Robert Dowds (Dublin Mid West, Labour)
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Question 685: To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if he will ensure that there is no cut to the subsidy for Dublin Bus next year, and could he make economies elsewhere. [35916/11]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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The funding of public service obligation (PSO) services is governed by Public Transport Contracts between the National Transport Authority (NTA) and the three CIÉ subsidiaries. In 2011 Dublin Bus will receive, through the NTA, an estimated €72.4 million in Exchequer subvention.

Decisions on the overall level of subvention available for PSO services in 2012 will be made following the comprehensive review of expenditure currently being undertaken by Government. Given that in excess 75% of my Department's expenditure on Transport in 2011 will relate to Road Improvement/Maintenance Work and Public Service Provision Payments, any reduction to my Department's allocation will inevitably impact on expenditure in those areas. Therefore it is inevitable that, in the current fiscal environment, there will be a significant reduction in the level of subvention in 2012 and following years. I support a continuation of the efforts by the company to improve its efficiency and reduce the costs of providing Public Service Obligation services.