Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

In response to the three Deputies, we have mechanisms and encourage and the NTA delivers so-called "enhancements". Where we are finding that there may be a service that is under real pressure and a bus is full, we have the capability of funding and providing for additional buses.

That is different to what I heard Deputies Tully and Smith talking about and I take the point. Are we are seeing buses full with what are relatively short-hop passengers, to Navan and Kells, meaning that passengers to Cavan are frozen out? I will raise that with Bus Éireann when I speak to it.

It is not only Bus Éireann that is relevant. There are private operators. Often some people think private operators have an advantage over the PSO routes, which may be compelled to stop in a number of locations on route. Often private operators, if there is that gap in the market, have successfully delivered non-stop or one-stop services from the likes of Cavan up to Dublin or further afield. What we saw during Covid is a lot of those operators ran into real difficulty. Prior to that they had continued to see massive expansion. I believe it benefits us that we have both a strong Bus Éireann but also a strong contract or private bus operated services because they provide a useful role often where there is a gap, particularly where one might want one-stop services. The private sector also has a role.

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