Paul Gogarty (Dublin Mid West, Green Party)
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Question 369: To ask the Minister for Transport the measures which are in place to ensure that social services provided by Dublin Bus will continue to operate in the absence of additional Government funding for public transport; the plans which are in place to make the promised investment in buses in the Dublin area; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26358/05]

Martin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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Over the past six years, the Government has significantly increased the subvention paid to CIE in respect of the provision of socially necessary but commercially non-viable services.

Since 1999 and including the 2005 allocation, the total direct Exchequer subvention payments to CIE will have amounted to over €1.5 billion. Of this almost €349 million has been allocated to Dublin Bus. The subvention paid to Dublin Bus has increased from €17 million in 1999 to almost €65 million in 2005.

The national development plan, NDP, target for buses in Dublin is 275 additional buses and 500 replacement buses. To date, Dublin Bus has purchased 497 new buses of which 93 are additional and 404 are replacement buses. A total of 248 of these buses were funded partially and-or fully by the Exchequer.

Dublin Bus is carrying out a review of the bus network in Dublin to assess the impact of recent upgrades in rail capacity such as Luas and the DART upgrade and ongoing demographic changes. The company is, in the first instance, assessing how to maximise the utilisation of its existing bus fleet. The company has informed me that it expects the bus network review to be completed early next year.

In addition, I am currently considering the proposals put to me by the various stakeholders in the market and the social partners on how best to modernise the regulatory framework for the bus market.

I hope to bring forward proposals in the near future which will provide a framework for both public and private bus operators to participate in the growing market.