Dáil Éireann debate -
Thursday, 19 Sep 2024

Vol. 1058 No. 2

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate

Public Transport

Deputy Duncan Smith

I raise the shambles of the timetable change in the northern commuter line implemented by Irish Rail in two stages over the past three weeks. We, the commuters of north County Dublin, Fingal and indeed some of the Minister of State's constituents, are not happy. They are experienced commuters used to timetable changes throughout the years. This has been an absolute shambles for a number of reasons. There are major gaps in the peak-time service, ranging from 26- to 27-minute gaps between 7.45 a.m. and 8.10 a.m. to 45- to 46-minute gaps between 8.25 a.m. and 9.05 a.m. As anyone who uses public transport to go any distance knows, in the morning, at peak times especially, five-minute segments are huge. Five-minute segments to get children ready for preschool and school and get yourself ready for work are massive. Due to the huge gaps in the peak-time schedule, people have to move their schedules in the morning earlier to catch an earlier train, which I will come back to, or later. One benefit of catching an earlier train, if things were working properly, would be that might get you to work earlier. That is not happening. I have received emails from residents having to get earlier trains but because of blockages at Connolly Station and being delayed outside it and the trains terminating at Connolly Station when they used to go to Pearse Station - two changes impacting them - they are actually later for work than they were before. I am aware of workers on warnings for punctuality, new college students missing first days and students going to school in the city missing classes due to this. Earlier trains are not delivering people earlier; they are actually delivering them later.

All of this is to facilitate an hourly service to Belfast. We know there is congestion on the northern line and that it is under massive stress. There is a distractionary debate about future plans which may involve a shuttle service from Howth to Howth Junction. My concern is that distracts from a fundamental issue which is capacity on the northern line. Some 330,000 people live in Fingal. There are more in east County Meath, County Louth and Dublin city - all up that line. We need a four-track solution. Before we get there - it is miles away - we need a timetable that works for the majority of commuters who need to get to Dublin city centre for work and education. They need a frequent, reliable service that will get them there on time. This timetable is regressive. People are delayed, not getting in on time and are forced into even more congested trains than before. It is not working on any level. People in a town like Donabate, for example, are highly reliant on the train because the 33D bus service is not sufficient to get people into the city centre. They are now returning to the car. That is probably the most regressive thing that could happen from a public transport and climate point of view. People do not want to do that but they are forced to due to the new timetable.

Minister of State at the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media (Deputy Thomas Byrne)

I thank Deputy Duncan Smith for raising this topic. I am taking this Topical Issue on behalf of the Minister for Transport, Deputy Eamon Ryan. Deputy Smith is right; quite a number of my constituents who use Laytown, Drogheda, Stamullen and Gormanston stations are affected by this.

The Minister for Transport has responsibility for policy and overall funding in relation to public transport, but neither the Minister or his officials are involved in the day-to-day operation of public transport services. That rests with the National Transport Authority, NTA. That said, the Government is absolutely committed to ensuring all citizens have reliable and realistic sustainable mobility options, and public transport is a key deliverer of this goal. To support this under the budget a funding package of €613 million was secured for public service obligation and Local Link services. This package includes fare reductions, the extension of the young adult card on PSO and commercial bus services to include 24- and 25-year-olds, and the continuation of the 90-minute fare until the end of this year. Funding was also secured to support the continued roll-out of new and enhanced bus and rail services.

As the Deputy will be aware, the Government is strongly committed to improving public transport and is backing up that commitment with significant infrastructure investments across the network. This includes funding for initiatives such as the DART+ programme, the new DART+ fleet, the proposed replacement of the current enterprise fleet, and the introduction of an additional 41 intercity railcars. Residents who live along the Drogheda-Dublin line are receiving information about the public consultation and the planning process that is under way. A lot of work is about to happen to improve services.

Iarnród Éireann, in conjunction with the NTA, conducts an annual timetable review, with the most recent changes we all know about in north Dublin and east Meath entering into force on the 25 August. As the Deputy alluded to, these changes included extra services on the Belfast, Galway, Waterford, Cobh, and Midleton routes. The Belfast service impacts this particular line to facilitate an hourly frequency on the enterprise service from Dublin to Belfast and that can benefit some commuters in Drogheda as well.

