Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy Whitmore for raising this important issue. The Minister of State, Deputy Chambers, has been delayed. I was on standby to take this and I was under the impression that the Minister of State would be here. I have taken note of the issues raised by the Deputy and I hope the script will be able to provide some of the answers.

From the outset I want to clarify that the Minister of State's Department has responsibility for policy and overall funding in relation to public transport. Neither that Department nor its officials are involved in the day-to-day operation of public transport services.

The statutory responsibility for securing the provision of public passenger transport services nationally rests with the National Transport Authority, NTA. The NTA works with the public transport operators who deliver the services and who have responsibility for day-to-day operational matters. That said, I would like to reassure the Deputy that the Government is strongly committed to providing all citizens with reliable, realistic and sustainable mobility options. Public transport plays a key role in the delivery of this goal. To support this objective the Department secured €613 million in funding in budget 2024 for the public service obligation, PSO, and TFI Local Link services. This includes funding for the continuation until the end of 2024 of the 20% fare reduction on PSO services, the young adult card on both PSO and commercial bus services, and the 90-minute fare. Funding has also been secured to support new and enhanced bus and rail services this year. The Deputy will be aware that the Government is committed to improving public transport in bus and rail and is backing up that commitment with significant investment across the network. This includes the continual roll-out of the Bus Connects programme.

On the Deputy's specific question on performance issues with the No. 84 bus route I understand there have been issues with some bus services in north Wicklow in recent months, in particular the No. 84 and No. 84a services, and that these issues have had a negative impact on the travelling public, including students in Kilcoole to whom the Deputy referred. I want to reassure the Deputy that the Minister of State's Department and the NTA understand that service reliability for routes Nos. 84 and 84a needs to be addressed as a matter of priority. I understand that Dublin Bus is working to secure additional bus drivers at the Donnybrook depot over the coming weeks to help alleviate the performance issues, which will significantly improve service reliability on the route.

Beyond that, the planned continued roll-out of BusConnects Dublin will involve the creation of new bus routes and improved bus frequencies to help transform the public transport network to meet anticipated growth and further demand in the region. I must say that I was really disappointed when the Deputy spoke about a person who had a seizure being asked to leave a bus and to clean up before she left. It is actually unbelievable that this would be the case. I could not believe it; it is appalling.

The Deputy will be aware that the most recent phase at the BusConnects network redesign in Dublin, phase 5b, commenced on 26 November and involved the introduction of new southern orbital radial and local routes. This represented an increase in service level of approximately 80% for the area, which makes it one of the most significant changes under the network redesign to date. It is currently anticipated that the next phase of the network redesign, phase 6a, which includes E-spine and associated services, will commence later this year and that the planned O route will also commence service by year end. A more precise launch date will be known closer to the time when the NTA has completed detailed checks and operational readiness with the operators.

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