Wicklow Sinn Féin TD John Brady has expressed his disappointment following confirmation from the National Transport Authority (NTA) that there are no current plans to either increase the frequency of the 65 route which currently services Blessington, or to extend the badly needed service to Baltinglass.
Brady said: “Following a meeting this week with the NTA, I can confirm that as a result of questions that I put directly to senior figures, they stated that they will not be extending the 65 bus service to Baltinglass, or increasing the frequency of buses on the route. This is deeply disappointing, particularly as they further stated that any changes to the service would only be considered as part of a network review, which will look at all routes, scheduled to take place at the end of 2025, over a year and a half away.
Even if we are successful and get the changes to the 65 bus route agreed, it would take until 2026 at the earliest before any changes would be introduced. As someone who has been campaigning for a long time for improvements to public transport in West Wicklow, I am acutely aware of the impact that the service deficit has on communities. The population of Blessington is exploding, and the current level of service is wholly inadequate to meet the needs of this growing community. Not to mention the complete disregard for the needs of commuters in West Wicklow down as far as Baltinglass who are being left to fend for themselves.
The current levels of service are simply not acceptable. A bus service every two hours simply isn’t sufficient. The people of Baltinglass and Blessington need a service that is both regular and reliable. This government in conjunction with the Green Party, and its ideologically driven leader Eamon Ryan, who is also the Minister for Transport continue to refuse to invest in the N81 upgrade scheme, yet they are content to preside over a totally inadequate public transport service. What we need is a fit for purpose public transport service, designed to meet the needs of our local communities.”
Local Sinn Féin representative Connor Byrne, who is contesting the local elections for the party on June 7, in the Baltinglass electoral area said: “The information that my party colleague John Brady TD was able to garner from the NTA is very disappointing. West Wicklow has been traditionally grossly underserved by public transport, and that it may take over two years before we have any hope whatsoever of seeing any improvement is simply good enough. Particularly as even at that we have no guarantees that a decision will be made to improve local services.
This government’s disregard for the needs of our community in West Wicklow has gone on long enough. We need to see a public transport system in Wicklow that is fit for purpose.”