As with all major rail timetable changes, Iarnród Éireann is required to closely monitors implementation to identify any issues that arise. Unfortunately, massive issues have arisen since the latest timetable has been in place. That has led to congestion in the Connolly Station area.

On foot of the identification of these issues a number of subsequent changes were made to the timetable on 16 September to help improve punctuality on the affected rail services. The most significant update is time changes mainly of between three and seven minutes on a range of services on the Maynooth and Drogheda lines, with some minor changes on other routes. Minor changes will also be in place on Sligo services and one of the M3 Parkway commuter services, with no changes to any Heuston services.

Iarnród Éireann should monitor closely the new timetable to identify any issues that may arise and listen strongly to what the Deputy said. Iarnród Éireann is reporting that at least the services seem to be keeping more to the timetable since 16 September, notwithstanding the other issues raised by him about the service in general.

There were some operational issues on 16 and 17 September as well and these issues particularly affected the evening peak service. I reassure the Deputy that the Department of Transport, the NTA, and Iarnród Éireann are working to ensure the best deployment of resources across the public transport network to match the demand of all of our constituents.

Deputy Duncan Smith

Nobody understands timetables and public transport efficiency than the users themselves. I am aware of the operational issues on Monday and Tuesday and there has been an increase in correspondence to my office since the Monday change as well, notwithstanding those operational issues.

Connolly Station has always been congested and it is getting worse. There are issues right down to Grand Canal Dock Station. These are knock-on impacts that only manifest themselves now that the timetable change has come into effect. When representing a commuter county that is trying its very best to get people out of cars and onto buses and trains, to have something like this happen is really regressive.

I was at Portmarnock Station last week and when there was a delay to the service, I saw people come back out off the track and get back into a car, or call a relative to get a car to bring them where they wanted to go. I witnessed that when I was out there with Councillor Brian McDonagh.

We have a problem on the northern commuter line. I am not convinced we will see much change. It will be a "Let's suck it and see" approach from Irish Rail and that is not good enough. We in north County Dublin are so vulnerable, as well in other places, in terms of public transport. Another impact we have is in a town such as Balrothery, which is not served by the rail line. It is only served by Bus Éireann, through the 101 route, and that route has a capacity issue now with people being left behind at the bus stop. Towns such as Balrothery, Donabate and all up and down the northern line are expanding. The existing service was under pressure and the changes have made the service worse while the population is increasing and due to further increase. The DART+ that is coming down the line will be a game-changer but it is a long way from being delivered and right now, workers and students are being delayed, commuters are frustrated and people are getting back into their cars.

Deputy Thomas Byrne

I assure the Deputy that the Minister for Transport and I recognise that transport connectivity is hugely important for people who live and work in Ireland.

What happened is unfortunate and it is not acceptable. There have been some improvements since the timetable changes on 16 September and I have listened to what the Deputy said. With regard to the restrictions between Drogheda and Connolly Station, we all know there is a single track each way with extremely limited options. Trains come into Connolly Station from Belfast, Drogheda, Dundalk, Howth and Malahide and others come in from Sligo, Longford and the local line from the M3 Parkway. Anyone who travels regularly on these trains knows the delays that are there before reaching Connolly Station. However, a railway order that has been granted for the provision of DART+ west, which will see the electrification of the line between Connolly Station and Maynooth, and that includes work at Connolly Station on platforms five, six and seven where the DARTs go from. That will provide more flexibility. There is also the DART+ north which is currently in the planning process. These changes will be happening, they need to happen and are badly needed. I agree with much of what Deputy Smith said and thank him for raising this issue in the House today.

Control of Dogs

An Cathaoirleach Gníomhach (Deputy Michael Creed)

The next topical issue is in the names of Deputies Hourigan and Andrews who will have two minutes each.

