Francis Noel Duffy (Dublin South West, Green Party)
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59. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if he has engaged with the Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform in relation to reducing public transport fares for pensioners who have not yet reached the State pension age; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5019/24]

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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Government is investing in significant service and infrastructure improvements, as well as funding the various fare initiatives that have been introduced in recent Budgets, and of course continuing to support the Free Travel Scheme which is a policy responsibility of my colleague the Minister for Social Protection.

All of these improvements and initiatives do however require significant levels of funding and that means we need to think carefully about how best to use available funding.

In line with this Government’s responsibility to encourage modal shift and to benefit public transport passengers, we are investing in initiatives such as BusConnects in every city, new and enhanced Town Services in the bigger towns and Connecting Ireland in rural areas. On rail we’re also supporting improvements across the network on both commuter and inter-city services.

We have also continued the 20% average PSO fare initiative and the 90-minute fare, all of which are available to those persons who have not yet reached the State pension age. However, there are no plans to further reduce public transport fares at this time.

Specific questions in relation to the eligibility of persons for the Free Travel Scheme should be directed toward my colleague the Minister for Social Protection.

Francis Noel Duffy (Dublin South West, Green Party)
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60. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the reason for increased public transport bus fares from Dublin to Cavan by 21%; if he will review this increase; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5020/24]

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.

In their capacity as fare regulator, on the 27th of April 2023, the NTA published a new National Fares Strategy, and following this on the 18th of January 2024 they published the first of a series of Fares Determination related to the strategy.

The most significant change in this year’s fare determination is the implementation of an initial phase of the National Fare Strategy on Dublin Commuter bus and rail services.

This will deliver more consistent and equitable fares and reduce the disparities which currently exist for some passengers, particularly in the outer commuter towns surrounding Dublin.

The proposed fare changes will see increases for some passengers, including those travelling from Dublin to Cavan, and decreases for others; however, it is estimated that this will be broadly revenue neutral overall. This represents the first step in delivering the National Fare Strategy and it is the NTA’s intention to roll this out further across the country in future determinations in the months ahead.

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