Dessie Ellis (Dublin North West, Sinn Fein)
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79. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport his plans to invest further in public transport through the State subvention to Córas Iompar Éireann and other means in order to improve standards, increase accessibility and encourage more persons to use public transport. [15613/16]

Shane Ross (Dublin Rathdown, Independent)
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​This year's PSO subvention is €236 million, an increase of €27 million on 2015, directed at the provision of enhanced public transport services. It is the statutory responsibility of the National Transport Authority (NTA) to  allocate funding to the PSO operators, including the CIÉ companies.

The increased funding secured for 2016 will assist with the delivery of new and additional services, as well as variations and improvements to existing services.  All PSO services are provided in accordance with public service contracts concluded between the NTA and the relevant operator. These contracts specify the service and quality standards expected of the operators and their performance is monitored closely by the NTA with quarterly reports published and available to view on their website. 

As regards encouraging an increased use of public transport, the NTA is fully committed to continually improving the quality and attractiveness of public transport services and is also engaged in the development and deployment of technologies to make it easier to use public transport. The NTA has delivered a number of significant cross-operator initiatives such as real time information at bus stops, on Apps and online, the National Journey Planner, the Leap Card, investment in the bus fleet and on-board Wi-Fi, improved public transport maps and the reconfiguration of regional city bus services that to date includes Cork, Limerick, Galway and Waterford.  Accessibility has also been greatly improved through the addition of on-board displays and announcements of the next bus stop.

In addition, over the next 7 years, the Capital Plan provides for a range of improvement measures including new and replacement buses, completion of the Luas Cross City project and the reopening of the Phoenix Park tunnel, all of which will enhance the attractiveness of the public transport offering.