Deputy Neasa Hourigan

This is less of a speech than a plea and some questions and the plea would be that the Government delays the XL bully dogs ban because to implement it in the outlined timeline would be very dangerous. We are 12 days from the beginning of the XL bully dogs ban and not one local authority has received the full regulations; not one. They have not been sent them or emailed them. They have not seen them. We seem to be referencing the UK and Northern Ireland XL bully dog ban in the implementation of this law when it comes to characteristics but in lots of other ways we are not copying them at all.

We have placed a huge administrative and resource burden on local authorities but have only allocated €2 million to them for an ongoing and very serious cost. It is a vanishingly small amount. There is no clear outline of how the increased expenditure on administration and resources will be borne by the local authorities so I have some questions. Where local authorities will waive the surrender fee for a dog, which is more than €100 in most cases, will the Department reimburse them for that? Is the Minister aware that local authorities, in the absence of guidance from the Department, have been interpreting this as relevant to all restricted breeds, which means the average German shepherd family dog could be deemed as unsuitable for rehoming and out down with no options? There are no second chances here.

The key area I am genuinely worried about is that there is no meaningful involvement by the Garda in this process. Dog wardens will be given a point of contact but there is no guidance given either to the dog warden, the local authority or the gardaí themselves about what the responsibility of the Garda is. If someone came to my home and tried to take my beloved dog, who a lot of people would feel is like their family member, he or she would have quite the time of it and I am genuinely worried for people - that our local authority workers will be in danger.

Deputy Chris Andrews

Today I met representatives of Working Animal Guardians, which is a dog rescue group. They are not saying everything the Minister is doing is wrong. They agree with a lot of what the Minister is doing but believes the ban is completely unfair. Working Animal Guardians is a very committed, compassionate group, is very reasonable and has a huge amount of experience with dogs and with XL bully dogs, in particular. It is important to listen to groups such as this and not ignore the stakeholders, which the Minister has done.

The ban on XL bully dogs is causing panic and mayhem within dog rescue groups. A ban is too extreme. There are much more humane ways to deal with this. Thousands of restricted dogs could be killed as a result of this ban because XL bully dogs are not a breed; they are a type of dog, which has a variety of breeds.

Thousands of restricted dogs could be killed as a result of this ban because XLs are not a breed, they are a type of dog that is a variety of breeds. Therefore, deciding on which dog is killed is going to be subjective and arbitrary, and that is simply unacceptable. We need to see an amnesty, and we need to see a time extension so that these XL bullies can live out their natural lives and not be killed.

It is important to note that the mental health of those who are working in the dog rescue organisations is absolutely on the floor. These organisations and those volunteering and working in rescue groups are very committed to dog welfare, and now the Minister wants them to do the very opposite of what is in their nature, namely, to oversee the killing of dogs. So many staff are devastated by what is to come. What dog will be next on the ban? Ten years ago, there were calls for other dogs to be banned. Why is the Minister not investing in the education and training of dog owners?

Deputy Thomas Byrne

I want to thank the Deputies for raising this serious matter on the upcoming regulation on what are called the XL bully-type dogs, which I think are recognised in some countries as a breed, and in others may not be. That will come into effect on 1 October.

The Minister, Deputy Humphreys, announced a ban on the XL bully dogs in the interest of public safety and human safety following number of recent attacks. The XL bully was responsible for a number of attacks and killings in this country. If the Government does not take action now, the number of these dogs will grow. The fear, which I think is well founded, is that these attacks will become more frequent. It is the Government's strong view that Ireland should not be out of step with neighbouring jurisdictions in Northern Ireland and the UK on this matter.

The ban will be implemented in two stages. From 1 October, new regulations will prohibit the importing, breeding, selling and rehoming of XL bully-type dogs. From 1 February 2025 it will be illegal to own an XL bully without a certificate of exemption. The regulation will detail a system of certificates of exemption for owners of XL bully-type dogs who wish to keep their dogs. There will be a four-month period between 1 October 2024 and 31 January 2025 when these owners will be able to apply for a certificate of exemption in order to keep their XL bully-type dogs.

