Emer Currie (Dublin West, Fine Gael)

I hope it is a portfolio and not a bottleneck. On BusConnects, as Mr. Creegan will know, the B spine is in my area. The roll-out of the routes has been pushed back. Previously, it was to happen in late 2026. We are now looking at early 2027. The NTA has said this is to do with staffing and funding but this means that existing services in our area are really important. Some 4,000 new homes have been built over five years. We are seeing the behavioural change we want to see. Bus and rail service numbers went up by 10.6% in one year. However, that is not uniform across all areas. Where BusConnects routes have been rolled out, passenger levels are up 48%. Where they have yet to be implemented, they are only up 8%. Mr. Creegan and I know, because we have talked about this, that new services are being prioritised over existing services. That means that some areas are being prioritised over others when it comes to our existing bus services. That is reflected in the funding. In 2022, €15 million was allocated to new services across Dublin Bus when only €39,000 was allocated to existing services. In Dublin West, that was €97 in 2022 and nothing in 2023. I know all of the funding pressures the NTA is under because we have discussed them at length. I thank Mr. Creegan for that time. Will he comment on that and on how important it is that we see the allocation of budget towards existing services in this budget so that all areas get a really good bus service and commuters are not left behind?