Claire Kerrane (Roscommon-Galway, Sinn Fein)
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51. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport to advise how much additional funding Local Link will have in 2025 compared to 2024; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41352/24]

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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This Government is firmly committed to improving public transport across the country and that commitment is demonstrated through the significant investment that has been made in both services and infrastructure in recent years.

As the Deputy will be aware, the key objectives for Local Link include continuing to address rural social exclusion and the integration of Local Link with other public transport services. And I am pleased to say that this Government has invested significantly in these services over its lifetime.

This has included increasing funding for the Rural Transport Programme from €21m in 2019 to €57m this year, and rolling out over 130 new or enhanced services under the Connecting Ireland programme since 2022. There has also been considerable investment in regular rural service routes in recent years, for example the enhanced Route 934 from Gort to Loughrea operated by TFI Local Link Galway which now operates three daily return services Monday to Friday with peak-time services for commuters, and which offers improved connectivity to the regional bus and rail services and the villages and areas of Peterswell, Castledaly and Kilchreest.

I am delighted to say that these unprecedented levels of investment have led to an almost tripling of passenger numbers on rural services in the last decade, with 4.7m passengers carried last year, up from 1.76m in 2015.

I firmly believe that expanding the public transport network and increasing service levels throughout the country will lead to more balanced regional development and greater connectivity for all public transport users.

To support this, under Budget 2024, I secured a funding package of c. €613.463m for Public Service Obligation (PSO) and Local Link services, and in recent weeks, I secured €652m under Budget 2025 for public transport, including funds for the continued roll-out of new services next year under the Connecting Ireland programme, and the roll-out of new town services.