The application process for a certificate of exemption will be managed by local authorities. However, as previously announced in July, all owners of XL bully-type dogs will be required to license, microchip and neuter their dogs. Where a person does not hold a valid certificate of exemption after 1 February or have proof of an application for a certificate of exemption, the dog will be seized and thereafter may be euthanised by a veterinary officer on behalf of the local authority. The regulation will be enforced within the framework of the primary legislation, in this case, the Control of Dogs Act. In this context, the local authorities, through the dog warden service, will be responsible for enforcement.

Local authorities are also responsible for the recruitment of dog wardens, who are the authorised officers in the context of the Control of Dogs Act. The Minister, Deputy Humphreys, together with Government colleagues, recently announced funding of €2 million for local authorities to support the resourcing of dog warden services from 2025. The funding recognises the increased demand in the area of dog control and the need to ensure resources on the ground have enforced the pending ban on the XL bully dog.

Deputy Neasa Hourigan

I will reiterate that we are 12 days away and none of us has seen those regulations. That is why there is an urgency about a delay. I have some more questions. The Minister of State mentioned issues such as exemption certificates. We do not know yet why, unlike the UK, no third-party public liability insurance is required for exemptions. We do not know what the conditions of exemptions are. We do not know about people in social housing who have signed contracts that prohibit them from owning dogs. It seems that they will be allowed to apply for exemptions. We do not see any indication that some dogs that have a history of violence and attacks would be prohibited from getting an exemption. For the first time in the history of this State, most local authorities, which will effectively be dealing with this alone, will not have veterinary services from January 2025 because we are in the process of moving all our veterinary services from local authorities to the Department of agriculture. Nobody in response to any of the parliamentary questions I have tabled can tell me what will happen next. When we talk about dogs, and at a later date, we can talk about horses’ veterinary services, nobody can tell me what will happen in terms of putting dogs down. Again, I will say that local authority staff are in real danger here.

Deputy Chris Andrews

Bans do not work. This ban is populist, and it is being done with a view to the election that is coming up. Why is the Minister of State not making sure that the existing laws are being implemented and enforced? This Government has been in place for five years and there has been no dent in the illegal puppy farms. I find it ironic that Ireland will have a wolfhound on its passports, given the State's track record on animal welfare and this ban of XL bullies. We do not deserve to have a wolfhound on the Irish passport. If the Minister of State has an issue with the owners, then deal with the owners. Do not kill the dogs. We have to give an extension to these dogs. Do not introduce this extreme ban. Dogs should not pay the price for irresponsible owners. We have seen in other countries that bans do not work. I ask the Minister of State to do the right thing and give the XL bully an extension and an amnesty.

Deputy Thomas Byrne

The Government recognises that some people may not agree with the decision, and I also note that the Deputies are coming at this from different perspectives. Both of them have raised reasonable issues and I have no doubt about that.

To reply to Deputy Andrews, the reality is that these dogs have only been bred in the last number of decades. They are not as ancient as the Irish wolfhound. It is a completely different scenario, so I am sure-----

Deputy Chris Andrews

It is an animal welfare issue. They are still animals.

Deputy Thomas Byrne

I am not sure we-----

Deputy Chris Andrews

They are still animals.

Deputy Thomas Byrne

I am not sure we should compare an XL bully to the ancient Irish wolfhound, which has been a breed of dog in this country for centuries.

Deputy Chris Andrews

There is a hierarchy of animals, is there?

An Cathaoirleach Gníomhach (Deputy Seán Canney)

Deputy.

Deputy Thomas Byrne

There are public safety issues here, and we need to be aligned with our nearest neighbours. We have little choice but to address this with regulation.

