Kieran O'Donnell (Limerick City, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Senator for raising this important topic, which I am taking on behalf of the Minister for Transport, Deputy Eamon Ryan.

I would like to clarify that the Minister has responsibility for policy and overall funding in respect of public transport but neither the Minister or his officials are involved in the day-to-day management, operation or planning of public transport services.

The statutory responsibility for securing the provision of public passenger transport services nationally rests with the National Transport Authority, the 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 reassure the Senator that the Government is strongly committed to providing all citizens with reliable and realistic sustainable mobility options, and public transport plays a key role in the delivery of this goal. That commitment is demonstrated through the significant investment that has been made in both services and infrastructure in recent years. As Senator Dolan will be aware, a key objective for local authorities is to continue to address rural social exclusion by integrating Local Link with other public transport services. I am pleased to say that the Government has invested significantly in these services over its lifetime. This includes increased funding for the rural transport programme, from €21 million in 2019 to €57 million this year.

To support this objective, under budget 2024, a funding package of €613.463 million has been secured for public service obligation, PSO, and Local Link services. In recent weeks, the Department of Transport secured €652 million under budget 2025 for public transport, including funds for the continued roll-out of new services next year under the Connecting Ireland programme and the roll-out of new town services. This package includes funding for the continuation of the 20% fare reduction on PSO services, the extension of the young adult card on both PSO and commercial bus services to include 24- and 25-year-olds and the continuation of the 90-minute fare until the end of 2024. Funding has also been secured to support the continued roll-out of new and enhanced bus and rail services this year.

Turning to rural and regional areas, which is the substantive portion of the Senator's question, the Connecting Ireland rural mobility plan has been a hugely successful programme since its implementation began in 2022. Passenger numbers on Transport for Ireland Local Link regular bus services have increased by 78% year on year to 3.2 million in 2023. Under the Connecting Ireland rural mobility plan, more than 130 new or additional services have been introduced since commencement in mid-2022. Under phase 1 in 2022, 38 new and enhanced services were implemented, while in phase 2 in 2023, 65 new and enhanced services were implemented. This means that more than 190 towns and villages have been connected to the public transport network and around 500,000 people have access to new and enhanced bus services.

In relation to the specific services referred to by Senator Dolan, the NTA, as part of the Connecting Ireland rural mobility plan, is working on two proposals along the corridor with Local Link Galway. We are currently reviewing public transport connections between Loughrea, Ballinasloe and Athlone, serving settlements such as Kilconnell and Ballydangan. We also plan to improve evening connections between Galway and Loughrea. This is planned to go to public tender soon. Also in August of this year, an enhanced Intercity service was introduced on the Dublin to Galway rail service.

I reassure Senator Dolan that the Department of Transport, the NTA and the operators are working to ensure the optimised deployment of resources across the public transport network to match changing passenger demand patterns. The Senator made reference to a review. I will let her follow up on that and then come back to her on it.