Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent)
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658. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport his plans for the Clonmel to Dublin Expressway bus route, X7, following the decision to axe the service from midnight on Saturday, 1 April 2017; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16633/17]

Shane Ross (Dublin Rathdown, Independent)
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Until this weekend Clonmel to Dublin was served by two commercial licensed bus services, one provided by Bus Éireann's Expressway and one provided by a private operator. Both services were operated on the same commercial basis and licensed under the Public Transport Regulation Act 2009.The Deputy is aware that Bus Éireann is currently loss-making and that those losses are primarily related to the performance of its Expressway services. Those services are operated by Bus Éireann on a commercial basis in a similar fashion to any other commercial licensed bus service. Commercial licensed bus services do not receive any taxpayer funding, in contrast to those socially necessary but financially unviable services which make up the PSO network. Decisions regarding commercial licensed bus services are matters for the operator concerned and Bus Éireann has announced changes to ​a limited number of Expressway services, including a withdrawal of the X7 Expressway route from Clonmel to Dublin. I am informed that the route loses a significant amount of money each year and it is no longer commercially viable for the Company.

I have repeatedly stated that in these instances the National Transport Authority (NTA) stands ready to assess the impact of any route withdrawal or re-configuration and has the statutory powers to ensure continued transport connectivity. In the case of the X7, the NTA has amended the scheduling of some Rural Transport Programme services to ensure connections with the other commercial licensed bus service which continues to link Clonmel to Dublin. The NTA has published its assessment of the X7 withdrawal and has invited feedback on that assessment and I would encourage the Deputy to provide any feedback he might have to the NTA.