On the reasonable point that Deputy Hourigan raised, the Department of Rural and Community Development is in discussions with the Department of agriculture in relation to the proposed transfer of the local authority veterinary service to the Department of agriculture and the impact this will have. The Government continues to support the ongoing discussions that will take place in the dog control stakeholder group, which was established in March. The group, which was established to consider and make recommendations to strengthen policy in relation to all dog control issues, is independently chaired by retired Deputy Garda Commissioner John Twomey. Its members have a broad range of expertise, including local authority representation. This group has been tasked with considering the policy and legislative matters under the remit of Ministers and Departments, specifically the Control of Dogs Acts and the Dog Breeding Establishment Acts. The issues raised are wide-ranging and complex. They require in-depth analysis and consultation to ensure amendments are not just robust, fit for purpose and implementable, but also deliver the best outcomes for communities and for dogs themselves. As a dog lover, I agree with that.

The Department of Rural and Community Development will continue to work with the relevant stakeholders to balance everybody's rights - the animals’ rights and human rights - throughout 2024 and into 2025 to improve the dog control environment in Ireland. The bottom line is that the Government has a responsibility to protect the people, and these particular dogs have been shown to be seriously dangerous-----

Deputy Chris Andrews

It is populist. It is a populist decision.

Deputy Thomas Byrne

-----and have led to deaths in a number of instances.

Deputy Chris Andrews

It is a populist decision.

School Transport

Deputy Marc Ó Cathasaigh

I will slightly recast the Topical Issue that I submitted, which was not to deal with school bus transport in west Waterford. It was specifically on a school transport issue arising between Ardmore and Dungarvan. If the Minister of State does not know that part of the world well, I remind him that Ardmore is the seat of St. Declan, who converted the Déise tribe to Christianity, which was how the name "the Déise" came to be synonymous with County Waterford, including this part of the county. Ardmore is 23 km from Dungarvan but it is 14 km from Youghal, which is across the border in County Cork. This is where our problem starts.

The vast majority of children who finish their primary schooling in Ardmore or in the Grange area, which is a little further down the road, go to Dungarvan for secondary school. There is a whole host of reasons for that, one of which is choice. There is one secondary school in Youghal and there are four secondary schools in Dungarvan. There are also historical associations; maybe mum or dad went to a school in Dungarvan. The fact of the matter is that this is not about county colours, as such. The majority of people in Ardmore will turn to Dungarvan for their services. It is their natural county town in the area. If you look at the figures that graduated from sixth class in the last year, only one child went to Youghal. One child went to Meánscoil San Nioclás, which is in Gaeltacht na nDéise and the rest of the children headed into Dungarvan.

The Minister of State will be able to see this in the issue I am about to detail further.

There are busloads of children heading from Ardmore to Dungarvan, but the problem is they do not start in Ardmore, as the nearest school eligibility criterion means that a school bus is not provided between Ardmore and Dungarvan.

We arrived at an Irish solution to an Irish problem. Approximately 10 km further up the road from Ardmore is Kiely's Cross, which is 12 km from Dungarvan, and a child can get a school bus from there to Dungarvan. We have a slightly insane situation whereby parents are ferrying their children 10 km out of the town - further if they are coming from Grange - and dropping their kids off at Kiely's Cross, where their kids are picked up by the school bus and brought into Dungarvan.

The main issue with this is that Kiely's Cross is on a dead-straight part of the N25. When I drove up to witness this in person and speak to the parents, I was doing just under 100 km/h but was still passed by three cars on that stretch of road. People fly on it. They should not be doing that speed, but they do. It is an area that is extremely prone to fog even though it was the end of August when I was there and it was still not dark in the morning.

Kids are being left out on the side of a main road in order to access these bus services. It is a real road safety issue. I have corresponded with the Minister, Bus Éireann and TII. I was amazed when I received correspondence back from TII. TII wished to advise me that it had not been aware of this issue and had since raised it with Waterford City and County Council, the road authority for the area. The correspondence pointed out that Kiely's Cross was a high-speed rural section of road that was not suitable for a bus stop, nor was it an appropriate location for a concentration of services as outlined in my submission. TII went on to say that it was now taking the issue up with the Department of Education and the council.

This is dangerous. Whatever about school bus provision, I do not want us to wait until there is an accident to arrive at a commonsensical solution to this problem.

