Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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I fully acknowledge that Bus Éireann has experienced significant service issues in Co. Meath over the last year, particularly in September and October in 2023, which must be incredibly frustrating for users. These issues were primarily caused by the non-availability of fleet, in addition to some issues with vehicle breakdowns and traffic congestion. The issues were further exasperated by the ongoing challenges the public transport sector is facing in the recruitment of both mechanics and drivers.

I understand from the NTA that there has been an improvement in the number of kilometres lost on the Meath bus services since mid to late October 2023, and that they are closely monitoring the service levels in Co. Meath.

Further, the NTA and Bus Éireann have initiated an action plan for 2024 to address the service issues in Meath. Bus Éireann are actively working with the NTA to monitor and review passenger numbers in the Meath area and to identify opportunities to increase capacity where possible, in light of these issues. The NTA has advised that they intend to work with Bus Eireann to revise timetables on Route 109 and 109A by adding resources on the route to reflect the increased journey times caused by traffic congestion on the M3 corridor. The opportunity to improve the level of service including re-routeing Route 109B via Drumree Road and extending the service to Kildalkey will be availed of during this exercise. The revised timetables providing improved punctuality and reliability of service delivery will be implemented by end January 2024.

The NTA is also working with Bus Éireann on providing additional morning and evening departures on the 103, and it is hoped these can be implemented in early 2024. However, there are no immediate plans to revise the level of service on Route 105.

It should also be noted that the performance of public transport operators is monitored by the NTA as part of the contractual arrangements in place between it and the operators. These contractual arrangements allow for not just the monitoring of performance and the publication of annual performance reports, but importantly, they also allow for the imposition of financial penalties where performance does not meet the required standard.