Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael)
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78. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if he will seek an update from a company (details supplied) as to whether it will be providing the 50% reduction to students in the Louth and Meath area on their route to Maynooth University, which, to date, has seen no reduction in price since the Government’s announcement last year; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5601/23]

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 responsibility for the regulation of fares charged to passengers in respect of public transport services provided under public service obligation (PSO) contracts.

Unlike with PSO services, the NTA do not set, monitor or regulate fares on services run by commercial operators, which are set by the individual operators.

However, in recognition of the importance of incentivising young people to use public transport, as part of Budgets 2022 and 2023, funding was provided for the young adult card (YAC) on both PSO and commercial services. This exciting initiative entitles anyone between the ages of 19 and 23, mature students and those aged 16-18 in third level education, to discounted travel costs of 50% across all services, including city, intercity and rural services.

The YAC initiative is an opt-in Scheme, meaning that while the discount is available on all PSO services, it is only available on those commercial bus operators that have decided to participate in the Scheme. Therefore, the issue raised is an operational matter for the company concerned.