When Monsignor Horan showed vision, many, including the then leader of my party, did not listen to him. It shows the importance of that airport in the west. Last year saw an increase in passenger numbers at all regional airports, with numbers up by 13% to almost 3.5 million in Cork, by 9% to 2.3 million in Shannon, by 13% in Ireland West Airport and by 6% at Kerry Airport. At Donegal Airport, which nobody mentioned tonight, passenger numbers were up by 9%. If it were the case that we were all focusing on Dublin as …

Here is the point. Senators should not fall into the trap of blaming Government policy. They should look at what many of us have done and do. Senator Boyhan made a point and I will name Michael O'Leary of Ryanair. He has changed aviation-----

He has transformed it, but we cannot just bend the knee to him at every opportunity, as some airports on this island have done. We have to work to ensure we have balanced regional growth. I was in Frankfurt last week visiting Lufthansa with representatives of Cork Airport to do a new direct route from Cork to Frankfurt.

I am not taking the credit for it. We must all promote the routes and ensure we have the offering. It is not about Ibiza or Santa Ponsa, which are important, but about the lines or routes of quality. It is important that we stress that. I want to ensure we have balanced regional development, as does the Government and the Minister for Transport. Senator Collins is right that it is about an all-island initiative. That is why the Taoiseach, through the shared island initiative, is pushing Dublin to Derry links and I …

Hear, hear.

It is pronounced like "Aquinas".

I will have to bring the Acting Chair to Cork for some placename appreciation. I join with the Acting Chair in first welcoming Fr. Aquin Casey and Sr. Carmel. What the Acting Chair does not know is that Fr. Aquin was in my class in college. I also welcome the ladies from Ballyphehane Day Care Centre. It is a phenomenal centre in Cork city. It does huge work. I also welcome the ladies from Ballyvolane and the members from the Mayfield Chit Chat group. I have a number of past pupils in the group. All of the guests ar…

We will not mention football after last Saturday. We have the hurling next Sunday against Senator Murphy's team. I want to mention to Senator McCarthy to mind the front gate and keep it painted. It is very important. I welcome Fr. Aquin as well. He is a good friend of mine since 1984. It is a great day to be in the Seanad to welcome a great group from Cork. For anyone who has not been in Cork, the Ballyphehane Day Care Centre is a phenomenal place that does great work. As they also do in Mayfield. I taught in Bally…

In the context of a timeframe, the NTA is currently reviewing the dispatch licensing regulatory framework and it hopes to have new regulations prepared by quarter 4. As the Senator said, we have a lot done and we have more to do. We have given a variety of grants, through the NTA, to drivers looking to upgrade and purchase new vehicles. As I said on the local area hackney regulations, we have changed that model of delivery just this year. There is a whole new suite of proposals. We hope this will ensure more people…

We are the best county, a Cheann Comhairle.

Gabhaim buíochas le gach ball a bhí páirteach sa díospóireacht thábhachtach seo. Guím Bród sona ar gach duine. Gabhaim buíochas leis an gCeann Comhairle as ceannaireacht a thabhairt do gach Ball den Teach an tseachtain seo caite mar gheall ar cheiliúradh Bhród. I thank the Ceann Comhairle for her leadership as the custodian of the Chair of the House, for being impartial and for being a leader in building an equal and inclusive Houses of the Oireachtas. It does mean something and it is important. I thank all Members…

Correct.

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 hav…

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. T…

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 …

He is going to leave the Chamber after the question.

I thank Deputy O'Rourke for raising this matter which I am taking on behalf of the Minister of State, Deputy Canney. The NTA has statutory responsibility for securing the provision of public passenger transport services nationally and for the scheduling and timetabling of these services, in conjunction with the relevant transport operators. The services are subsidised and the NTA is responsible for the routes, fares and shared systems. In the case of route 103 serving Dublin to Ratoath via Ashbourne, Bus Éireann is…

First of all, it is not acceptable that there is that level of frustration and lateness for work. I accept that the issue is there. As I outlined in my initial response to the Deputy, there is engagement with Bus Éireann. We need to ensure that the frustration of people is now replaced by delivery of services. That is why the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, the Minister of State, Deputy Canney, and I have been engaged fully with the NTA in terms of the review of not just the service, with the provision of staff in terms …

I do not have the information the Deputy requested but I will ask my officials to communicate with him. The Minister, Deputy O'Brien, the Minister of State, Deputy Canney, and I, as a Department, have asked that a report on the route be directly given back to us. As the Deputy said, it is a critically important route. What is happening is unacceptable. We have been very clear on that. For us, punctuality is critical, Reliability is equally important. We, as Ministers, and the Department are very much of the view th…

I thank Deputy McGuinness for raising this matter. For context, Bus Éireann operates both PSO services and Expressway intercity services. The latter operate on a commercial basis and do not receive any State subvention. We are aware that Bus Éireann recently announced the withdrawal of some services which operate under its Expressway banner. Deputy McGuinness referenced route 4, the Waterford via Carlow service, in this regard. The point the Deputy makes reflects a lot of the frustration experienced by people. He r…