Malcolm Noonan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Senator. The officials might come in on the BusConnects issue. The Senator's first question was about street furniture. I thank her for welcoming the measures. They are very positive, and the progress we are making with the circular economy is also fantastic. The financial impact on local authorities is minimal. It is spread across all 31 local authorities. The fees gathered were around €590,000 in 2021, so it is not really significant and we should note central government has supported local authorities with additional funding throughout the pandemic. We should also consider the positive impact of having increased activity and footfall in towns, which benefits all of our retail. That, in turn, is a benefit in the context of local authority rates because it keeps premises open. I was speaking to a local restaurateur in Kilkenny this morning about this, and they feel very positive about it. We have seen a transformation in our public spaces since the Covid pandemic, and we need to continue that trajectory. Local authorities are being progressive, but we need to reconfigure spaces and give them back to people and that is what we are trying to do in supporting this as well.

The NTA might come in on BusConnects and the bus shelters.