Newcastle bus service
Deputy Higgins highlighted poor and unreliable public transport in Newcastle, including cancellation of an express route and a delayed orbital route. The Taoiseach said he would engage with the NTA and seek improvements.
I wish to raise the lack of public transport in Newcastle, which is a growing town. The 68 bus is the only bus that serves the village itself. It is the only form of public transport into the village. It runs only about once an hour and of late it has not been reliable. On top of that, the express route for commuters was cancelled earlier this year without any notice. According to the National Transport Authority, NTA, the long-promised orbital route, the main benefit of which is that it would link Newcastle to Hazelhatch train station and Maynooth University, is not going to happen according for the foreseeable future because of a bridge built in the 1700s. That is hardly an unforeseeable challenge. Peamount Healthcare and many other places in the area are under-served. Public transport has not kept pace with the growth in Newcastle and the growth of businesses. What can the Taoiseach do about this?
Comment on this
I thank the Deputy for raising the important issue of public transport in Newcastle and identifying the various routes. We will engage with the NTA and endeavour to get a response from it to see if the situation can be improved. Broadly speaking, there has been an increase in public transport provision. There has been an increase in resources for public transport across the board. We will follow through on the specific issues.