Louis O'Hara (Galway East, Sinn Fein)
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74. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport to provide an update on the development of his Department’s sectoral investment plan following the national development plan review; if there is a date for the publication of this sectoral investment plan; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [63319/25]

Louis O'Hara (Galway East, Sinn Fein)
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Will the Minister of State provide an update on the development of his Department's sectoral investment plan following the national development plan review? Is there a date for the publication of this plan?

Seán Canney (Galway East, Independent)
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The Department of Transport's annual capital allocations from 2026 to 2030 were confirmed in the review of the national development plan published by the Department of Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation in July. In recognition of the importance of advancing projects in the transport sector, of the €102.4 billion allocated across Government Departments, €22.3 billion has been allocated to the Department of Transport in addition to the €2 billion to advance MetroLink under the Infrastructure, Climate and Nature Fund.

The Department is currently finalising its national development plan sectoral investment plan in the context of that capital funding envelope and we expect to be able to publish it by the end of November. When it has been published, it will show the projects where the money will be spent, be it on public transport, public roads, active travel or other measures. We look forward to its publication.

Louis O'Hara (Galway East, Sinn Fein)
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Capital investment is badly needed to expand the availability and quality of public transport services. I look forward to seeing the planned projects. It is critical that works commence on the various infrastructure projects that are badly needed.

For the day-to-day running of our public transport system, PSO funding is important, particularly for bus routes. Before the budget, we heard a funding gap existed between PSO funding and the funding needed for existing services and that this gap could have ranged up to €250 million. Will the Minister of State clarify if this gap still exists and whether the NDP will need to be dipped into in this regard? The funding was increased in the budget but there was no breakdown of how much would be eaten up by existing services. Will the Minister of State outline how much of the PSO funding allocated in the budget will be used to maintain existing levels of service, including the current fare reductions and existing public transport services?

Seán Canney (Galway East, Independent)
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The PSO has been increasing. Why? It is because public transport services are increasing, demand is increasing and we are providing more services. Under the national development plan review, there was a reset of the money available for the PSO. I am satisfied that there is enough money there to meet the existing PSOs and for further development when we publish the new scheme.

It is also important to say that, with the national development plan and the sectoral plan we will produce, we will be looking at a wide range of projects that are ready or in the process of being ready for development in the next five years, such as under BusConnects, in roads, new rail and enhancements of existing rail. The Deputy will be aware that a lot of work is going on in our constituency in Oranmore and Ceannt Station to develop infrastructure to make it ready for additional services. I look forward to their delivery in the next five years.

Louis O'Hara (Galway East, Sinn Fein)
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Can clarity be provided on how much of next year's PSO funding allocation will be used to address the existing funding gap and maintaining existing services? Will the Minister of State provide a breakdown of that, if possible? PSO funding constraints are causing difficulties in the roll-out of services. We know that from our constituency as well. For example, Athenry has been waiting a long time for a bus service. The risk here is that if the PSO funding is not adequate, we will not have a roll-out of services and we could see existing services cease or fares increase for commuters.

This also comes at a time when Bus Éireann is considering the viability of many of its Expressway bus routes. Has the Minister of State or the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, met Bus Éireann management regarding the Expressway route feasibility review? Do they intend to intervene on this issue to ensure the Expressway services across the State are maintained?

Seán Canney (Galway East, Independent)
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I do not have figures on that particular detail of the PSO funding because it was not part of the original question. I can, however, get those figures for the Deputy or they will probably be in the published NDP when we bring it out.

On Bus Éireann services that are being reviewed, I have met representatives of Bus Éireann, as I am sure the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, has, but I will confirm that.

As the Deputy will be aware, there is increased demand. For instance, on the rail line between Galway and Limerick, when the piece of the western rail corridor we built between Athenry and Ennis opened, there were 132,000 passenger journeys in the first year. Last year, there were 750,000 passenger journeys. That is the type of increase we are getting. The Deputy knows this. He supports public transport. We are trying to keep ahead of the posse so we give all passengers the experience they need to keep them using public transport rather than going back to cars.