If the position has changed, it will be good news.

I ask the Deputy to come back to me and let me know.

The Deputy is right that antisocial behaviour on our public transport systems is a real scourge. I fully recognise that those who regularly use and work within our public transport network are directly impacted by any safety or security incidents that may occur on the network. I reassure the Deputy that Dublin Bus and Go-Ahead Ireland both take the safety and security of passengers and staff very seriously and work with the NTA and An Garda Síochána to promote order and safety on board their vehicles. Each of the o…

The Deputy's example is very good and an important one. I am aware of the situation in Bawnogue. In January of this year there were a number of incidents whereby drivers did not go through certain estates for fear of some of the issues I mentioned earlier. There was a real threat of detour of all these routes. I am glad that my understanding is that that has not happened. That is primarily because of the operators, trade unions, An Garda Síochána and local community people coming together, as has happened in other …

I do not disagree with the Deputies. To give some reassurance as to what Dublin Bus is doing, each bus, as I said, is equipped with CCTV. It also has access to central control, An Garda Síochána, both radio audible and silent alarms so they can get back up. It is also engaged a lot in the community forums Deputy Ward mentioned. It does that in a progressive way as well as in the school education programmes. It is doing a lot of the pre-emptive work the Deputy mentioned in getting in there early. Also, the NTA organ…

I reassure the Deputy that I and my Department have regular engagement with Bus Éireann at all levels, including at CEO level, on issues such as governance, finance, investment, safety and service provision. I last met the chairwoman of Bus Éireann on 27 September last. I am aware of the ongoing public transport service issues in Cork city and the negative impact they are having on the travelling public. Bus Éireann has advised that these issues are due largely to congestion, traffic delays and roadworks in the cit…

We need more drivers. The key thing we can do to help the bus service in Cork and around the country is to deliver the BusConnects network because no amount of drivers will be able to work-----

We need to look at that. As I said earlier, we have carried out two years of consultation. In my mind, there is broad political support for the BusConnects network. In terms of what we need to do, I would look to accelerate that in order to get it into planning this year rather than next. That is one of the ways we could accelerate it. That will involve pushing all of the levers flat out to get things done. The programme will still have to go through planning and construction. During Covid, Cork rearranged a lot of…

The Deputy is absolutely correct: the bus service in Cork has to become more dependable. That requires new investment in drivers, as well as new buses and facilities. It also requires us to improve the conditions in which buses operate so that those drivers are not stuck in traffic. That is my key point. Delivery for the likes of BusConnects corridors is frustratingly slow, but it is the right way to go and we should work collectively to see how we could accelerate that because, ultimately, that is the best solutio…

The DART+ programme is a key programme of projects which will significantly expand the DART train service across the greater Dublin area. The programme comprises the DART+ fleet project, as well as various infrastructure projects. The NTA, in consultation with Iarnród Éireann, is progressing these projects which are at various stages of planning and development. In December 2021, following Government approval, a major fleet procurement framework was awarded to Alstom for the manufacture and delivery of up to 750 ne…

I am not aware of the difficulties of the turnback in Malahide but I will try to find out about them and speak to the Deputy after the debate. There are a lot of different moving parts. The trains are coming. We need to determine the things we need to get right to accelerate the roll-out of the project. I spoke to officials about this yesterday. I question why it takes us so long to test and trial between the arrival of a train and its deployment. I have asked my officials to examine that. We obviously have to make…

I agree with both Deputies. I was not forgetting north Kildare and the DART+ South West. A lot of projects are coming, and they will get through planning. I am confident that we are going to see them start to come through the planning system now. We must then immediately start thinking that now we have got them through planning, let us build. I will make one broader and much wider point about the reason why this strategically makes sense. We will be going into a review of the national planning framework and what we…

Deputy Griffin and I have had a discussion on this in the past, so I am particularly attentive to it. I do not believe I have been given the actual statistics on fatalities or injuries on the road. I will make sure that my officials deliver that to the Deputy later today. I apologise because that is not the answer with which I have been presented, which I only realised when we came in this morning. I want to refer to the improvements on the N86 between Tralee and Dingle, however. As the Deputy said, it is particula…

I agree with the Deputy. I know that road well. It is very important that if we start it and upgrade some sections that we complete it and do the entire project. My understanding is that we are committed and that the funding will be provided to do it on a phased basis. It would make no sense to improve safety on large sections only for people to suddenly come to a very poor section of the road. That is the intention. As the Deputy said, that connectivity is vitally important when people are out at the end of a peni…

It will be in the next week or two.

We were heartbroken this morning when we heard that news from County Carlow. It is devastating for their families. We pray for them and for the individual in hospital. That is why we have to do everything we can to try to reduce those instances and why we will invest to improve safety on our roads. I absolutely echo and agree with the Deputy's comments.

It is difficult; the reply looks like more than a minute's worth. I very much agree with the Deputy. Perhaps in the limited time I have, I could give some figures that I did not give earlier. That might answer the question in a way. This is part of the Supplementary Estimate I have but it is just to give an understanding of the figures. I will focus on the cost of public transport for one example because we were talking about that with regard to north Kildare and so on. The public service obligation spending on pub…

My position is that we have to support public service broadcasting and a whole range of media organisations in this country because in a world full of disinformation, fake news and conspiracy theories, it is important to have accurate, balanced and fair reporting. The Government will absolutely deliver a new format of broadcasting support and funding for such broadcasting and not just for RTÉ. That has been delayed and was delayed because of the events of last summer and leading into the autumn when there was contr…

-----is similarly, in my mind, having a significant impact on the independence and strength of Irish media.

Yes, we will resolve the funding issue. It is appropriate in my mind to do so when the various immediate governance issues in RTÉ have been addressed and resolved. We have to do it in a way whereby we do provide significant funding. If it comes from the Exchequer, it is still being paid by the Irish people. That money will possibly have to come from some other budget, be it social welfare, disability or wherever else. There is not a magic money tree so we have to make sure money is well spent and that we raise the …