeeze onto the train like a sardine to get to work. I understand there are restrictions on the lines in terms of the size of platforms and how many carriages can be installed but can the frequency of the service be increased? I know there is an unsolvable problem at Connolly Station but I have seen how efficiently run the transport system is in London. I do not have my head in the sky; I acknowledge we have a smaller population, that our country only recently became much wealthier and that we do not have the same infrastructure the UK has in place. However, we now have a lot more money and we have the ability and manpower to do this.

A concern is that even with MetroLink being rolled out, residents in north Dublin will still not be able to easily access the airport. The Minister of State will be well aware of the proposals for a monorail or a two-way system to connect the DART line to the airport, in conjunction with the metro, as an alternative solution. Will he comment on that?

The points the Deputy has raised are fundamental to our philosophy in terms of where we want to go with public transport. I was reflecting on that the other day when I was at Cork Airport, where there is an issue with the bus service. The Deputy is right that we need to think differently. The existing transport provision timetable has changed. The Minister is very much committed to bringing new electric and battery-electric trains on stream. Testing of that fleet is under way and we will see an enhanced offering.

The Deputy's fundamental point is about our relationship, as a country, with public transport. There are exciting things happening in Cork with the Luas and commuter rail service. We have seen that if we plan and take on board some of what the Deputy has articulated, we can get it right. The Minister, the Minister of State, Deputy Canney, and I are very much committed to what he is advocating this morning. It is about getting people out of their car and onto a bus or train. As the Minister noted, we are seeing record numbers using public transport.

I hope those record numbers continue to rise with the quick roll-out of contactless payment and better accessibility. I welcome the engagement on those matters.

I also welcome the increase in the upper age limit for school bus drivers. The community bus service in Dublin has been lost. The No. 88 bus used to be a feeder bus service for Howth and Sutton DART stations. It did a constant loop of Howth Peninsula. Restoring that route would offer safe and convenient transport for families, for children travelling to GAA and football games and to school and for people going to the graveyard in Howth. I ask that the Department give consideration to that. It should also look at providing small-scale bus links within the BusConnects system. In such local micro-systems, the bus is a community service where users see the same people every day. That has been lost in north Dublin. Bringing it back would really benefit people.

I will take the Deputy's points back to the Department. As Minister of State with responsibility for rural transport, I am very aware of the success of Local Link services. There has been an exponential growth in the numbers using those services all across the country. Fundamentally, the Minister, the Minister of State, Deputy Canney, and I are all about ensuring sustainability and stabilisation to enable continued growth. The Deputy is right that the numbers using public transport will rise. The Minister made the point earlier that we are at a pivotal point in the development of our transport system. We welcome the growing demand but, as the Deputy has articulated, it has implications.

What we need to do now is take on the winnable parts of public transport provision. We must get rid of the urban congestion we see in many parts of our cities and towns. Resilience and reliability must be built into public transport. I look forward to working with the Deputy on these matters. I have taken notes on what he said and I will take them back to both the NTA and the Department.