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One out of every ten buses in Dublin won't be going into the city centre under the proposed new 'Bus Connects' plan.

These include major commuter bus routes in Portmarnock, Malahide, Portrane, Skerries, Lucan, Leixlip, Bray and Dunboyne, according to local TDs in the areas.

The concerns arose during a meeting of the Oireachtas Transport Committee on Wednesday, where the NTA and Dublin Bus unions spoke.

Local representatives complained that people in outlying Dublin areas will be forced to change buses to get to the city.

Social Democrats TD Catherine Murphy warned that commuters in Lucan and Leixlip will suffer under the new plan.

At present passengers in Lucan can hop on a City Speed bus direct to Heuston Station in 25 minutes.

However the NTA will force them to change routes.

Meanwhile, people living in Carpenterstown will have to travel to Blanchardstown before getting a city-bound service.

In Bray, a new route for the 145 from Bray to Heuston station would involve switching in Stillorgan.

Kildare North TD Catherine Martin claimed the only people who will gain are those already close to the city.

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She said: "You want to discourage the car user and make it (the bus service) more attractive, but what I see is the real losers are on the fringes.

"There's way too much detail which is absent.

"The closer you get to the city, the greater the gain is.

"The further from the city, it's more attractive to use your car."

Fine Fail TD Darragh O'Brien is urging locals in Fingal to attend public meetings and have their voices heard.

The Fingal representative has pointed out that Portrane, Donabate, Skerries, Balbriggan, Rush, and Lusk would all lose direct/peak services to Dublin city centre.

(Image: National Transport Authority)

Meanwhile bus services in Portmarnock and Malahide would be 'heavily reduced' under the plan.

He said: "It is crucially important that our Bus services are not diminished in any way, if anything they should be added to and improved."

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However, the NTA's Anne Graham insisted that "A review of the network is needed," and that tho new plan will see a 27 per cent increase in bus services.

She said: "Not everybody can be better off, but the vast majority of people in the region will benefit."

The Authority has just opened a public consultation period on the plan which will close on September 28.

They're inviting feedback and say that the opinion of people affected will help them improve the planned service.