Emer Currie (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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101. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport to provide a breakdown of the investment made in enhancing existing bus services in Dublin West from 2020 to date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34143/25]

Emer Currie (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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My question is to ask the Minister for Transport to provide a breakdown of the investment made in enhancing existing bus services in Dublin West from 2020 to date. A handful of routes – four in total – have been introduced under BusConnects, mainly to replace existing services, and one new route called the W4. While we await the full implementation of BusConnects in 2026–27, our existing services are really struggling with demand.

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal East, Fianna Fail)
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I thank Deputy Currie for her question. Since 2020, over €18.75 million has been invested in bus services alone in Dublin West, reflecting a really strong and ongoing commitment to improving public transport in the area. This includes funding for both new routes and enhancements to existing services. Notably, new routes introduced over the period include the L52, introduced in 2020, the C5 and C6, introduced in 2021, the high-frequency orbital N4, introduced in 2022, the W5, introduced in 2023, and most recently, the N2, introduced in 2024. Enhancements to existing services have been prioritised, with approximately €1.6 million allocated across the period. However, the most substantial enhancements were delivered in 2020, with more than €1.25 million invested that year to improve service levels and reliability.

Looking ahead, while no new enhancements have been introduced yet in 2025, plans are in place to extend route 40D to serve Hollywoodrath later this year. An additional €500,000 is also committed this year to specifically address punctuality and reliability issues on routes 37, 38 and 70. These improvements were rolled out in April and are already supporting more consistent services.

Furthermore, phase 10 of the BusConnects network redesign, the B spine, is scheduled for late 2026 and will deliver significant improvements for Dublin West, subject to operational readiness and funding. In the interim, the NTA is working closely with operators to identify priority routes where capacity constraints are most pressing. Due to a range of factors, including limited driver availability, a prioritised list of enhancements will be developed based on the most urgent needs. I would welcome the Deputy’s input into that.

Emer Currie (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Minister. His numbers are the same as the ones I got through a parliamentary question dealing with capacity issues in each of the years 2020 to 2024. Seventeen million euro in that time had been invested in launching new bus routes in Dublin West, but, as the Minister said, just €1.6 million has been spent on enhancing existing bus services.

That discrepancy tells its own story. The €1.6 million that has been spent on enhancement has been patchy. According to the NTA, nothing was spent on enhancements to existing services in Dublin West in 2023. A year before that, in 2022, spending was a grand total of €97. I would love to know what €97 was spent on. There has been some increase since then. In 2024, €407,000 was invested in enhancing existing bus services in Dublin West. That is a fraction of the nearly €2.9 million spent on new routes. It reflects the reality that people are experiencing. It is just not enough when it comes to the growth and demand in established communities, which is most of Dublin West, and the growth of new communities while we wait for BusConnects.

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal East, Fianna Fail)
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BusConnects is going to make a real difference. It was held up for many reasons. I would suggest that there were initially route design flaws in much of the BusConnects project when it was first published, but that has been rectified. As I said earlier in response to a question, we will see the first BusConnects corridor under construction this year. We have three that are through planning. Rather, 12 are through planning, but a number are being judicially reviewed, which is another story.

The Deputy is right about the €97 that was spent in 2022. I have know idea what that was. As the Minister of State, Deputy Canney, said, it might have been to replace a wing mirror on a bus. Without being facetious about it, further investment is unquestionably needed. I know the Deputy's area very well. It is a major growth area. It is a young area too. The Deputy will have heard a number of other positive developments relating to additional services mentioned already this evening. We have to look at existing services and their reliability. I will bring the Deputy's intervention and feedback this evening directly to the NTA, which reports to me at the end of the day. It selects and approves the routes and route changes, but we need to make sure that it listens to public representatives too.

Emer Currie (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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I would appreciate the Minister's intervention because I find those figures shocking. We cannot wait until BusConnects is implemented in Dublin West, which could be 2027. The Minister mentioned services for Hollywoodrath, including the 37 and 38. I have fought for those enhanced services. Underinvesting in existing services ignores the commuters in established communities who want to shift to public transport. We have seen more than 2,000 new homes built in the Blanchardstown-Mulhuddart local electoral area over the last five years. Many have been in a completely new area called Hollywoodrath. The Minister was there with us.

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal East, Fianna Fail)
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I was.

Emer Currie (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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There were no new bus services and limited enhancement of the existing ones. Last week, the Green Party had a motion calling on the Government not to put the brakes on progress, but under a Green Party Minister, our community saw a decline in the reliability of its services. I am depending on the Minister to take the opportunity to change that. While BusConnects is promoted as a transformative project, and it will be, we have to properly invest in expanding and improving the services that people currently rely on in the here and now.

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal East, Fianna Fail)
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Regarding what the Green Party might say in Dublin West, the Green Party held the transport portfolio in the previous Government. Having said that, the Government is responsible for the delivery of all services across the board and we are heavily committed to public transport. That is why I mentioned earlier this evening the debate we had last week. We have seen a record number of public transport users and growth in every area, including Dublin West, but there are areas where there are pressures on commuters. I have said to all our operators, rail, Luas and bus, that the customer has to be first in this. I have said that to the NTA too. We can look at the projects and investment that are needed, but everything has to be focused on the customer. It is customers who are paying for those journeys and it is their tax euros that are being invested in the system. I am happy to arrange a specific meeting between the Deputy and the NTA. I want the Deputy to give that feedback directly to the NTA about the preparation of additional enhancements. BusConnects will change things significantly right across the country, not just in Dublin. We are really focused on getting those projects under way and this Government will do it.