Niamh Smyth (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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297. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if he will intervene and prevent Bus Éireann ceasing the Dublin to Derry route bus service which services the people of Castleblayney, County Monaghan; if he has spoken to the NTA regarding this specific route; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12323/17]

Shane Ross (Dublin Rathdown, Independent)
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​I am of course aware that Bus Éireann has recently announced service alterations to a small number of Expressway services, including route 33 Dublin to Derry. The Deputy is no doubt aware that Expressway services are commercial services operated by Bus Éireann and licensed under the Public Transport Regulation Act 2009. These routes are not eligible for any taxpayer funding and frequently operate in competition with other commercial licensed operators. As I have stated on numerous occasions, in cases where a commercial operator, such as Expressway, decides to alter or withdraw a route, the National Transport Authority (NTA) has the statutory powers available to it to respond as appropriate to ensure continued transport connectivity.

In response to Bus Éireann's recent announcement service changes, the NTA has published an assessment of the proposed changes and indicated what action it believes is necessary to ensure that continued connectivity.

As indicated in that published assessment, the NTA does not believe that connectivity issues arise on the route 33 corridor following the proposed withdrawal of Expressway's route 33. In publishing its assessment the NTA has invited feedback on its proposals. A copy of their assessment is available on www.nationaltransport.ie.

I am informed that following changes to the Expressway route 33, Castleblayney will continue to be served by:

- Expressway's route 32 services serving Dublin to Letterkenny (with connections possible at Strabane for onward journey to Derry);

- Translink's X3 services serving Dublin to Derry;

- A private licensed operator serving Monaghan to Dublin; and

- Bus Éireann PSO routes providing regional connectivity with Dundalk and Drogheda.