Mick Barry (Cork North Central, Solidarity)
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249. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if he will increase the State subsidy to Bus Éireann in advance of the conclusion of the NBRU ballot; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22106/17]

Shane Ross (Dublin Rathdown, Independent)
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​Under the Dublin Transport Authority Act 2008 the allocation of Public Service Obligation (PSO) funding to individual operators is a matter for the National Transport Authority (NTA). However, at a Budgetary level the Deputy is aware that last year an additional 13% was made available in funding for the PSO programme as compared to the previous year. From that additional funding, Bus Éireann itself actually received a 21% increase in its PSO funding in 2016 as compared with 2015. In Budget 2017 I secured a further 11% increase in funding for the PSO programme. That increase means that in 2017 approximately €263 million will be available to the NTA to support the delivery of PSO bus and rail services.

I have already committed publicly, both here in the House and in the Joint Oireachtas Committee, to further increasing PSO funding levels in the future as resources allow.