Deputy Thomas Byrne

I thank the Deputy for raising the issue of the Ardmore-Dungarvan route. For the sake of the written record, I will leave out the first number of paragraphs of the script, as they describe the school bus scheme in some detail and may not be of major relevance.

I will discuss the school transport 2030 report, which was published this year and is the largest review of the school transport scheme since the scheme's establishment in 1967. The Government is working to achieve the report’s recommendation of expanding access to the scheme so that we can get another 100,000 pupils on the buses by 2030. The recommended changes to the future operation of the scheme include expansion of the current eligibility criteria, addressing current operational challenges and moving towards better integration with public transport to ensure the best value for money for the Exchequer.

The analysis conducted as part of this comprehensive review has illustrated the importance of school transport to families, but it has also shown how the scheme can support wider Government policies, including climate action targets, supporting working parents, many of whom are dropping their children at Kiely's Cross as the Deputy described, supporting the labour market, supporting families to live and work in rural Ireland and teaching life skills to children. We started to implement the review's recommendations at the start of the year and, subject to resources, we hope to commence implementing the revised criteria in the next school year.

Regarding the topic raised by the Deputy, he will understand that Bus Éireann is responsible for the planning and timetabling of school transport routes on behalf of the Department. The safety of children on the school transport services is of paramount importance to the Department and Bus Éireann, and so it should be. Due to an increase in the volume of activity at the pickup point in question for the current school year, Bus Éireann has advised that the point is under assessment. Bus Éireann will contact families directly to advise of the outcome of the assessment. I urge it to do so as quickly as possible.

Deputy Marc Ó Cathasaigh

I know it is under assessment, as I have kicked up blue bloody murder to have it assessed. It is only a matter of time. One would want to see it to believe it. It is a main stretch of the N25, a single carriageway with a hard shoulder on either side. The cars do not have any place to pull up. There is a small privately owned car park. Many of the cars are pulling up on the hard shoulders and the buses have to pull in. The three buses that arrived while I was there actually pulled into the turning lane, which leads to Ardmore. That is where they were setting the children down. It is on the right side of the road, so the situation is worse in the morning when the kids have to cross the road while cars are travelling at 100 km/h or more. Let us add the dark mornings into that and how the place is prone to fog.

The root problem is the nearest school eligibility criterion. The school transport review talks about doing away with it, so we can solve this by trying to get a head start. There are 34 kids coming out of Ardmore on a private bus at a cost of €40 per week, or €1,200 over the course of a school year, which is no joke. On the public bus are 40 more students from Ardmore village. A bus could be filled in Ardmore village and transport students straight into Dungarvan. There are 26 students who come from Grange. That is enough for a minibus. We could fill one up and let the pupils go straight in from there. There are nine students from in and around the Kiely’s Cross area and seven students from the Piltown-Clashmore area.

The solution is as obvious as the nose on your face. We can set a bus off from Ardmore, set another off from Grange and have an existing one at Kiely’s Cross with enough room in the car park to facilitate that safely. What is stopping us is the nearest school eligibility criterion. The buses are already there, so it is not about trying to add additional capacity. The drivers are happy to go from Grange or Ardmore. Let us not wait for a tragedy to arrive at a solution that is right there in front of our faces.

Deputy Thomas Byrne

There has been an increase in the number of tickets issued this year, with more than 140,000 issued. The numbers travelling on our bus services have increased significantly over the past number of years, at 38% over a five-year period.

As the Deputy and I have both highlighted, Bus Éireann is currently assessing the route and will continue to ensure the safety, and must ensure the safety, of all pupils on board school transport services.

I thank the Deputy for the opportunity to update him on the school transport system. In particular, I hope that, by the Deputy raising this matter in the Dáil, Bus Éireann will listen. It is responsible for operational matters on the ground, but it is required to do so efficiently and safely. I hope it will listen to the Deputy's pleas for the families and children in these areas.

Cuireadh an Dáil ar athló ar 7.37 p.m. go dtí 2 p.m., Dé Máirt, an 24 Meán Fómhair 2024.

The Dáil adjourned at 7.37 p.m. until 2 p.m. on Tuesday, 24 September 2024.