Darren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

This is an ambitious plan. We have submitted questions on the opportunities to expand on it. I understand there are 23 settlements with populations above 300 that have been excluded from the plan; all of the rest have been included and are promised a service three times daily, which would be a significant improvement. There are opportunities to expand the scheme, and that is something my party is trying to tease out.

The bigger issue is the implementation of the plan. The €5.6 million allocation this year is 10% of the total. The NTA stated in a response to me that it does not have a multi-year allocation and does not know how much it will be allocated in years two, three, four and five of the plan. That has a significant impact in terms of planning. Does the Minister of State have more detail on that? The provision this year is 10%. Will there be another 10% or 15% next year? I would appreciate if the Minister of State could provide an indication on that.

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