Mairead Farrell (Galway West, Sinn Fein)
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212. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if his attention has been drawn to issues with the reliability of the service provided by a company (details supplied); if his attention has been further drawn to reports that some of the buses operated by this company have not been wheelchair accessible for nearly a year; if his Department is engaging with the company to resolve these issues; if de-privatising these routes will be considered as a solution to this problem; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [59339/22]

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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As Minister for Transport, I have responsibility for policy and overall funding in relation to public transport; however, I am not involved in the day-to-day operations of public transport. The National Transport Authority (NTA) has statutory responsibility for securing the provision of public passenger transport services nationally and for the scheduling of those services in conjunction with the relevant transport operators.

Further, the bus services referred to by the Deputy are commercial bus services and as such responsibility for the operation of those services is a matter for the company.

In light of the Authority's responsibility in this area, I have forwarded the Deputy's question regarding the de-privatisation of this bus service, to the NTA for direct reply. Please advise my private office if you do not receive a response within ten working days.